Nagaland Pradesh Youth Congress members protesting outside the Kohima Raj Bhavan on June 16. (Morung Photo)
Morung Express News
Kohima | June 16
The Nagaland Pradesh Youth Congress (NPYC) on Thursday staged a protest in the state Capital against the questioning of Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case linked to the National Herald newspaper. Under the banner of Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC), the protest was held outside Kohima Raj Bhavan premises on June 16.
Speaking at the protest, Ranajit Mukherjee, AICC Secretary, AICC Member, WBPCC updated on the incident where the leader of the Congress Party Rahul Gandhi has been questioned three days straight “in a case that does not even exist, in an ED case that does not even have FIR filed.”
Mukherjee noted that 144 CrPC has been imposed in the Congress headquarters in Delhi and Congress party workers are not even allowed to enter their own office.
“If this can happen to the largest opposition party in the country, imagine where this could go tomorrow. Our MPs has been harassed. Our senior leader Chidambaram has a fractured rib. Is this the behaviour one creates towards the largest opposition party of the country when it has been peacefully protesting?” Mukherjee questioned.
Highlighting on the case, Mukherjee mentioned that the Associated Journals Limited (AJL) by Young Indian, publishes the National Herald, a newspaper that fought alongside freedom fighters during the freedom movement. The National Herald was started by Jawaharlal Nehru which was banned by the British during the Colonial era.
“This is a democracy. We have a right to protest. However this fascist government is taking away the right to protest. Which is why the Nagaland Congress from Dimapur, from Kohima and the other districts have gathered here in front of Raj Bhavan to protest against the Modi Sarkar and to stand in solidarity with Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi,” added Mukherjee.
He asserted that the case is an attempt to strike fear in the people, however, across the country, people are gathering together in support of Congress and Rahul Gandhi.
“And the more they try to scare, the more they try to enter our office, the more they try to attack our leaders, the stronger our struggle goes to tackle the menace of fascism,” affirmed Mukherjee.
Mukherjee also remarked that the ensuing case is “actually unprecedented” and is an attempt by the Government to distract the country from its failures.
“The GDP Growth has totally tanked. We are looking at record unemployment. We are looking at record inflation right now. Rural inflation is really high. We have just come at the bottom of the world environmental index. On every developmental parameter, on every socio-economic parameter India is tanking right now. This entire incident is to distract the country to shift the focus from what is going wrong in the country,” he added.
Meanwhile, NPCC Working President, Khriedi Theünuo expressed anger over the BJP government allegedly “harassing and attempting to silence the leaders” associated with the National Herald, a paper that has been involved in the struggle of Indian Independence. “And today we can see that the BJP want to silence the people who are associated with the freedom struggle, the people who are highlighting the failures and injustices of the present government,” said Theünuo.
“When our leaders have been harassed, the Congress Party in Nagaland can never remain silent so long as they try to harass our leader Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. We in Nagaland will continue our agitation till the ED stop the harassment and investigation,” added Theünuo.
