India police register criminal complaint against opposition party leaders over ongoing march News
© India National Congress
India police register criminal complaint against opposition party leaders over ongoing march

India’s Assam state police registered a criminal complaint Wednesday against the leaders of the country’s largest opposition party, the Indian National Congress (INC). The complaint was registered on multiple charges, including damaging public property and assaulting police personnel during the INC’s ongoing Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra cross-country march.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s chief minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, said on X (formerly Twitter) that a criminal complaint had been filed against INC’s former President Rahul Gandhi, general secretary KC Venugopal, head of student wing Kanhaiya Kumar and others for their alleged involvements in “wanton acts of violence, provocation, damage to public property and assault on police personnel.” They were charged under Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.

Gandhi responded to the complaints by saying “Himanta Biswa Sarma is the most corrupt Chief Minister of the country, whose controller is sitting in Delhi. Don’t know … where Himanta Biswa Sarma got the idea that he can scare Rahul Gandhi.”

Director General of Police, Assam Gyanendra Pratap Singh provided further information about the INC’s road event on January 23. He stated that the road event deviated from the approved route and participants were led by senior leaders to forcibly alter the route, although they were allegedly advised to adhere to the alternative security plan. This confrontation with the Assam Police resulted in injuries to police officers and the public.

Last year the INC launched the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra campaign led by Gandhi, which plans to cover 6,700 kilometers from Manipur, India to Mumbai, India. It aims to address social, political and economic injustices in India. Since January 14, the campaign has purportedly focused on justice, transcending political affiliations and combating divisive ideologies.

On January 18, Indian authorities registered a complaint against the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra campaign as it allegedly deviated from its authorized path through Jorhat, Assam. On the same day, the INC issued a show-cause notice to its spokesperson Alok Sharma for making “unauthorized, baseless and defamatory” remarks against former president of Madhya Pradesh, Kamal Nath.

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