Congress slams BJP govt for Pawan Khera's arrest, salutes SC for relief

The Congress leadership condemned party spokesperson Pawan Khera's arrest from a plane at the Delhi airport on Thursday. Khera was to travel to Raipur to attend the AICC session when he was arrested. AICC also saluted the Supreme Court for granting him interim relief after the arrest.

AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, among Raipur-bound Congress leaders who staged a dharna at the tarmac after Khera was forced to disembark, said, "the Modi government is acting like a bunch of goons by deplaning Pawan Khera from the Delhi-Raipur flight and preventing him from joining the AICC plenary. Using a flimsy FIR to restrict his movement and silence him is a shameful, unacceptable act. The entire party stands with Pawan ji."

"After half an hour, Delhi Police says they have to hand him over to Assam Police. We asked if there was an FIR, arrest warrant or any document, but nothing was there, only oral orders," Venugopal told PTI. "How can this happen? Has India become a banana republic?"

"BJP is scared since the success of Bharat Jodo Yatra... You saw how they tried to target Rahul ji and others... BJP is still in a state of worry... A few days back ED raided our Chhattisgarh leaders... Same experiment to intimidate us saw three FIRs filed against Khera. SC gave some relief... Our judiciary is still active and alive. Democracy needs a vigilant and independent judiciary," he said.