Jaipur, Oct 14 Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and state Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra on Wednesday condemned the alleged assault on NSUI leader Ritu Barala and other women protesters by Delhi Police during a demonstration in the capital.
Reacting to a video of the incident, Dotasra questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statements on respecting women and demanded accountability from Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
“Is this Prime Minister Modi’s ‘Nari Vandan and Nari Samman’? What kind of cruelty and mistreatment is this towards the country’s daughters?” Dotasra said.
“On whose orders did Delhi Police unleash such brutality on our daughters? Will Home Minister Amit Shah take responsibility? Will action be taken against the police personnel responsible?” Dotasra asked.
He further praised Barala and the other women protesters for their courage, saying they were fearlessly fighting to protect the rights granted by B R Ambedkar.
Gehlot described Barala, who hails from Rajasthan, as a “lioness of the Congress” who would not be intimidated.
“Barala was detained during an NSUI protest against vote theft in Delhi on Tuesday and was beaten inside a bus by a woman constable named Chanchal Yadav… She was taken to a police station and hit on the legs with batons,” Gehlot said on X.
“Delhi Police should remember that we will not forget this brutality,” he added.
Gehlot also spoke over a video call with NSUI national president Vinod Jakhar and activists Barala, Athira, Dharmendra Kumar, Samarth, Arjun and Ramit Verma to encourage them following the alleged police excesses.
The Congress-affiliated National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) had staged a protest near Rajiv Chowk Metro station in Delhi on Tuesday, demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over alleged electoral irregularities.
The organisation subsequently called a dharna outside Connaught Place police station, alleging that police had assaulted its women members.
A video circulating on social media purportedly showed a woman activist being pulled by her hair by a woman police constable while being taken onto a bus carrying detained protesters.
(PTI News)
