NEW DELHI: Scores of Indian Youth Congress activists staged a protest at Jantar Mantar on Monday against disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha and were detained when they tried to march towards Parliament.
IYC called the protest ‘Unmute Loktantra’ as they claimed that this was their fight to break the silence of the Parliament. They criticised the central government for “silencing” voices of the democratic opposition.
However, the protest was later caught in a controversy after Amit Malviya, BJP’s IT-cell head tweeted a video alleging that IYC president Srinivas BV made sexist remarks on Women and Child Development minister Smriti Irani. Malviya tweeted, “This uncouth, sexist man is President of the Indian Youth Congress… This is the level of discourse, when referring to a woman minister, just because she defeated Rahul Gandhi from Amethi.”
The IYC denied these allegations and called it an attempt by BJP to divert the attention from the protest.
“This is a clear case of misrepresentation, and fabrication of facts and aims to tarnish the image of the organisation,” it said.
“The said speech was made in the context to the various statement made by the BJP leaders in regard to the ‘Inflation’ and ‘Price rise’ when UPA was in power; “Mehangai” was often then quoted as “Dayan” by Opposition BJP leaders. The IYC president has only given references and quoted those speeches made by the leaders of the opposition during the UPA regime who are in government presently,” it added. The detained IYC protesters were taken to the Mandir Marg police station and later set free in accordance with the usual practice.