Comparison in social media: Indira arrested in October so is Priyanka
Darpan News Desk IANS, 05 Oct, 2021 10:58 AM
New Delhi/Sitapur, Oct 5 (IANS) Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra being detained in the wee hours of October 4 and finally arrested on Tuesday could be a defining moment of Indian politics, claim Congress leaders as the coincidence is that Indira Gandhi too was arrested on October 4 in 1977.
Comparisons are on in social media whether this arrest could change the Congress fortunes as after Indira Gandhi's arrest and later in the election in 1980 the Congress returned with a thumping majority.
From her detention Priyanka said, "Modiji, Namaskar... Maine suna hai ki azadi ka amrit mahotsav manane aap Lucknow aa rahe hain, mein aap se pooch na chahti hun ki aapne ye video dekha hai, aapki sarkar ke ek mantri ke bete ne kisano ko kuchal diya, is video ko dekhiye aur desh ko bataiye ke is mantri ko barkhast kyun nahi kiya gya aur is ladke ko giraftar kyun nahi kia gya. (I have heard that you are coming to Lucknow to celebrate 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav'. I want to ask you that have you seen the video. The son of one of your cabinet ministers has crushed the farmers. Watch this video and tell the country why hasn't the minister been dismissed and why hasn't this boy been arrested)."
Indira Gandhi was going to meet victims of Belchi and Priyanka Gandhi was also trying to meet the families of the victims of Lakhimpur Kheri but was not allowed.
Indira Gandhi was arrested along with four others, K.D. Malaviya, H.R. Gokhale, P.C. Sethi and D.P. Chattopadhyaya.
Indira Gandhi at that time had said that her arrest was political. "I have tried to serve our people and our country to the best of my ability. No matter what the charge or charges now made against me, this arrest is a political one. It is to prevent me from going to the people," Indira Gandhi was quoted as saying.
At that time Indira Gandhi was an opposition leader and had lost the general election post the emergency but was not as weak as the Congress is now. The party has lost two consecutive general elections and the Gandhis are facing internal resistance from senior leaders.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday said it is not correct to say that the third Covid wave will affect children as in the two waves till now children were relatively less infected.
Most experts believe India’s official toll of 414,000 dead was a vast undercount, but the government has dismissed those concerns. A report released Tuesday estimates excess deaths to be 3 million to 4.7 million between January 2020 and this June.
Rejecting all opposition to his elevation, Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi appointed Navjot Singh Sidhu as the party's new Punjab unit President along with four Working Presidents.
Calling the reports of alleged snooping on prominent citizens using Israeli Pegasus spyware as "baseless", the ruling BJP on Monday said there is not a single shred of evidence so far that links either the central government or the party to this controversy.
Congress MPs from both Houses had met on Sunday afternoon at Rajya Sabha member Pratap Singh Bajwa's residence to discuss the issues related to Punjab and sought an appointment with Gandhi.
Apart from reviewing the security arrangements in the national capital, the Delhi Police have also strengthened the security in and around the Red Fort ahead of the Independence Day.
