Speak up for democracy: UP Police stop Congress leaders’ dharna at Raj Bhavan, whisk away Lallu, others

Five persons led by Uttar Pradesh Congress President Ajay Kumar Lallu and Rajya Sabha MP PL Punia on Monday attempted to stage a dharna in front of the Raj Bhavan in Lucknow, but were whisked away by police.

The policemen deployed at the Raj Bhavan rounded up the Congress leaders as soon as they sat at the entrance to the Governor's House while shouting slogans like "Loktantra ki hatya band karo (Stop murdering democracy)".

They were protesting against Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra's role in the political crisis in the desert state.

The police bundled the rounded-up Congress leaders into a vehicle and took them away.

Meanwhile, the extremely poor show by the party has evoked a strong reaction from within the Congress.

"This is what happens when leaders think that they are the party and do not need anyone else. This is the most shameful show by the Congress in Uttar Pradesh. It would have been better if the so-called dharna had not been staged. Lallu has been repeatedly making a spectacle of himself and lowering the party's prestige in this manner," said a party leader who did not wish to be identified.

UPCC Media Convener Lalan Kumar, meanwhile, claimed that hundreds of party workers were stopped from reaching the Raj Bhavan. He said that the photographs taken earlier showed only a few leaders at the dharna site as other leaders and workers reached there minutes later.