Family members of the Sonbhadra clash victims on July 20 met Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at the Chunar guest house in Mirzapur district, where she spent a night in detention.
Twelve members of the affected families met the Congress general secretary at the guest house, senior party leader Ajay Rai said.
Ms. Vadra was stopped from going to Sonbhadra and detained on July 19. She spent the night at the guest house, turning down all requests of the local administration to return without meeting the families of the clash victims.
Ms. Vadra consoled the aggrieved family members while sharing their sorrows.
She wiped tears of the family members, and also offered water to them.
Some of them who came to meet her also clicked photos to treasure the moment.
In a late-night tweet, she said she is ready to go to jail if she is not allowed to go ahead.
The second round of talks held between the Congress leaders and local administration late in the night proved futile and Ms. Vadra preferred staying back in the guesthouse along with her supporters, the party sources said on July 20.
Earlier in a series of tweets, Ms. Vadra said Uttar Pradesh government sent ADG Varanasi Brij Bhushan, Commissioner Varanasi Deepak Agarwal and DIG to tell her to return without meeting the victims.
“I have clearly stated that I have come here not to violate any law but to meet the victims,”she said and also posted a video showing the officials leaving Chunar Fort in Mirzapur at 1.15 a.m.
In another tweet, she said that her advocates have told her that her detention is totally illegal.
“They [officials] are sitting with me for around one hour. They did not tell me the ground of detention nor showed any papers,” she said.
The Congress general secretary also shared a video of aggrieved Sonbhadra families mourning the death of their near ones. “Is it a crime to wipe these tears?” she asked in a tweet.
Congress legislature party leader Ajay Kumar Lallu who was with Ms. Vadra told PTI that water and power connections were cut in the night to force the Congressmen to return but they remained at the guest house insisting on permission to meet the victims.
“At around 4.30 a.m., Priyanka Gandhi sat with the party workers. The government had made no arrangements for breakfast at the guest house. Local residents and party workers are making arrangements,” he added.
Cong. workers protest in Jaipur
Congress workers and leaders on Saturday staged a sit-in in Jaipur against the detention Ms. Vadra. Rajasthan Cabinet Ministers B.D. Kalla, Raghu Sharma, Pratap Singh Khachariawas and other leaders of the party participated in the dharna.
What is the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh trying to hide? She was arrested and kept at a guest house. BJP is mocking the democracy which is unacceptable, Health Minister Raghu Sharma told reporters.
State Congress vice-president Archana Sharma and former Mayor Jyoti Khandelwal were also present in the dharna which lasted for nearly two hours.
In Kota, Congress workers took out a protest march against the action on Ms. Vadra.
In Lucknow, Congressmen spent the night at the GPO Park before the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in solidarity with Ms. Vadra.
“We will continue to sit here till Priyankaji is kept in the guest house in Mirzapur and not allowed to meet the victims,” party spokesman Anshu Awasthi said.
Ms. Vadra was on July 19 detained and stopped from going to Sonbhadra where 10 people were gunned down this week, triggering a standoff with the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh.
The administration detained her under 151 CrPC citing prohibitory orders and brought her to the guest house.
