Jaipur, 17 Dec 2025: A high-intensity protest by the Rajasthan unit of the Indian National Congress turned confrontational on Wednesday as party workers marched towards the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state headquarters in Jaipur to protest against what they called the “misuse of central agencies” in the National Herald case.
The demonstration was launched a day after a Delhi court refused to take cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) money-laundering prosecution complaint against senior Congress leaders including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case, a development that triggered nationwide political reactions.
Led by Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra and Leader of Opposition Tika Ram Jully, hundreds of party workers, MLAs and senior leaders walked from the Congress headquarters towards the BJP office. However, heavy police deployment and barricades near Shaheed Smarak brought the march to a halt, prompting heated exchanges and a physical scuffle between protesters and law enforcement personnel.
Several senior leaders, including Dotasra, Jully and others were taken into custody after attempting to break through barricades, according to multiple accounts. Nearly 100 Congress activists were detained, with a few protesters reportedly sustaining minor injuries during the confrontation.
Dotasra reiterated his party’s stance that the prolonged questioning of Congress leaders by the ED was politically motivated, saying the court’s decision exposed the alleged vendetta politics. Jully sharply criticized the BJP-led government, accusing it of using investigative agencies as tools to intimidate and suppress the opposition.
The protest in Jaipur was part of a series of demonstrations across multiple states, where Congress workers have taken to the streets demanding accountability from the Centre and alleging misuse of constitutional institutions.
BJP leaders and state authorities have maintained that law enforcement agencies operate independently within the framework of the law, dismissing accusations of political targeting.