'IB interrogating Bharat Jodo yatris': Congress writes to Centre

New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday wrote to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah alleging "security breaches" in the Bharat Jodo Yatra which entered Delhi on December 24.

Congress general secretary KC Venugopal in his letter said the Delhi Police behaved like "mute spectators" and completely failed to control the surging crowd and maintaining a perimeter around Rahul Gandhi, who is assigned Z+ Security.

Further in his letter to Shah, Venugopal said, "Moving forward. Bharat Jodo Yatra is slated to enter the sensitive state of Punjab and J&K in the next phase starting from January 3, 2022. In this regard, I request you to take immediate steps to ensure the safety and security of Rahul Gandhi, a Z+ protectee and of all the Bharat Yatris and leaders joining the Bharat Jodo Yatra."

The Congress general secretary's letter read, "I invite your kind attention to significant security breaches in the Bharat Jodo Yatra. As Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Delhi, on 24th December 2022, the security of the Bharat Jodo Yatra was compromised on multiple occasions, and the Delhi police completely fail to control the surging crowd and maintaining a perimeter around Rahul Gandhi, who is assigned Z+ Security."

"The situation was so severe that the Congress workers and the Bharat Yatris walking along with Rahul Gandhi had to form the perimeter. At the same time, the Delhi Police remained as mute spectators," Venugopal wrote.

He further claimed that to harass participants and prevent eminent personalities from joining the Yatra, the Intelligence Bureau is interrogating many people who participated in the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

"Moreover, we filed an FIR dated December 23, 2022, at Sohna City Police Station Haryana regarding unknown miscreants, belonging to Haryana State Intelligence, illegally entering Bharat Jodo Yatra's containers in Haryana," Venugopal said.

"The Congress party's two Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi sacrificed their lives for the unity and integrity of the country. The Congress's entire state leadership of Chhattisgarh was wiped out in a Naxal attack in Jiramghati on 25th May 2013," he added.

The Congress leader said according to Article 19 of the Constitution, every citizen has a Constitutional right to assemble and move freely throughout the territory of India, Bharat Jodo Yatra is a Padyatra to bring peace and harmony to the country.

The government should not indulge in vindictive politics and ensure the safety and security of Congress leaders, he added.

The Congress' padyatra which began on September 7 from Kanyakumari, will cover 3,570 km by next year. It is the longest march on foot by any Indian politician in the history of India, the Congress has claimed.

Rahul Gandhi aims to mobilize the party cadre and unite the general public against the alleged "divisive politics in the country".