UP govt stops Rahul, Priyanka from entering Meerut, attracts criticism

Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday hit out at the Uttar Pradesh government for not allowing Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to enter Meerut and meet the families of those who died during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Terming it an "uncalled for action", the chief minister slammed the UP government for the "spate of curbs it has imposed on the opposition and citizens protesting against the CAA".

He said Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi were going to Meerut not to protest, but to share the grief of the kin of those killed during the recent anti-CAA protests.

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Strongly condemn the UP govt's decision to stop @RahulGandhi & @priyanakgandhi from travelling into Meerut to meet the families of the victims of the #CAAProtests. What India needs at this moment is a healing touch and not such curbs against opposition parties. #NRC_CAA_Protests, Singh tweeted.

Protest is the democratic right of every Indian citizen but the UP government has been acting "in a draconian manner to crack the whip on protesting citizens as if they were terrorists or gangsters," the chief minister said in a statement issued here.

He said such "extreme reaction" from a democratically elected state government speaks of "vindictive politics against a particular community, which strikes at the very foundation of India's constitutional ethos".

Singh urged the UP government to exercise restraint in dealing with the situation triggered by the anti-CAA protests.

As leaders of elected governments in states, it is our duty to maintain law and order, but the Constitution does not give us the mandate to use excessive violence to counter protests, he added.

The chief minister also urged the people to protest peacefully and not to damage public property.

The citizens need to ensure that they "do not cross the line" and keep their protests peaceful. Damage to national property is not the answer to any problem, Singh said.

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(PTI)