On Monday, June 20 Congress party workers descended upon the railway stations in the national capital as part of their 2-in-1 ‘peaceful’ protest, one against the ED’s questioning of their supremo Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald scam and the other protesting the Central Government’s Agnipath Recruitment Scheme. Chanting anti-government slogans, some of the protesting Youth Congress workers climbed on the trains while some blocked the tracks at Delhi’s Shivaji Bridge railway station.
#WATCH Indian Youth Congress workers stop a train, block railway track at Delhi’s Shivaji Bridge railway station, in protest against the Enforcement Directorate questioning of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the Centre’s #Agnipath recruitment scheme pic.twitter.com/GmguTvPfDl
— ANI (@ANI) June 20, 2022
The Indian Youth Congress (IYC) themselves also took to Twitter to share the video of the ruckus they created at Delhi’s busy Shivaji Bridge railway station.
दिल्ली के शिवाजी ब्रिज रेलवे स्टेशन पर युवा कांग्रेस के साथियों ने अग्निपथ योजना के खिलाफ रोकी ट्रेन।
— Indian Youth Congress (@IYC) June 20, 2022
अग्निपथ स्कीम के खिलाफ देशभर के युवाओं ने भारत बंद का आह्वान किया है। हम देश के युवाओं के साथ हैं।
सरकार मनमानी करते हुए कोई भी फैसला नहीं ले सकती। #AgnipathWapasLo pic.twitter.com/50p6fY5lsW
This seems to be Congress’ latest toolkit to defame the BJP government at the centre. Last year an alleged toolkit claimed by the AICC created an upheaval on social media platforms advocating ways to defame Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India amidst the raging pandemic. OpIndia CEO Rahul Roshan had then weighed in as to why and how the Congress ‘toolkit’ was bad news for them only.
Meanwhile, in the video shared today, the youth Congress workers can be seen atop a halted train while some are seen lying on the railway tracks and chanting anti-Modi slogans. One of the protestors atop the train is seen holding a Congress poster with Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi’s pictures on it. The police personnel and Railway police can be seen trying to remove the workers from the tracks.
According to reports, one protestor was injured in the ensuing ruckus. The Congress workers, however, kept creating nuisance until being lifted away and detained by police at the scene.
“The government of India needs to rollback Agniveer scheme. The Youth Congress will fight for the Unemployed youth of this country who want to serve the country and armed forces,” India Today quoted a Congress protestor as saying.
Interestingly, only yesterday, the Congress had declared that it will hold a ‘peaceful’ 2-in-1 protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar and not even 24 hours have gone by since these Congress Youth workers have reached Delhi’s Shivaji Bridge railway station in large numbers and jammed the railway track. In fact, on Sunday (June 19), the Congress Party organised a ‘Satyagraha’ agitation led by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra against the Centre’s Agnipath Scheme at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar and today they plan to continue with their dual-purpose agitation.
It may be recalled that last week, the Congress workers had sparked mayhem on the streets of Delhi on Wednesday, June 15 to protest against Rahul Gandhi’s summons by ED. The party workers indulged in arson and burnt tyres on the streets of Delhi to protest.
Additionally, the protestors claiming to be Armed Forces aspirants in Bihar and other adjoining states had also indulged in vandalism against the Agnipath scheme. Since Monday, June 13, several videos have emerged where these youths were seen creating nuisance on the streets and vandalising and setting trains on fire in multiple cities.
A video of protestors hurling abusive slurs at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and burning tyres in the middle of the road has surfaced online. Also, videos of youths shouting slogans and vandalising the Ballia-Varanasi Memu and Ballia-Shahganj trains had gone viral. In another video shared by NDTV, Bihar Sampark Kranti Express can be seen set on fire in Bihar’s Samastipur area. The alleged army aspirants vandalised and blocked railway tracks at the Lakhminia railway station in Bihar.
The day prior to that, protestors blocked the movement of trains on Patna-Gaya and Patna-Buxar routes by lying down on the railway tracks in Jehanabad and Buxar districts. The agitators could also be seen throwing stones at the Police, which were controlled by lathi-charge. A train was set on fire in Chhapra too. A similar ruckus also ensued in other states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Prades, and Madhya Pradesh.
Interestingly, evidence has emerged pointing that the violence against the Agnipath Scheme may have been planned and that opposition parties and people with vested interests had been spreading misinformation and provoking youth to agitate against the scheme.
