Congress to hold massive protests over FIR against Rahul Gandhi: KC Venugopal

Congress is set to organize large-scale protest marches on Monday evening in response to a first information report (FIR) filed against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Uttarakhand. The FIR was lodged by the Haldwani police on Sunday, following Gandhi's address to a press conference in New Delhi, where he demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi issue an FIR against those responsible for the "purification" of a Ramlila ground in Haldwani.

Congress general secretary KC Venugopal condemned the FIR as "shameless weaponisation of the state machinery" aimed at targeting the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. He urged party leaders at the state and district levels to participate in the protests, emphasizing that the Congress will not be intimidated by state-sponsored witch-hunts and will continue to fight for social justice, constitutional equality, and the dignity of every citizen.

Opposition leaders Randeep Surjewala and Jairam Ramesh also criticized the BJP over the FIR, highlighting the incident's discrimination against Dalits and the BJP's double-engine government in Uttarakhand suppressing any action against the accused.