Indian Youth Congress (IYC) staged a noisy protest here on Thursday accusing the Modi government of corruption in the Rafale aircraft deal and for ordering the arrests of human rights activists.
Shouting slogans and holding banners, hundreds marched from the Congress headquarters to the Prime Minister’s House alleging that the BJP-led NDA government encouraged crony capitalism through the “Rafale scam”.
Leading the march, IYC President Keshav Chand Yadav said the Modi government had agreed to buy the French fighter jets at a much higher cost than what was agreed to by the previous Congress-led UPA government.
Referring to the arrest of five activists by Pune Police on Tuesday, the IYC leader condemned the Centre for curbing freedom of speech and expression.
Congress leaders including R.P.N. Singh and Hanumanth Rao alleged that the concerns raised by Congress President Rahul Gandhi on the Rafale deal remained unanswered.
“The government is also restricting the media with an iron hand to make sure the irregularities and corrupt practices of the government do not get unearthed,” Singh alleged.
The protesters were stopped by police ahead of the Prime Minister’s residence. Many of them were detained by police.
