Top Congress leaders sit on 'Satyagraha for unity' at Rajghat

NEW DELHI: The top Congress leadership, led by party chief Sonia Gandhi, sat on a "Satyagraha for unity" at Mahatma Gandhi's memorial Rajghat here on Monday, demanding protection of the rights of people as enshrined in the Constitution.

Top Congress leaders, including former prime minister Manmohan Singh, former party chief Rahul Gandhi and general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, participated in the "Satyagraha".

Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi read out the Preamble to the Constitution of India as part of the "Satyagraha".

The party members also observed a one-minute silence in support of their cause and against the BJP-led government's policies.

Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said the programme was organised to remind the government about the strength of India's Constitution.

"This is to show solidarity with all the students of the country who are agitating for the cause of freedom of speech and expression. The country is going through a very difficult period because of the bad policies of this government.

"Our workers are here to express solidarity with our students, youth and those suffering due to the bad policies of the government, especially those protesting against the amended Citizenship Act," he said.

Congress chief ministers Ashok Gehlot, Kamal Nath and senior party leaders A K Antony, Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mallikarjun Kharge, Anand Sharma, Digvijaya Singh, Mukul Wasnik, K C Venugopal, Meira Kumar, besides Congress Working Committee (CWC) members, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretaries and state in-charges took part in the "Satyagraha".

Some religious leaders were also present.

The leaders and workers of the party, who sat under the shadow of a huge national flag, joined the top leaders in reading out the Preamble to the Constitution.

The party held that in line with the path of non-violence shown by Mahatma Gandhi, it would fight against the "dictatorial" government and to protect the "sacred" Constitution.

The Congress said there was widespread resentment against the recent actions of the government, where people across the country, especially youngsters, were demanding restoration and maintaining the sanctity of the rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

It had also stood in support of the students protesting against the government and the use of "indiscriminate police force" against ordinary citizens in the name of maintaining law and order, the party said, adding that this had led to further worsening of the situation.

The grand old party said it was committed to upholding the principles enshrined in the Constitution and fighting for the continuation, maintenance and safeguarding of the rights of all.

The party was up against the government for using "brute" force against "silent and peaceful" protesters across the country and for "stopping" people from holding demonstrations against the new citizenship law and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), proposed to be implemented across the country, it added.