‘Gujarat police stopped Rahul Gandhi supporters’

Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. File Pic

Senior Congress leaders from Maharashtra on Monday claimed the vehicles of party workers that were headed towards Surat to extend support to Rahul Gandhi were stopped by the Gujarat police.

Former Maharashtra minister Balasaheb Thorat said several leaders and workers of Congress were asked to pull over, and the Gujarat police ensured they did not make videos. Similar allegations were made by Mumbai Congress president Bhai Jagtap and former Maharashtra minister Yashomati Thakur.

Congress members from various parts of the country tried to reach Surat to support Gandhi who challenged in the sessions court his conviction by a lower court in a criminal defamation case over his "Modi surname" remarks. He was granted bail.

"From Maharashtra also, Congress leaders and workers were going to Gujarat. Gandhi is fighting for the country, fighting for democracy, fighting to save the Constitution," Thorat said in a social media post.

Also read: 87 supporters of Rahul Gandhi including 51 from Maha detained in Navsari on way to Surat

The vehicles of Congress leaders and these workers were stopped, and police ensured they did not capture videos, claimed Thorat. In nutshell, the Gujarat police was ensuring the Congressmen do not reach Surat under any circumstances, and this is condemnable, he said.

"In a democracy, people will gather, they will express their views, but unfortunately their voice is being suppressed," Thorat claimed. Congress MLA Thakur, who was also headed towards Surat, alleged they were being subjected to suppression for extending support to Gandhi.

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