.png)
Senior AAP leader and former Delhi chief minister Atishi questioned how Rahul was ‘allowed’ to stage a dharna outside the PM's residence, while the Modi government had refused to talk to CJP supporters despite their month-long protest.
Rahul Gandhi physically removed from protest site on Tuesday.The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday took a dig at the Congress' dharna near Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence, calling it a ‘jugalbandi’ with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, and accused Rahul Gandhi of ‘weakening’ the agitation.
Senior AAP leader and former Delhi chief minister Atishi questioned how Rahul was "allowed" to stage a dharna outside the PM's residence, while the Modi government had refused to talk to Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) supporters despite their month-long protest.
"This is amazing! CJP and Sonam Wangchuk: One month protest at Jantar Mantar. Modi govt refuses to talk to them," she said.
Gandhi led a protest on Lok Kalyan Marg, the road that houses the resident of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over poliice crackdown on CJP protest on Monday. Rahul refused to leave the protest despite government sending Union Minister Jitendra Singh to convince him. He demanded resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over NEET paper leaks.
Rahul and other leaders were later detaimed by police.
"Rahul Gandhi: Allowed to protest outside PM residence. In one hour, Modi Govt starts dialogue. Wah! Kya jugalbandi hai!," the Atishi said on X in Hindi.
Earlier, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh accused Rahul of "undermining" the agitation. "Apparently, to undermine CJP's protest, Modi got Rahul Gandhi to stage a protest at his own residence," Singh said in Hindi on X.
Delhi AAP chief Saurabh Bharadwaj also attacked the Congress, alleging that its leaders were silent on the ongoing movement, while their social media handles and influencers aligned to them have been trying to "weaken" the CJP protest.
"Congress's top leaders stay silent on GenZ movement, but their social media and influencers have been trying to weaken the Cockroach Movement from the very first day," he said in a post on X.
AAP has been vocally backing the CJP protest. Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, Atishi, Sanjay Singh and Saurabh Bharadwaj have been to Jantar Mantar many a times. Congress, which had stayed away earlier, also backed the protest later sending senior leaders to Jantar Mantar, the protest site.
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi condemned the alleged police brutality during CJP march and demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah's resignation too.
Who is Kejriwal trying to help, asks Ashutosh
AAP criticism of Congress comes at a time when opposition leaders including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule also jouned Rahul Gandhi at the protest and were detained too.
Interesting !! Arvind Kejriwal is trying to fight with Rahul !!! Whose politics he is doing and whom he is trying to help !!!
Former AAP leader and political analyst Ashutosh slammed AAP for the criticisim. “Interesting !! Arvind Kejriwal is trying to fight with Rahul !!! Whose politics he is doing and whom he is trying to help !!!,” he wrote on X.
Ashutosh said it was 'petty' politics for the AAP to criticise the Congress, arguing that the moment should instead be used to unite against what he described as a ‘totalitarian" regime.’ I wonder why would AAP behave like this at this hour. This shows their petty politics,” he told LiveMint.
About the Author
Gulam Jeelani
Gulam Jeelani is Political Desk Editor at LiveMint with over 16 years of experience covering national and international politics. Based in New Delhi, Jeelani delivers impactful political narratives through breaking stories, in-depth interviews, and analytical pieces at LiveMint since February 2024. The expertise in video production fuels his current responsibilities, which include curating content and conducting video interviews for an expanding digital audience.<br><br> Jeelani also travels during elections and key political events and has covered assembly elections in key states apart from national elections. He has previously worked with The Pioneer, Network18, India Today, News9Plus and Hindustan Times.<br><br> Jeelani’s tenure at LiveMint and previous experience at print and digital newsrooms have honed his skills in creating compelling text and video stories, explainers, and analysis that resonate with a diverse viewership.<br><br> Before moving to New Delhi in 2015, Jeelani was based in Uttar Pradesh, where he worked for five years as a reporter. In 2018, Jeelani was one of the two Indian journalists selected for the Alfred Friendly Fellowship in the US. There, he attended training workshops on reporting and data journalism, and he was attached to the Minneapolis Star Tribune in Minnesota, where he worked as a reporter.<br><br> Jeelani is a Bachelor's in Chemistry and holds a Masters Degree in journalism and mass communication from Aligarh Muslim University. Outside work, he enjoys poetry, cricket and movies.
English (US) ·