On Tuesday, the Punjab Congress staged a massive protest in Chandigarh to oppose the FIR registered against Rahul Gandhi—the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha—and the arrest orders issued by the Scheduled Castes Commission against Punjab Congress President Amrinder Singh Raja Warring.
A tense standoff ensued between Congress workers and the police outside the Punjab Congress Bhawan in Sector 15 during the protest. Given the situation, a heavy deployment of Chandigarh Police personnel was made at the site. The protest was led by Punjab Congress Working President Dr. Rajkumar Verka. Raising slogans against the Central Government and the Scheduled Castes Commission, Congress workers termed the case registered against Rahul Gandhi an act of political vendetta. Protests were also held against the action taken regarding the alleged ‘purification’ incident in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, and the arrest orders issued against Raja Warring.
During the protest, the police detained Dr. Rajkumar Verka and his supporters. They were taken to the Sector 11 police station and released after about half an hour. Dr. Verka alleged that the Scheduled Castes Commission was functioning like an entity dealing with bonded laborers.
Terming the arrest orders against Raja Warring completely unjustified, he stated that the Commission could not issue such orders while the matter was sub judice in the High Court. Traffic on Madhya Marg was disrupted for nearly an hour due to the protest, and the road had to be closed. The police eventually cleared the protesters and restored the flow of traffic.
