Congress slams IYC arrests at AI Summit, calls detentions ‘illegal’ and anti-democracy ‎

The Congress on Monday strongly criticised the arrest of several leaders and workers of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) during a protest held on the sidelines of the AI Summit, terming the action “illegal” and an assault on democratic freedoms.

‎Senior party functionaries maintained that the Youth Congress activists had organised a peaceful demonstration in a democratic manner, comparable to protests frequently seen at major international events in democracies around the world.

Advertisement

Party general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal condemned the arrests, asserting that dissent cannot be criminalised.

‎“This government forgets that protests are the heart of democracy and not a crime,” Venugopal said.

‎In a post on X, he added, “What our IYC workers did was to bravely expose how the PM is compromised. This was done in a peaceful manner, without any instigation of violence. This detention is completely illegal. We demand that they all be released immediately and all charges be dropped.”

‎The Congress has consistently alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “compromised,” a phrase party leaders said formed the basis of the protest that triggered the arrests. Reiterating the charge on Monday, the party questioned why the Prime Minister was “so afraid of this phrase.”

‎At a separate press conference, several Congress MPs objected strongly to remarks made by the Prime Minister about the party a day earlier, calling them “so indecent that they cannot even be repeated.”

The briefing was addressed by MPs Sasikanth Senthil, Harish Chandra Meena, Captain Viriato Fernandes, Varun Chaudhry, Shreyas M Patel and Anil Kumar Yadav.

‎Reaffirming their position, the MPs said the Youth Congress leaders had merely articulated the party’s political stance. “We said the Prime Minister is compromised. What is the conspiracy in it?” one MP asked, adding that peaceful protests during global summits are a routine feature in democratic nations.

‎The party demanded that the government clarify the basis for the arrests and make public the specific charges against those detained. According to the MPs, IYC activists have been arrested not only in Delhi but also in states such as Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
‎They also alleged that authorities were summoning and harassing family members of certain Youth Congress leaders.

‎Questioning the intensity of the police response, the MPs said the Delhi Police appeared to have “left every other work to run after Youth Congress leaders” for staging what they described as a peaceful and democratic protest.

‎The Congress reiterated that dissent and protest are integral to democratic functioning and affirmed that it would continue to speak out against what it called the government’s “authoritarian approach.”