Indian police detained dozens of lawmakers from the opposition Congress party, including key leader Rahul Gandhi, as they attempted to march Friday to the president’s palace and prime minister’s residence to protest soaring food and fuel prices and an increase in the goods and services tax.
Police also detained hundreds of party supporters inside it headquarters in New Delhi and elsewhere to prevent them from joining the protesting lawmakers, many of whom wore black.
Several women protesters cooked food outside the party headquarters using wood for the fire, saying that cooking gas prices have risen beyond the means of poor and middle-class families.
In New Delhi, police began barricading the Congress party headquarters and homes of party leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday after the party announced plans to organize countrywide protests against the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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