Is Section 144 Not for Amit Shah? Congress Questions Home Minister's Lucknow Rally

Lucknow: Accusing Union Home Minister Amit Shah of "speaking the language of a dictator", the Uttar Pradesh Congress on Tuesday objected to his rally held here and sought to know why prohibitions under section 144 of the CrPC were not valid for him.

"Virtually soaked in pride of being in power, the country's Home Minister is speaking the language of a dictator. Why is section 144 not for him?" UP Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu asked in a statement.

"On one hand the state government is registering cases against the women who are protesting in Lucknow against the CAA and NRC, while on the other hand the state government, the police and the administration despite imposition of section 144 of CrPC is organising the rally of the Union Home Minister under full security. The Congress and the people of the state will not tolerate this dual law," he said.

Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, prohibiting gatherings of four or more people, was imposed in Uttar Pradesh in December last year following protests against the CAA is various parts of the state.

Stressing that the Constitution allows the opposition to put forward its views, Lallu also sought to know when will Shah speak on issues such as women's safety, law and order, rising prices, rising electricity rates, the DHFL scam, corruption, unemployment and the sinking economy.

"Amit Shah is insulting the mandate," Lallu said.

Referring to Shah's comments on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the grand old party's UP chief said, "Pakistan flows in the blood of the BJP and people believing in the ideology of RSS. It is for this reason that they frequently refer to Pakistan".

Putting up a brave defence for Rahul Gandhi, Lallu said, "Rahul Gandhi has been raising his voice from time to time on failures of the government and on issues of public interest, and will continue to do so".

In the statement, Lallu also said, "The Union Home Minister's statement is to mislead the public. A large chunk of the society feels that it will be isolated and discriminated against due to this law, which our Constitution does not allow. The government has to make improvement in this law. Till then, the Congress will be supporting the fight of the common public."