Mumbai, Oct 1 (IANS): The ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi allies Congress and Nationalist Congress Party on Thursday demanded the resignation of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath following the fracas involving the UP police and Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Terming it as 'jungle raj', top leaders of both the parties attacked Yogi while the Congress staged a protest near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi near Mantralaya this afternoon.
State Congress President and Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat said that the Gandhi siblings who were on their way to Hathras to offer condolences to the gang rape victim's family were stopped and pushed around by the UP police.
"I strongly condemn this repressive behaviour by UP Police. There is utter lawlessness in UP. By stopping them from meeting the family, it is clear that the UP government is backing the accused," Thorat said.
However, he said that the Congress party and all its workers stand behind the Gandhis and are not scared by the BJP's pressure tactics.
NCP President Sharad Pawar attacked the UP police for its "reckless behaviour" towards Rahul Gandhi.
"This is extremely condemnable. It is reprehensible for those who are supposed to uphold the law to trample upon the democratic values in such a manner," Pawar said.
Congress' ex-Chief Minister and PWD Minister Ashok Chavan termed the incident in which Rahul and Priyanka's march to Hathras was stopped by the UP police and the cops pushed around Rahul who fell on the ground "extremely condemnable and a slur on democracy.
"There's been a brutal incident involving a girl in UP. All this proves that there is no rule of the law but 'jungle raj' in UP. The CM Adityanath must take moral responsibility for this and immediately quit," Chavan demanded.
NCP MP Supriya Sule strongly censured the manner in which a fellow MP Rahul Gandhi, who was proceeding to Hathras to seek justice for the victim was treated as "highly condemnable".
"I publicly deplore such instances when the police grab the collar of a person who is going to seek justice from the UP Police for the victim. Whichever state it may be, such a shameful crime must be treated in a fast track manner, that is my demand to CM Adityanath," Sule said.
Thorat added that the party will not be cowed down by the repressive tactics of the UP Government and will continue to agitate till the victim and her family get justice.
Mumbai Congress spokesperson R. K. Trivedi said that the SIT set up by the UP government was a sham and as in many other cases, it was intended "to suppress" the case.
"The mothers, daughters and sisters in UP are being raped and murdered everyday. CM Adityanath has made ruthless use of power unprecedented in the history of Independent India. He must quit forthwith," Trivedi demanded.
On Thursday evening, top Congress leaders staged a vociferous protest near the Gandhi statue in south Mumbai demanding justice for the victim and decrying the manner in which Rahul and Priyanka were treated by the UP Police.
Besides Thorat, former CM Prithviraj Chavan, ministers Amit Deshmukh, Aslam Shaikh, ex-Ministers Naseem Khan, Baba Siddiqui and Anees Ahmed, Mumbai Congress chief Eknath Gaikwad, MLA Zeeshan Siddiqui, party office-bearers Sachin Sawant, Mohan Joshi, Rajaram Deshmukh and many activists were present.