Nobody can stop me from standing beside Sonbhadra victims: Priyanka Gandhi hours after being detained

Hours after being detained from the Narainpur village in Uttar Pradesh's Mirzapur district, Congress general secretary, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday issued a stern message to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying no one can stop her from standing beside the Sonbhadra victims.

In a hard-hitting Twitter post, the younger Gandhi said, "Uttar Pradesh government's duty is to detain criminals. My duty is to stand beside the crime victims. BJP is unable to curb crime in the state but is preventing me from doing my duties".

"No one can stop me from standing in support of the victims. Please stop the crime!," the Congress leader wrote in Hindi.

उत्तर प्रदेश सरकार की ड्यूटी है अपराधियों को पकड़ना।

मेरा कर्तव्य है अपराध से पीड़ित लोगों के पक्ष में खड़े होना।

भाजपा अपराध रोकने में तो नाकामयाब है मगर मुझे मेरा कर्तव्य करने से रोक रही है।

मुझे पीड़ितों के समर्थन में खड़े होने से कोई रोक नहीं सकता।

कृपया अपराध रोकिए!

— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) July 19, 2019

READ | Priyanka Gandhi detained on way to Sonbhadra: 'Don't know where are they taking me'

Earlier in the day, Gandhi and other Congress members were "stopped and detained" at Narainpur while they were on their way to Sonbhadra where 10 people were gunned down during a clash between supporters of the village head and Gond tribals over a piece of land early this week.

Priyanka landed in Varanasi and met the injured at the BHU Trauma Centre before making her way to Sonbhadra, about 80 km away. The Congress general secretary UP (East) was stopped on the Varanasi-Mirzapur border and was reportedly taken to the nearby Chunar guesthouse after she sat on 'dharna'.

Back in Delhi, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi termed the action against his sister "illegal arrest", adding that "This arbitrary application of power reveals the BJP government's increasing insecurity in UP".

The illegal arrest of Priyanka in Sonbhadra, UP, is disturbing. This arbitrary application of power, to prevent her from meeting families of the 10 Adivasi farmers brutally gunned down for refusing to vacate their own land, reveals the BJP Govt’s increasing insecurity in UP. pic.twitter.com/D1rty8KJVq

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 19, 2019

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Senior party leader Jyotiraditya Scindia also hit out at the Yogi Adityanath government for stopping Gandhi from proceeding to Sonbhadra, saying the action was "open disrespect" of democracy.

"Meeting families of victims and expressing condolences is the responsibility of public representatives. The government has attempted to crush democracy which is highly condemnable," Scindia tweeted.

उत्तर प्रदेश की सरकार द्वारा प्रियंका गांधी जी (@priyankagandhi) को सोनभद्र जाने से रोकना खुलेआम लोकतंत्र का अपमान है। पीड़ित परिवार से मिलना और संवेदना व्यक्त करना हर जनप्रतिनिधि का प्रथम कर्तव्य है; ऐसे में सरकार ने लोकतंत्र को कुचलने का प्रयास किया है जो अत्यंत निंदनीय है। pic.twitter.com/qLOvHTTKsy

— Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) July 19, 2019

"By arresting Priyanka Gandhi, keeping her in Chunar, will the UP government be able to cover up the killing of 10 people of a tribal family in Sonbhadra?" Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asked in a tweet.

उत्तर प्रदेश सरकार की ड्यूटी है अपराधियों को पकड़ना।

मेरा कर्तव्य है अपराध से पीड़ित लोगों के पक्ष में खड़े होना।

भाजपा अपराध रोकने में तो नाकामयाब है मगर मुझे मेरा कर्तव्य करने से रोक रही है।

मुझे पीड़ितों के समर्थन में खड़े होने से कोई रोक नहीं सकता।

कृपया अपराध रोकिए!

— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) July 19, 2019

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When prodded about the incident, UP Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma said, "Whether it is the ruling party or the opposition, everyone's collective responsibility is to ensure that the situation does not aggravate further.

"The opposition should help the government in building bonhomie among the people," Sharma added.