Imphal, February 26 The Manipur Youth Congress on Thursday demanded the immediate release of IYC president Uday Bhanu Chib, who was "unreasonably" arrested following a protest without shirts at the AI Summit in New Delhi last week.
A total of 11 people, including Chib, have been arrested so far in connection with the protest without shirts at Bharat Mandapam on February 20.
Speaking at a press conference here, Manipur Youth Congress spokesperson Ningthoujam Popilal said, "The BJP-led government has unreasonably detained members of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) for a peaceful protest at the AI summit in New Delhi. Several cases have also been wrongly registered against them.”
Responding to the BJP's charge that the IYC had embarrassed India in front of 108 countries, Popilal claimed that BJP members had staged protests at a Commonwealth Games venue in 2010 when the Congress-led UPA was in power at the Centre.
"The Congress never sold the country. It is the BJP which is selling the nation. A Chinese robot was presented as an invention of India. The Youth Congress protested against those theatrics," he said.
"We also demand the immediate release of the arrested Indian Youth Congress president," he added.
Chib, and former IYC national spokesperson Bhudev Sharma were arrested in connection with the case on Tuesday. Both were subsequently produced before a Delhi court and remanded to police custody for interrogation.