Dear youth... defeat PM Modi, Shah with your love: Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah for 'dividing' the country and hiding behind the hate.

The Congress leader also told the youths that the only way to 'destroy' them is by responding with love towards every Indian citizen.

"Dear Youth of India, Modi and Shah have destroyed your future. They can't face your anger over the lack of jobs and damage they've done to the economy. That's why they are dividing our beloved India and hiding behind hate. We can only defeat them by responding with love towards every Indian," tweeted Gandhi.

This comes a day after Gandhi's sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accused the Central government of using "barbaric repression and violence" to suppress the voice of protestors demonstrating against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which she said was a "black day for democracy."

"The National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the CAA are against the fundamental spirit of the Indian Constitution and that assault on Baba Saheb Ambedkar's Constitution will not be allowed at any cost," said Priyanka in a statement.

"People are fighting on the streets to save the Constitution, but the government is bent upon barbaric repression and violence to suppress the voice of protestors," she added.

She alleged that there had been illegal arrests of students.

The Congress general secretary had expressed concern over the reports of police keeping in "illegal detention" several socio-political activists for two days in Lucknow.

"Their relatives were not informed about the arrests," she said.

The Congress leader claimed that shocking reports were surfacing through media that those who have been arrested are being beaten up and tortured in police custody.

In another development, Congress party is set to hold a 'dharna' on December 23 at Raj Ghat against the CAA and National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Protests have erupted in various cities against the newly-enacted citizenship Act, which grants Indian citizenship to Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.