'Disgraceful': Tharoor slams govt over Rahul Gandhi's forcible detention

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said he was horrified by images of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi being manhandled and dragged away into detention, calling the government's response to the protest against the alleged disenfranchisement of 130 million voters "disgraceful".

Tharoor, who could not join the INDIA bloc MPs' march from the Parliament House complex to the Election Commission's (EC) office as he was in Berlin, expressed solidarity with the protesters and said he was confident that justice would prevail.

"Horrified to see the images from New Delhi of the LoP, @rahulgandhi, being manhandled and dragged off to detention," Tharoor said in a post on X.
"At a time when Indian democracy is being ravaged by the disenfranchisement of 130 million (13 crore) voters, to protest is to stand with every citizen whose constitutional rights are being violated," he said.
"The government's reaction is 'disgraceful'," the Thiruvananthapuram MP added.

Tharoor said he was unable to participate in the protest because of a commitment he had made to a conference in Berlin four months ago. "But this is where my heart is. Justice will prevail!!" he said.

Rahul Gandhi was briefly detained along with his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday evening after they and other Congress leaders staged an over-eight-hour sit-in inside the Akashvani Bhawan premises after being denied permission to march to the EC office.

Police forcibly removed Rahul Gandhi and several Congress MPs and leaders, including K C Venugopal, Charanjit Singh Channi, Pawan Khera, K Suresh, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Deepender Hooda, Praniti Shinde, Varsha Gaekwad and Imran Pratapgarhi, as the protesting leaders were cleared from the premises.

Rahul Gandhi and the other detained Congress leaders were released around 10 pm, the party said.
The detainees were taken to the New Police Lines at Kingsway Camp.
(With PTI inputs)