‘Ready to go to Jail,’ Priyanka Gandhi is Upping The Ante Against UP Govt Over Sonbhadra Incident

Sitting in the dark at a guest house in UP, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has challenged the UP government to arrest her if meeting the families of those killed in land dispute is a crime.

New Delhi: In a steady escalation of affairs, the guest house in Chunar, where Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is staging a dharna, is reeling under a blackout due to a power cut.

This move comes in the middle of continuous efforts from the state machinery to scuttle Congress’ bid to reach out people in distress in the UP since morning.

Earlier in the day, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was stopped from visiting members of 10 tribal families, including three women, who were killed in broad daylight in Sonebhadra over a land dispute on July 17.

In a series of tweets in Hindi, Vadra elaborated, “UP authorities are telling me that I have to pay Rs 50,000 for my bail or else I will be sent to jail for 14 days. They say that I will not be allowed to meet the families of those killed in the land dispute, at any cost.”

मैंने न कोई क़ानून तोड़ा है न कोई अपराध किया है।बल्कि सुबह से मैंने स्पष्ट किया था कि प्रशासन चाहे तो मैं अकेली उनके साथ पीड़ित परिवारों से मिलने आदिवासियों के गाँव जाने को तैयार हूँ या प्रशासन जिस तरीके से भी मुझे उनसे मिलाना चाहता है मैं तैयार हूँ

— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) July 19, 2019

She added, “I want to meet the kin of those killed and the state government is free to do whatever they feel like doing in this regard.”

अगर सरकार पीड़ितों से मिलने के अपराध के लिए मुझे जेल में डालना चाहें तो मैं इसके लिए पूरी तरह से तैयार हूँ।

— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) July 19, 2019

HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED EARLIER IN THE DAY

When Priyanka Gandhi Vadra proceeded towards Sonebhadra on Friday, her convoy was stopped on the Mirzapur border. A defiant Gandhi then squatted on the grounds with Congress workers and was later taken away in a government vehicle to Chunar.

She told reporters, “I don’t know where are they taking me. We are ready to go anywhere.”

Gandhi asked the officials for written orders on why she was being prevented from going to Sonebhadra. Before being taken to Chunar, Priyanka Gandhi said that she would not be cowed down by the police action which she argued had no legal basis.

Soon after the Congress condemned the Uttar Pradesh government for detaining its leader Priyanka Gandhi when she was going to meet the kin of those killed in caste violence in Sonebhadra district.

Addressing the media, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said, “Uttar Pradesh has become ‘Aparadh (crime) Pradesh’ under BJP rule. The Yogi government is now infamous for all crimes that happen in the state, be it murder, atrocities against women, robbery.”

“There is complete lawlessness in Uttar Pradesh,” Surjewala added.

With IANS inputs