Centre conspiring to implicate Opposition leaders in Parliament security breach: Congress

Five of the six people arrested in the case told a court they were allegedly being tortured by the Delhi Police to accept their association with opposition parties.

Former Union minister and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh during an interaction with The New Indian Express team in Bengaluru on 27 April 2023. Express

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Thursday alleged that a "conspiracy" was being hatched by the government to pressure those arrested in the Parliament security breach case to take the names of opposition leaders so that they can be held responsible for the security lapse.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh's attack on the government came a day after five of the six people arrested in the Parliament security breach case told a court here that they were allegedly being tortured by the Delhi Police to accept their association with opposition parties.

In a post in Hindi on X, Ramesh said, "To make false allegations against the opposition to hide his crime is the way of 'Ahankaracharya'!" The Modi government, which has put opposition leaders in jail by misusing the ED, CBI and IT department is now hatching another conspiracy, he claimed.

"Firstly, no action was taken against the BJP MP who gave passes to the youth who intruded in Parliament and 146 opposition MPs who were raising their voices over security lapses were suspended," Ramesh said.

"Now under a conspiracy, those youth who raised their voice against unemployment are being pressured by giving third degree to take the names of opposition leaders," he claimed.

This is being done so that false cases can be made against them and they can be held responsible for the serious lapses in the security of Parliament, Ramesh added.

"Congress's struggle against the 'anyay kaal' of Modi government continues. Let us raise our voice against this unjust government through Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra'," he said.

Five of the accused -- Manoranjan D, Sagar Sharma, Lalit Jha, Amol Shinde and Mahesh Kumawat -- told the court on Wednesday that they were forced to sign about 70 odd blank papers.

"Accused persons were tortured/given electric shocks to sign and confess (to) the commission of crime under the UAPA and their association with national political parties. Two accused persons were forced to write on the paper about their association with the political party/leader of opposition political party," the accused told the court in a joint petition.