NEW DELHI (AFP) – India's ruling Congress party reacted with fury Thursday after police arrested senior leader Rahul Gandhi, widely tipped as a future prime minister, as he took part in protests by farmers.
The 40-year-old scion of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty and son of Congress party president Sonia Gandhi was briefly taken into custody Wednesday night after he joined farmers protesting against the construction of a highway.
On Thursday, other senior political leaders trying to join the protest, including Arun Jaitley and Rajnath Singh from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), were also detained by police, reports said.
The arrest of Gandhi in Uttar Pradesh has further poisoned relations between the state's firebrand leader, chief minister Mayawati, and the Congress party, which fiercely protects its young leader's image.
"How can the state government arrest Rahul Gandhi? He is fighting for the farmers and that is not a crime," said Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi in New Delhi.
"The state government of Uttar Pradesh is greedy for farmlands. They are attacking farmers, killing people, destroying crops. We will not let this happen," he told AFP.
Gandhi, an Uttar Pradesh MP, was detained because of fears a rally he planned to hold on Thursday would turn violent, the local government said. He was escorted to the capital and freed at about 2:00 am.
Despite the public anger, Gandhi's smiling face as he was driven away by police was captured on most newspaper front pages Thursday and the arrest might further burnish his leadership credentials and popularity.
"You are not recognised as a political leader in India till you are arrested," said Sanjay Kumar, a political analyst at the Centre for the Developing Societies think-tank in New Delhi.
"Getting arrested is like receiving a medal for any politician. It is their dream to lead a popular movement, stage protests, garner mass support."
The Congress party, which still benefits from its legacy as India's independence-era political party, held protest rallies against Mayawati, a populist low-caste leader who has clashed before with the Gandhis.
Mayawati's government had sought to restrict access to the Bhatta and Parsaul villages on the outskirts of New Delhi where farmers and police battled at the weekend, leaving three people dead.
Gandhi, who has built his image as a champion of the poor, sneaked into the area riding pillion on a motorbike in the early hours of Wednesday. Before his arrest, he spoke with farmers and denounced the local government.
The rising political star is the great-grandson of India's independence prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, grandson of late former prime minister Indira Gandhi and son of late former premier Rajiv Gandhi.
The farmers have been agitating for more than 100 days to demand higher compensation for land acquired as part of a project to build a 165-kilometre (100 mile) expressway between New Delhi and Agra, home to the Taj Mahal.
The Yamuna Expressway aims to reduce driving time between the two famous Indian cities to 90 minutes from its current four hours.
"The entire episode is just a cheap stunt by the Congress. They are trying to disrupt law and order and they have no right to do so. Farmers have been given compensation," Mayawati told reporters on Thursday.
"Rahul Gandhi or rather the 'Yuvraj' (prince) of the Congress party is indulging in dramatics," she said.
Land acquisition for roads, factories or other development is a controversial issue across India.
An editorial in The Hindu newspaper Thursday noted that land acquisition was often exploited by opposition parties ahead of local polls.
"With just a year left for the assembly election, the opposition obviously wants to trip up chief minister Mayawati on the farmers issue, denting her image as a champion of social justice," it said.
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