New Delhi: A planned protest by the Uttar Pradesh Congress against the Yogi Adityanath government ended with the detention of several party leaders, including state chief Ajay Rai and state in-charge Avinash Pande and the death of a worker on Wednesday.
According to the sources, a Congress worker died from injuries sustained during a protest outside the state assembly. Congress workers claimed that the UP police had reportedly installed sharp nails on the ground in an attempt to deter demonstrators.
The slain Congress worker, who had travelled from Gorakhpur to take part in the assembly gherao, was declared dead at the Civil Hospital, where he had been rushed for medical attention.
The Congress’s attempt to besiege the state assembly during the ongoing Winter Session was thwarted by a heavy police presence and stringent security measures in Lucknow. “We will throw out the Yogi government from power in 2027,” Rai told reporters after he was detained.
The Congress’s protest aimed to highlight what it called the state government’s failures on various fronts, farmer distress, unemployment, inflation, privatisation and deteriorating law and order in the state. The party’s efforts to reach the assembly were met with huge resistance by the law enforcement agencies. Barricades were erected around the assembly premises and traffic diversions severely hampered movement in the city centre.
“The issues affecting farmers, unemployed youth, inflation, and the worsening law and order situation in the state are being overshadowed. The BJP seeks to create religious and caste-based divides to divert attention from their failures. Despite these hurdles, our fight will continue, and we will try to reach the Assembly,” Pande told reporters.
The police invoked Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), citing concerns about public order, to prevent the Congress workers from proceeding beyond their party office on Mall Avenue. Despite attempts by party leaders to lead a march towards the assembly, a substantial police force successfully blocked their advance. The confrontation lasted approximately four hours, culminating in the detention of Rai, Pande, and numerous other party members.
The detentions drew strong criticism from the Congress. Rai condemned the BJP government’s response to recent violence in Sambhal. Pande emphasised the importance of addressing the crucial issues affecting the state’s public, asserting that the BJP’s divisive tactics were a distraction from its failures.
Inside the assembly, Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader Aradhana Mishra ‘Mona’ accused the government of stifling democratic dissent and suppressing peaceful protest. While Speaker Satish Mahana acknowledged the CLP leader’s rights, he emphasised that she did not have the right to disrupt the assembly’s proceedings. The Samajwadi Party also voiced concerns, citing its own experiences with restricted access to protest sites, including a blocked visit to Sambhal after recent violence.
“What is the protest today for? It is unnecessarily spreading anarchy.” Leader of Opposition and Samajwadi Party lawmaker Mata Prasad Pandey said in a democracy everybody has the right to protest and alleged that the government is adopting tactics that weaken democracy.
“When we wanted to go to Sambhal, we were not allowed to go there,” Pandey added.
The Congress characterised the police action as a blatant violation of fundamental rights, drawing parallels to the historical fight for democratic freedoms. They argued that their peaceful protest was a moral imperative to hold the government accountable for what they saw as widespread failures in governance. The heavy-handed response to the Congress protest, they claimed, underlined a pattern of suppression of dissent in Uttar Pradesh under the current BJP government.
“As a national party, it is not just our right but also our moral responsibility to demand accountability. However, look at what’s happening — raids at our party offices, barricades, and barbed wires to stop us from peaceful protests. Is this democracy? “Even peaceful protests are now met with suppression. This violates the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution by Babasaheb Ambedkar,” she said.
