NEW DELHI: Delhi Police detained scores of Congress supporters on Tuesday after they took to the streets in Delhi to protest over the National Herald case.
Members of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) and the National Students Union of India , besides activists from the Delhi Congress, were among those who marched from Teen Murti Marg to 7 Race Course Road, the Prime Minister's official residence.
The protest came in the wake of a Delhi court order to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, vice president Rahul Gandhi and others to appear before it on December 19 in connection with the National Herald newspaper case.
Terming it a "political vendetta" of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the protestors said the charges against the two Congress leaders were "manufactured".
Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Ajay Maken said: "The BJP is using government agencies to target the Congress. They are doing vendetta politics and we'll continue with our protests."
"The BJP is levelling allegations against our leaders. Summons don't mean they are convicts. We respect the court order and they will appear before a Delhi court on December 19. A few months ago one of their (BJP) chief ministers said (Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law) Robert Vadra will be in jail soon. How can they make such remarks unless he is proven guilty?" Youth Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said.
"(Prime Minister Narendra) Modi-ji now can't silence dissent like he did in Gujarat; we will not sit quiet," said another Congress leader, Arvinder Singh Lovely.
Congress leader Amrita Dhawan said: "The charges against our leadership are manufactured. They (BJP leaders) are just trying to defame the Congress. We have the highest respect for the judiciary. Out leaders will appear before the court. Regarding parliament proceedings, the party leadership will decide. But we'll protest on the streets because this is an attack on our leaders."
"There are so many important judicial proceedings pending in the courts. Why isn't (BJP leader) Subramanian Swamy taking them up? Why is he only after the Congress? It is a vendetta of the Bharatiya Janata Party," she said.
Earlier during the day, proceedings in both houses of parliament were disrupted following ruckus by Congress parliamentarians over the case.
A court here on Tuesday asked both the Congress leaders and other accused in the case to appear before it on December 19 in connection with a complaint filed by Swamy in the National Herald newspaper case.
The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed the plea of the Gandhis to quash a trial court summons to them on Swamy's complaint regarding the acquisition of National Herald, and asked them to appear before the trial court on Tuesday.