BJP trying to suppress democracy, says Rahul Gandhi

Outgoing Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused Uttar Pradesh's Yogi Adityanath government of trying to suppress democracy by cutting the electricity and water supply at the Chunar guest house, where his sister and party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi has been detained since Friday afternoon.

In a Facebook post, Rahul Gandhi said: "By cutting the electricity and water supply at the Chunar guest house, where Priyanka Gandhi was detained while she was going to meet the families of the victims of Sonebhadra, the dictatorial Uttar Pradesh government has tried to suppress the democracy. Congress is not scared of these pressure tactics. It will keep on fighting for the Dalits and tribals."

Priyanka was prevented from going to the Murtiya village in Sonebhadra by the district administration and had been detained since Friday at the Chunar Guest House. On Saturday, she met the victims' family members who arrived at the Chunar guest house on the own.

On Friday, Rahul Gandhi described his sister's detention as "disturbing". "This arbitrary application of power, to prevent her from meeting families of the 10 Adivasi farmers brutally gunned down for refusing to vacate their own land, reveals the BJP government's increasing insecurity in UP," he tweeted. IANS