Delhi Police stop Congress protest at Red Fort, several leaders detained

Several Congress leaders were detained on Tuesday from near the Red Fort when they tried to march to Town Hall to protest against Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Lok Sabha.

"You should see the plight of democracy in the country. We are doing a peaceful torchlight march. We had discussed about the march with police and commissioners and they agreed. All of a sudden, today, they stopped our workers everywhere," said Congress General Secretary, KC Venugopal at 'Mashal March' by Congress workers.

The Congress on Tuesday announced a protest march from Red Fort to Town Hall against Gandhi's disqualification.

Addressing a press conference, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said "All MPs and leaders of the Congress party will take part in the 'Loktantra Bachao Mashaal Shanti March' from Red Fort to Town Hall at 7pm today."

"In the next 30 days, 'Jai Bharat Satyagrah' will be organised at the block, state and national levels across the country with the participation of party's leaders and workers," he added.

Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha on Friday, a day after a court in Gujarat's Surat convicted him in a 2019 defamation case. The disqualification will prevent Gandhi (52), a four-time MP, from contesting elections for eight years unless a higher court stays the conviction.

A notification issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat said Rahul "stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction i.e. 23 March, 2023 in terms of the provisions of Article 102(1)(e) of the Constitution of India read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951".

Owing to the RP Act and his conviction of two years, Rahul Gandhi cannot contest an election for eight years unless his conviction is stayed or set aside by a higher court. Rahul Gandhi is yet to file an appeal in the defamation case, in which he was convicted and sentenced to two years in jail.

Congress workers in many states and union territories like Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat have been protesting against Rahul's disqualification.