Agartala, May 18:Members of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) in Tripura staged a protest in Agartala on Sunday against the alleged obstruction created by Bihar Police under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s recent visit to Bihar.
The demonstration was triggered by an incident in Darbhanga district, where Gandhi was reportedly stopped from meeting students from backward castes at the Ambedkar Hostel. His planned interaction as part of the ‘Shiksha, Nyay Samvad’ outreach was subsequently rescheduled.
Protesters accused the BJP-JDU government of suppressing Gandhi’s voice, which they described as that of the marginalized and backward communities.
Tripura Youth Congress president Neel Kamal Saha condemned the Bihar government’s actions, terming them an assault on democratic rights and social justice. “This protest was organized to oppose the move to silence Rahul Gandhi, who speaks for the poor and backward people,” Saha said, as effigies of PM Modi and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar were burned during the protest.
The protest comes in the wake of two FIRs filed against Rahul Gandhi and over 100 Congress workers for allegedly holding the programme in Darbhanga without official permission.
Defending the Congress leader, the IYC president referred to Gandhi as a “Nyay Warrior” and warned that legal intimidation would not deter the fight for justice.