Priyanka hits out at Yogi raj: No place for revenge'

New Delhi/Lucknow: Amid the ongoing protests against the new citizenship law, the Congress top brass upped the ante over the issue with former party chief Rahul Gandhi asking its leaders to visit those injured in the police excesses in agitations and AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra castigating UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath for his comment that those damaging property would have to pay for it.

Ms Vadra, also the party’s Uttar Pradesh in-charge, sent a memorandum to UP governor Anandiben Patel, which said the UP police was “patently unlawful, destructive of the rule of law and repressive of honest citizens”. This, the memo said, is “unbefitting of a force that is duty-bound to safeguard and protect citizens’ rights”.

Addressing a press conference in Lucknow later, she hit out at Yogi Adityanath and said that there was no place for violence or “revenge” in the country.

Yogi Adityanath had warned earlier that rioters who had damaged public property will have to pay compensation.

To this, the Congress leader said saffron denotes Hinduism, a religion that does not advocate violence or “revenge”.

Rahul Gandhi has asked partymen to visit people injured in the anti-CAA protests and provide help if needed. All across India, many young men and women were injured and some even killed while protesting against the CAA, he said. “I urge our Congress party workers to meet the victims’ families and provide all possible assistance,” he tweeted.

On Saturday, during his visit to Assam, Mr Gandhi met the families of two young men killed during the protests against the CAA.

The Telangana Congress has decided to take up the issue of the withdrawal of SPG cover to the Gandhis during the protests against the CAA in the state. Speaking to this newspaper, Congress in-charge for Telangana R.C. Khuntia said “the government deliberately withdrew the security given to the Gandhis to that they can be targeted by the police”.

On Sunday, Ms Vadra alleged she had been manhandled by the UP police when she had tried to visit a protester.

However, talking to the media on Monday, she said her own security was not a big issue.

“The question of my security is not a big one. It is a small question, on which there is no need to hold any discussion. I will not raise the issue of security as it is a trivial matter. It has nothing to do with the public,” she said.

“The issue is the safety of the common man in UP. This is the country of Lord Krishna — who was the symbol of compassion. Lord Ram was the symbol of compassion. Everybody dances in the marriage procession (baraat) of Lord Shiva. There is no place for ‘hinsaa’ (violence), ‘badlaa’ (revenge) and ‘ranj’ (anger) in the country’s soul”.