Priyanka Gandhi Sonbhadra Visit LIVE: Congress Leader Ends Dharna, Says My Mission Is Accomplished

Refusing to furnish a personal bond, Gandhi stayed put at a guesthouse in Mirzapur district where she was taken after she squatted on the road with her supporters, insisting that she be allowed to proceed and meet the victims' families.

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Priyanka Gandhi Sonbhadra Visit: Hours after being detained by Uttar Pradesh Police on Friday in Mirzapur, Congress East Uttar Pradesh General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi is till adamant to meet the families of victims who were reportedly shot dead earlier this week in land dispute case. Refusing to furnish a personal bond, Gandhi stayed put at a guesthouse in Mirzapur district where she was taken after she squatted on the road with her supporters, insisting that she be allowed to proceed and meet the victims' families. Detention of the Priyanka Gandhi leader has triggered a political slugfest between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Uttar Pradesh government and the Congress.In a late-night tweet, she said she is ready to go to jail if she is not allowed to go ahead. The district magistrate and the superintendent of police were talking with her at the guesthouse in Chunar to persuade her against travelling ahead, Deputy Inspector General Piyush Kumar Srivastava told PTI. Chunar sub divisional magistrate Satya Prakash said Gandhi was under preventive detention and had refused to furnish a personal bond.On Twitter, the Congress general secretary said she had been under arrest for the past nine hours. She claimed that the administration has told her that she will be sent to jail for 14 days if she doesn't furnish a bail bond of Rs 50,000. She said she considered paying bail immoral in this situation. If the government wants to put me in jail for the crime of meeting victims, I am totally prepared for that, Gandhi tweeted in Hindi.She was stopped at Narainpur on the Varanasi-Mirzapur road while she was heading towards Sonbhadra. Action has been taken against 151 CrPC and Priyanka Gandhi and other members of the Congress have been stopped from proceeding to Sonbhadra, where prohibitory orders have been promulgated," Mirzapur District Magistrate Anurag Patel told PTI. The Congress leader will not be allowed to proceed for apprehension of breach of peace. If she decides to stay back here we will extend security to her," the DM said.Various Congress leaders including Priyanka's brother Rahul Gandhi, who has resigned as the Congress president, called the police action illegal arrest. As Congress leaders came out in Gandhi's support and party workers held protests against the UP government, Trinamool Congress announced in New Delhi that it too planned to send a delegation to Sonbhadra on Saturday.UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has blamed the previous Congress governments for the dispute that triggered Wednesday's violence, narrating how the piece of land over which the clash took place was bought and sold over the decades. Promising justice, he announced in the state assembly that a sub-divisional magistrate and four policemen have been suspended. Twenty-nine people were arrested, he said.Ten people were killed and 28 injured in the clash between supporters of a village headman, Yagya Dutt, and the Gond tribals in Sonbhadra district's Ghorawal area on Wednesday. Dutt's supporters allegedly opened fire on the tribals.

20/07/2019 13:23:23

Finally after 20 hours of high octane political slugfest, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi has ended her protest against killings of tribals in Sonbhadra land dispute. She said that as she met victims families, her mission is accomplished. The Congress party also announced that Rs 10 lakh would be given to each victim's families.

20/07/2019 13:16:27

The massacre in Sonbhadra shows deeply casteist faultlines that still prevail. This incident reveals how people from the most powerless sections are first victims to the lawless & disruptive elements of our society. The Atrocities Act is put in place to take PREVENTIVE measures from such unjust massacres from taking place. As per law, had the UP govt taken proactive measures to protect the tribal community, this mass murder could have easily been prevented: Jignesh Mevani on Twitter

20/07/2019 13:11:31

Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal has requested the state bodies to protest against illegal stopping of Priyanka Gandhi by UP govt when she went to meet the victims of Sonbhadra massacre through dharna. (Below attached is the letter from Congress leader)

20/07/2019 13:11:41

Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal has requested the state bodies to protest against illegal stopping of Priyanka Gandhi by UP govt when she went to meet the victims of Sonbhadra massacre through dharna. (Below attached is the letter from Congress leader)

20/07/2019 13:06:18

The families after traveling 20km by tractor & then walking 70km to meet GS UP East @priyankagandhi were stopped short of Chunar Fort by the UP Govt for 4 hours. The reign of Ajay Bisht continues to be the most insensitive in memory: Congress tweeted from its official Twitter handle.

20/07/2019 12:59:16

We will raise this issue in the Parliament. Our dharna will continue, but for now we are going to visit the injured in the hospital. We will request the administration to allow us to go to Sonbhadra: Derek O'Brien, TMC outside Varanasi airport

20/07/2019 12:50:42

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala held a press conference in Congress headquarters in Delhi and attacked the ruling BJP government in Uttar Pradesh. He also alleged that CM Yogi Adityanath is trying to protect the culprits and that is why he is not letting Priyanka Gandhi meet the families of the victims of Sonbhadra firing.




He further claimed that the UP administration has converted the entire village into cantonment and government has filed false cases against the poor tribal people of Sonbhadra so that they vacate the lands. He also asked that under which constitutional rule was Priyanka Gandhi stopped from visiting Sonbhadra.

20/07/2019 12:30:10

18 village people came at Chunar all way along from Ubhha village in Sonbhadra. They are family members of those victims. They had come to meet Priyanka Gandhi. When they heard she got arrested, they walked 70 km since yesterday 4 o’clock and walked all over night to meet her. They kept crying for hours after seeing her.

20/07/2019 12:16:29

This govt doesn't want that someone should wipe off victims' tears. Whatever has happened is unconstitutional and undemocratic and it seems as if Uttar Pradesh govt has implemented undeclared emergency to hid its sins and short comings: Pramod Tiwari, Congress

20/07/2019 12:14:38

Hitting out at Priyanka Gandhi's protest in Mirzapur, BJP leader Shehnawaz Hussain said that Congress has lost its political ground and now its wants to politicise the deaths which took place in Sonbhadra. BJP has given conpensation to the victims and has also arrested the accused in the case. What has Congress done or wants to do, he asked.

20/07/2019 11:52:51

Congress delegation meets UP governor Ram Naik and urged him to direct the Yogi Adityanath government to allow Priyanka Gandhi to visit Sonbhadra and meet the families of victims who died in land dispute case. (Image below)

Congress delegation meets UP governor Ram Naik and urged him to direct the Yogi Adityanath government to allow Priyanka Gandhi to visit Sonbhadra and meet the families of victims who died in land dispute case. (Image below)

20/07/2019 11:47:21

The UP government is banking on section 144 to hide its shortcomings pertaining to protection of life and property, and is not allowing anyone to visit Sonbhadra. Even then, the BSP legislature party has been directed to visit the place and extend every possible help to the affected people. Government's laxity was the main reason for this massacre: BSP Supremo Mayawati tweeted in Hindi

20/07/2019 11:35:55

Two relatives of victims have come here to meet me, 15 others are not being allowed to meet me. Even I am not being allowed to meet them. Bhagwan jane inki mansikta kya hai? Aap thoda dawab banayiya, unhe aana dijiye. Mere pichhe pade hain. (Gods knows their {BJP's} mentality. Media must build some pressure and let the victims' families come and meet me. They are after me.): Priyanka Gandhi to ANI

20/07/2019 11:30:08

I believe that they shouldn't politicise the issue , instead they should make sure that the offenders are penalised. In total our department is also working on it and then we will proceed further after the report: Arjun Munda

20/07/2019 11:24:49

The incident is unfortunate. As per the information I have received, state govt is taking action. I think state govt will do unbiased investigation and culprits will be punished: Arjun Munda,Union Minister of Tribal Affairs

20/07/2019 11:21:50

There is a ruckus like situation in Chunar as hundreds of Congress leader and families of Sonbhadra victims arrive to meet detained Priyanka Gandhi. Police force in high numbers are being deplouyed at the spot. There was a slight clash between some Congress workers and Police after Police tried to stop the crowd from moving ahead.

20/07/2019 11:15:07

Family members of the people killed in Sonbhadra firing came to meet Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi in Chunar hours after the later was detained by UP Police and stopped from visiting the incident site citing implementation of Section 144.

20/07/2019 10:55:45

Congress leader Pramod Tiwari has alleged that BJP is not letting Priyanka Gandhi meet the families of victims in order to hide its sins. We would ask the Governor to direct UP government to allow Priyanka Gandhi to visit Sonbhadra. The government is trying to hide the exact situation in Sonbhadra and thus it is trying its best to stop the visit.

20/07/2019 10:42:29

A special Congress party briefing by Randeep Surjewala will take place today July 20, 2019 at 12 noon at Congress headquarters in the national capital. Priyanka Gandhi adamant to meet the families of people who died in Sonbhadra firing on Wednesday.

20/07/2019 10:38:49

According to sources, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, President of Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee Raj Babbar along with some other prominent leaders will join Priyanka Gandhi in Mirzapur soon. No updates on whether Rahul Gandhi will join the protest launched by her sister.

20/07/2019 10:33:52

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi on Saturday once again stressed about meeting the families of people killed in Sonbhadra firings. Speaking to reporters in Mirzapur, Priyanka said that if section 144 is in affect in Sonbhadra then she is ready to go along to meet the families. The Congress leader also alleged that the Police official forced her to return back and did not even showed the order of her arrest.

20/07/2019 10:21:15

Four-member Parliamentary delegation of Trinamool Congress (TMC) has been stopped by Varanasi police at Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Babatpur, ahead of their visit to Sonbhadra.

20/07/2019 10:19:45

Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel to go to Chunar,UP today to meet Priyanka Gandhi, Congress General Secretary for UP East who is on a dharna since yesterday. She was detained in Narayanpur by police y'day while she was on her way to meet victims of Sonbhadra's firing case.

20/07/2019 10:16:07

BJP government fails to prevent Sonbhadra Massacre. BJP government fails to act against guilty.BJP government illegally arrests Priyanka ji for wanting to meet families.

20/07/2019 10:14:06

According to recent update, Congress delegation will meet UP Governor to seek approval for Priyanka Gandhi's visit to Sonbhadra. Even Trinamool Congress (TMC) has extended its support to the Congress party over the issue. TMC leader Derek O'Brien along with other party members who reached Varanasi to join Priyanka Gandhi's protest were held by authorities at the airport.

20/07/2019 10:05:22

According to news agency ANI, four-member Parliamentary delegation of Trinamool Congress (TMC) has been stopped by Varanasi police at Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Babatpur, ahead of their visit to Sonbhadra where 10 people were killed in a land dispute incident on 17 July.

20/07/2019 09:58:07

The Yogi Adityanath government had arrested 29 people and 4 offcials have been suspended in connection with the Sonbhadra firing incident which killed as many as 10 people on Wednesday. A single barrel gun, three double-barren guns and a rifle have been seized.

20/07/2019 08:52:34

Ten people were killed and 28 injured in the clash between supporters of a village headman, Yagya Dutt, and the Gond tribals in Sonbhadra district's Ghorawal area on Wednesday. Dutt's supporters allegedly opened fire on the tribals.

20/07/2019 08:38:12

Congress workers allege deliberate power cut at Chunar Guest House by administration. say, 'They want to trouble Priyanka Gandhi and Congress workers so that we leave the place. But we will spend the night here with candles and continue our protest.'

20/07/2019 08:33:07

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday termed the killing of 10 persons in Sonbhadra as very unfortunate. Addressing a press conference, the Chief Minister assured that strict action would be taken against the culprits in the killing that took place allegedly over a disputed land.

20/07/2019 08:28:31

According to UP administration, action has been taken against 151 CrPC and Priyanka Gandhi and other members of the Congress have been stopped from proceeding to Sonbhadra, where prohibitory orders have been promulgated.

20/07/2019 08:18:58

On Twitter, the Congress general secretary said she had been under arrest for the past nine hours. She claimed that the administration has told her that she will be sent to jail for 14 days if she doesn't furnish a bail bond of Rs 50,000. Uttar Pradesh Congress Legislature Party leader Ajay Kumar Lallu, who was with her at the guesthouse, told PTI: We have clearly said, either let us meet the victims or send us to jail.

20/07/2019 08:17:44

Congress East UP General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi who was detained by Police on Friday on her way to meet families of victimes of Sonbhadra killings is likely to address a press conference shortly. The Congress leader said that she is ready to go to jail but will not back off as her visit to Sonbhadra is completely legal.