Lucknow, Dec 18: The Congress’ Uttar Pradesh chief Ajay Rai and state incharge Avinash Pande among others leaders and workers were on Wednesday detained as they tried to leave the party office here for their planned siege of the state assembly during the ongoing Winter Session.
A Congress worker also died during the protest with Rai claiming the death was due to “police brutality” while a senior police officer said he was brought dead to the hospital with no injury marks on body.
“We will throw out the Yogi government from power in 2027,” Rai told reporters from a bus after police detained him amid heightened security measures in the state capital to thwart the Congress protest.
“They want to kill me and other Congress leaders. They are scared of our leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi,” he said.
The opposition party was protesting against the UP government over issues like farmer distress, unemployment, inflation, privatisation and law and order.
Barricades were set up around the Assembly premises to prevent Congress workers from reaching the protest site, while route diversions severely impacted traffic movement in the heart of the city.
The police citing curbs under Section 163 (power to issue an order in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) that are in place in Lucknow, did not allow party workers to move ahead from the party Mall Avenue office.
The workers who came out of the office tried to break the barricades and move towards the Assembly but their bid was foiled by the heavy police force deployed there. Rai also tried to scale a barricade and briefly fainted on the road after which he was helped by party workers to regain consciousness.
Police said 28-year-old Prabhat Pandey, a native of Gorakhpur, was brought dead to the hospital from Congress office.
“Prabhat Pandey was brought to the Civil Hospital in Hazratganj in an unconscious condition from the Congress office. The doctors declared him brought dead,” DCP (Central Lucknow) Raveena Tyagi said.
“Prima facie, according to doctors, there was no visible injury mark on his body. Apart from this, a post-mortem would be done by a panel and the process would be videographed. Accordingly further legal proceedings would be carried out,” Tyagi added.
Rai on X said: “This incident is extremely sad and condemnable. Our Congress family is hurt and angry by this accident. We will not tolerate this incident at all.”
“The Yogi government should give financial assistance of Rs 1 crore to the family of the deceased and a government job to one member of the family as compensation,” Rai added.
Rai, Pande and other leaders were earlier seen outside the party office addressing workers, but they were restrained by the police as they tried to head for the siege. The action continued outside the office for about four hours after which the police detained the leaders.
Rai slammed the BJP government over Sambhal violence.
“The issues affecting farmers, unemployed youth, inflation, and the worsening law and order situation in the state are being overshadowed. The BJP seeks to create religious and caste-based divides to divert attention from their failures. Despite these hurdles, our fight will continue, and we will try to reach the Assembly,” Pande told reporters.
Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader Aradhana Mishra ‘Mona’ raised the matter in the state assembly where she alleged that the government is killing democrac and stifling the voice of the people.
She claimed that police were cracking down on protesters, to which Speaker Satish Mahana responded: “You have a lot of privilege (being CLP leader) but you do not have the privilege to hijack Vidhan Sabha (Assembly proceedings). You are free to go anywhere you want and I will see to it who stops you.”
State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna said, “What is the protest today for? It is unnecessarily spreading anarchy.”
Leader of Opposition and Samajwadi Party lawmaker Mata Prasad Pandey said in a democracy everybody has the right to protest and alleged that the government is adopting tactics that weaken democracy.
