New Delhi : Hyderabad District Congress Committee leaders intervened and prevented an attempt to burn an effigy of Leader of Opposition Shri Rahul Gandhi outside the Congress headquarters, Indira Bhavan, on Sunday.
According to the Hyderabad DCC, a group of BJP women activists reached the area carrying an effigy of Rahul Gandhi despite extensive police barricading and restrictions around Indira Bhavan.
At the time, Hyderabad DCC President Syed Khalid Saifullah, Bahadurpura Assembly In-charge Rajesh Kumar, Yakutpura Assembly In-charge Ravi Raj, Charminar Assembly In-charge Adv. Mohammed Mujeebullah Shareef, and District Vice President Shailender were coming out of Indira Bhavan.
When the group attempted to burn the effigy, the Hyderabad Congress leaders intervened, took the effigy away and prevented it from being set on fire.
The DCC alleged that police personnel stationed at the spot did not immediately intervene despite the confrontation taking place in their presence. DCC President Syed Khalid Saifullah subsequently approached the police personnel and requested them to step in and deal with the protesters.
The Hyderabad DCC questioned how a group carrying an effigy was able to reach the immediate vicinity of the Congress headquarters at a time when the area was under heavy barricading and even Congress leaders and workers were facing restrictions on movement.
Syed Khalid Saifullah said: “Our question is very simple. When even Congress leaders were being stopped and movement around our own headquarters was severely restricted, how were protesters carrying an effigy allowed to reach Indira Bhavan? And when they attempted to burn it, why did the police personnel present there not immediately intervene? The same policing standards must apply to everyone.”
The Hyderabad District Congress Committee said it respects the democratic right of every political party to protest peacefully, but demanded that the Delhi Police explain the apparent disparity in access and enforcement around Indira Bhavan.
