Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s husband Robert Vadra today came out in her defence after the police reportedly, blocked her movement when she was on her way to visit the house of retired IPS officer SR Darapuri in Lucknow, who was arrested for opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). He said that it is not a crime “to be with people in need or in grief.”
On Saturday, Gandhi accused Lucknow police personnel of grabbing her neck and pushing her to the ground while trying to prevent her from visiting the house of 76-year-old Darapuri at Sector 18, Indiranagar.
“The UP police stopped me while I was going to meet Darapuriji’s family. They grabbed me by the neck and manhandled me. They then surrounded me while I was going on a party worker’s two-wheeler, after which I walked to reach there,” news agency ANI quoted Priyanka Gandhi as saying.
Later she rode pillion on a party worker’s scooter and reached her destination.
Vadra took to Twitter and said, “I am proud of you Priyanka for being compassionate & for reaching out to people who need you. What you did was correct & there is no crime to be with people in need or in grief.”
I am proud of you Priyanka for being compassionate & for reaching out to people who need you.
What you did was correct & there is no crime to be with people in need or in grief 2/2 pic.twitter.com/50GYKCx61M— Robert Vadra (@irobertvadra) 29 December 2019
He also shared the video of the incident and wrote, “I am extremely disturbed at the way Priyanka was manhandled by the woman cops. While one held her by the throat, the other woman cop pushed her & she fell down. But she was determined & she travelled on a two-wheeler to meet family members of Former IPS officer SR Darapuri.”
I am extremely disturbed at the way Priyanka was manhandled by the woman cops. While one held her by the throat, the other woman cop pushed her & she fell down.
But she was determined & she travelled on a two-wheeler to meet family members of Former IPS officer SR Darapuri.1/2 pic.twitter.com/xr597Alk9P— Robert Vadra (@irobertvadra) 29 December 2019
Although Lucknow police officer Archana Singh has said that Priyanka was stopped “when she changed her route”. “There is no shred of truth in the claims being made on social media that cops grabbed Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s neck, pushed her,” NDTV quoted Singh as saying in a letter to her seniors and district administration.