Congress leaders, workers stage dharna in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad, June 13 (IANS) Hundreds of workers and leaders of the Congress party on Monday reached Ahmedabad in solidarity with Rahul Gandhi and sent a strong message to the ruling party, that their arm-twisting tactics will not "demoralize or discourage party workers," said Jagdish Thakor, president of the Gujarat Congress.

A small group of women were chanting slogans like, "Woh Rahul se darte hai, isliye Police ko aage karte hai" (They are afraid of Rahul Gandhi and so they abuse power by using police force against opposition parties and leaders).

Citing this example, former leader of the opposition Paresh Dhanani said that this is the morale of party workers, and that the ruling party's dirty tricks are not going to work, "Today, hundreds of workers have gathered. If required will not hesitate to come to streets against abuse of power."

The party has planned to march from the Gujarat Convention centre to the Directorate of Enforcement office (ED), which is about a kilometre away from the convention hall, but the city police have deployed a huge force and set up barricades to stop the march from reaching the ED office. Party leaders have also planned to stage dharna till Rahul Gandhi is being questioned by the ED officers in Delhi. Only when he returns home, will the party conclude dharna, said party sources.