New Delhi [India], October 10 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Spokesperson and MP Sambit Patra on Saturday launched a blistering attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, terming him a "nalayak neta" and an "anarchist", and accusing him of attempting to drag the President of India into street-level agitation.
Addressing a press conference in the national capital, Patra criticised the remarks made by Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) outside Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday, following a meeting between an INDIA bloc delegation and President Droupadi Murmu over issues concerning the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Patra alleged that Rahul Gandhi's remarks undermined the dignity of the highest constitutional office by seeking to link the presidency with street-level agitation.
"Yesterday a few politicians visited the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The statement of Rahul Gandhi after coming out of the Rashtrapati Bhavan was like that of a 'nalayak neta'... Never before was an attempt made to drag the President into a street protest. But a 'nalayak neta' attempted to do that. The anarchist Rahul Gandhi tried to pull the President of India to anarchism, which he is trying his best to conduct on the streets of India," Patra said.
Earlier, the BJP leader also alleged that some “anarchist forces” had been attempting to create unrest in the national capital over the past few days, but had failed in their efforts on Saturday.
"Jantar Mantar's story is not India's story. What is happening at Jantar Mantar, what you can see on TV and a few social media handles, is not India's story. India is calm and going ahead under good governance. We have been seeing that a few anarchist forces have been spreading anarchy in a corner of Delhi for the past few days. But today the anarchists have failed," he said.
“The flop show of anarchist elements has completely collapsed. There was an attempt to hold India, the national capital, captive; that there be arson here, that there be violence here,” he said.
“Today, ‘loktantra’ has triumphed over ‘bheedtantra’,” Patra added.
Meanwhile, security forces on Saturday detained 1000 demonstrators so far, including content creators, at Dhaula Kuan on the day of the planned Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest in the national capital.
Widespread detentions, intensive vehicle checks and multi-agency deployments were reported across key entry points to prevent demonstrators from reaching the designated protest site.
At Dhaula Kuan, security forces erected heavy barricades and deployed spike strips, while female police personnel were also present to conduct thorough vehicle inspections.
Detailing the ongoing operations and the enforcement of preventive protocols, DCP Kumar Abhishek told ANI, "In view of the protest announced in New Delhi today, preventive checks have been implemented here. Female staff are present, and we are checking all vehicles.
Extensive arrangements have been made to ensure that public order is not disrupted, and a short while ago, we detained some individuals who were planning to participate in today's protest... These arrangements are ongoing; the operation has been continuous since last night and will remain in effect throughout the day."