‘Congress under siege’, ‘undeclared emergency’: Senior party leaders on heavy police forces outside AICC headquarters, Sonia Gandhi's residence

New Delhi: After sharing a video of the Delhi Police “blocking” the road to the Congress headquarters, senior grand old party leader Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday (August 3) said the party is “under siege” and called it the “worst form of vendetta politics”. “Congress is under siege. Delhi police has surrounded our HQs, and homes of INC President & ex-President. This is the worst form of vendetta politics. We will not submit! We will not be silenced! We will continue to raise our voice against injustices and failures of Modi Sarkar!” the Rajya Sabha MP wrote on Twitter. 

Earlier today, he had shared a video showing police forces deployed outside the AICC headquarters. "Delhi Police blocking the road to AICC Headquarters has become a norm rather than an exception! Why have they just done so is mysterious...," Ramesh tweeted. 

.@INCIndia is under siege. Delhi police has surrounded our HQs, and homes of INC President & ex-President.This is the worst form of vendetta politics. We will not submit! We will not be silenced! We will continue to raise our voice against injustices and failures of Modi Sarkar! — Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) August 3, 2022

Additional forces of Delhi Police have been deployed outside the Congress office and 10 Janpath - the residence of Sonia Gandhi. "We have received inputs from our special branch that some protesters might gather at the Congress Office situated on Akbar Road. So, as a preventive measure, we have put barricades and deputed our personnel to avoid any untoward situation,” a senior Delhi police officer was quoted as saying by PTI. 

Retweeting Ramesh’s post with a video showing police presence outside Congress headquarters in the national capital, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said in a tweet in Hindi, “Today's action to convert Congress headquarters and 10 Janpath into a police camp is an undeclared emergency. The office of the National Herald (Young India) was forcibly sealed. If the general public does not stand with the Congress against this dictatorial government of NDA, then the whole country will have to bear the brunt of it.” 

कांग्रेस मुख्यालय एवं 10 जनपथ को पुलिस छावनी बनाने की आज की कार्रवाई अघोषित आपातकाल है। नेशनल हेराल्ड (यंग इंडिया) के दफ्तर को जबरन सील कर दिया गया। एनडीए की इस तानाशाही सरकार के खिलाफ यदि कांग्रेसजनों के साथ आम जनता खड़ी नहीं हुई तो इसका खामियाजा पूरे देश को भुगतना पड़ेगा। https://t.co/DnPNLDQQyA — Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) August 3, 2022

The development came after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) today 'temporarily sealed' the premises of the Young Indian Pvt Limited (YIL) in the Congress-owned National Herald office in Delhi. A day before, the ED had raided multiple locations including the National Herald office as part of its ongoing money laundering investigation. 

Meanwhile, Congress leader Ajay Maken said that they have received a letter from the DCP saying they cannot hold the massive nationwide protest on August 5 against price rise and unemployment. The party MPs are slated to carry out "Chalo Rashtrapati Bhavan" from Parliament to register their protest, while CWC members and senior leadership are scheduled to participate in "PM House gherao" on Friday. “Today we received a letter from DCP that we can't protest on Aug 5 & AICC was turned into a Police cantonment. Govt may suppress us as much as they want but we'll protest against inflation, unemployment, GST on edible items & go ahead with our schedule even if jailed,” Maken was quoted as saying by ANI. 

What next for Congress?

The Congress has called a meeting of all Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha MPs at the party Parliamentary Party office on Thursday at 9:45 am to discuss the future strategy. Congress legislators will also give adjournment motion notice in Parliament in the wake of today's developments, ANI reported. 

(With agency inputs)