Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Congress, sent a four-page preliminary response on Sunday to the Delhi Police’s notice regarding his statement that “women are still being sexually assaulted” during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, questioning the procedure used by the authorities and the unexpected urgency following a 45-day delay.
Hours after a Delhi Police squad had knocked on his door for the third time in five days, the Congress leader responded with a 10-point plan. According to the reports, he also requested eight to ten days to respond fully to the Delhi Police’s inquiries regarding his comments from January 30.
According to officials, the police team led by Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Sagar Preet Hooda arrived at Rahul Gandhi’s 12, Tughlaq Lane, home around 10 am and was able to meet the Congressman after two hours. The team then departed the area around 1 pm.
Gandhi allegedly said, “I have heard that women are still being sexually assaulted,” during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Srinagar. Since the Yatra also passed through Delhi, the police sought to determine whether any victims had contacted the Congress leader here so that they could launch an investigation into the matter.
According to a representative, “The police had asked him to offer details of these victims so that security could be given to them.
Before 4 o’clock, Gandhi sent a preliminary response in which he called the police action “unprecedented” and questioned whether it had anything to do with the stance he had taken on the Adani problem both inside and outside of Parliament.
Gandhi reportedly also questioned the Delhi Police’s need for speed in making two visits in as many days after an initial 45-day gap following his address in Srinagar.
According to the sources, the previous head of the Congress reportedly questioned whether any other political party, including the one in power, had experienced the same level of scrutiny or interrogation regarding its political campaigns.
An angry Congress has condemned the Delhi Police action and attacked the Central government, calling it the “worst case of harassment and political vendetta”, but the BJP denied the charge and said the police was “only discharging its lawful duty”.
