Priyanka Gandhi slams police action, meets anti-CAA protesters

VARANASI: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday met anti-CAA protesters, who had faced police action at Jauhar Ali Bagh in Bilariaganj area of Azamgarh on February 5, and asserted that raising voice was not a crime in a democracy.
Addressing people in Bilariaganj, Priyanka said: "The government is acting against the Constitution. I will take the matter of Bilariaganj police atrocities to the human rights commission. Women protesting against Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens (NRC) were about to end their agitation but police committed excesses intentionally." She added, "Cops sprinkled water in the park and used force on protesters. BJP is acting against the Constitution and people should raise their voice against it. The new law is not against one community but against the Constitution. I'm with the protesters in their fight against CAA."
Earlier in the day, Priyanka landed at Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport here and proceeded to Bilariaganj by road.
Meanwhile, Congress and Samajwadi Party crossed swords over posters of Akhilesh Yadav, which were put up by an office-bearer of Congress minority cell on February 8, questioning the SP chief's silence over police atrocities on Bilariaganj protesters. The posters claimed that Akhilesh, the MP from Azamgarh, has not visited his constituency since 2019 Lok Sabha elections. SP leader Ram Asre Vishwakarma said their party president would visit Azamgarh and hold a public meeting after the budget session of Parliament.
Refuting Congress's allegations, he said SP workers were in constant touch with the victims and that the party's fact-finding committee had already submitted its report to Akhilesh.
Several women had staged a protest against CAA and NRC at Jauhar Ali Bagh last week but were dispersed by police.