Stand firmly with 'babbar sher' comrades: Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi: The Congress leadership on Tuesday condemned the arrest of Indian Youth Congress national president Uday Bhanu Chib in connection with some IYC activists staging a "shirtless protest" at the international AI summit here last week. The IYC activists, meanwhile, staged a demonstration against the arrest of their leader.

Maintaining that the arrest of IYC activists was because of them exposing the "truth" about how the government compromised the interests of farmers and textile sector in "the trade deal" with the US, party leader Rahul Gandhi said, "The arrest of Youth Congress president Uday Bhanu Chib and other IYC comrades for bringing this truth before the country is proof of dictatorial tendencies and cowardice. Congress party and I stand firmly with our Babbar Sher comrades. Holding a mirror of truth to power is not a crime, it is patriotism."

Condemning the arrest, party president Mallikarjun Kharge said that "youth across the country are facing joblessness and growing frustration", as he accused PM Narendra Modi of failing to safeguard national interests and claimed that the then BJP leaders too had staged a protest "at the venues" of Commonwealth Games in Delhi.