After a night of high political drama that saw the arrest and subsequent release of Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi for staging a sit-in in support of farmers, his party on Thursday called for statewide protests against the Uttar Pradesh government.
"The demonstration has been planned primarily to protest against the undemocratic arrests of our leaders, including Rahul Gandhi. During the protests, issues and problems related to farmers, particularly pertaining to their land acquisition, would also be raised by us," Congress spokesperson Subodh Srivastava said.
"After being instructed by the party high-command and other leaders camping in Greater Noida, Congress would hold dharnas in every district of Uttar Pradesh," he added.
Gandhi was arrested late on Wednesday while he was on a sit-in at Bhatta-Parsaul village in Greater Noida to support farmers demanding more money for their land being acquired for a highway project. He was released after being held for about three hours and later returned to New Delhi.
"The arrest of our leaders indicate the autocratic functioning of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) government that makes every effort to gag voices raised against it," said Srivastava.
Riding pillion on a motorcycle Wednesday morning, the Congress scion sneaked into the village - barred to politicians and outsiders, to back farmers agitating for higher compensation for land acquired for the 156-km Yamuna Expressway, which will link New Delhi with Agra.
He spent nearly 18 hours with the villagers before his late night dramatic arrest.
Addressing the agitating farmers earlier, Gandhi said the Uttar Pradesh government's high-handedness made him "feel ashamed to be an Indian".
There was high drama at the Kasna police station in Greater Noida where Gandhi, Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi, Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh and MP Raj Babbar were taken after the arrest at around 11 p.m.
Gandhi was asked to sign a bond after which police said he would be permitted to leave.
He, however, flatly refused to do so, saying he had gone to the village with a purpose and would return there if he was released, Congress sources said.
The police later released Gandhi at around 2 a.m. Thursday, and he was driven back to New Delhi.