Hyderabad: Telangana Youth Congress leaders led a fiery protest at Gandhi Bhavan on Saturday, torching effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in retaliation to what they allege is a politically motivated FIR against Rahul Gandhi.
The protest was organised under the leadership of state Youth Congress president Jakkidi Shiva Charan Reddy. Slogans of “Modi down down” and “Nitish Kumar down down” rang out as party workers condemned the BJP government’s crackdown on the Congress MP.
The flashpoint: Rahul Gandhi was reportedly blocked by central forces from meeting Dalit students at a hostel in Darbhanga, Bihar. Following the incident, an FIR was filed against him an act the Youth Congress slammed as unlawful and vindictive.
Speaking to the media, Jakkidi Shiva Charan Reddy accused the Modi government of resorting to intimidation tactics out of fear over Rahul Gandhi’s growing public support.
“They’re rattled. Modi’s government cannot tolerate the kind of response Rahul Gandhi is receiving across the country,” he said. “No amount of FIRs or conspiracies can erase the connection he has with the people.”
He warned that the public will soon deliver a decisive message to what he described as the “communal BJP regime.”
Senior state Youth Congress vice-presidents, general secretaries, district presidents, and local leaders from multiple constituencies joined the protest, making it a show of organisational strength as much as political dissent.
లోక్ సభ ప్రతిపక్ష నాయకులు ఎంపీ శ్రీ రాహుల్ గాంధీ గారికి ప్రజల్లో వస్తున్న ఆదరణ చూసి ఓర్వలేని మోడీ సర్కార్.
బీహార్ రాష్ట్రం దర్భంగాలో అంబేద్కర్ హాస్టల్లో దళిత విద్యార్థులను రాహుల్ గాంధీ గారిని కలవనీయకుండా కేంద్ర పోలీసు వ్యవస్థను అడ్డుపెట్టుకొని రాహుల్ గాంధీ గారి పై అక్రమ… pic.twitter.com/XGd8DX7pDM
— Telangana Congress (@INCTelangana) May 17, 2025
