Chidambaram 'pushed by cops' during Congress protest, rib fractured

Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister P Chidambaram suffered a fracture in his left rib after he was pushed away by Delhi Police during the party's protest in support of Rahul Gandhi who was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the National Herald case, said the party on Monday.

The Congress party organised a 'Satyagrah' march against the government and in support of Gandhi across the country in which many party leaders were detained during the day by the police.

According to the sources, Chidambaram has consulted a doctor who advised him to take rest and medication.

The Congress leader, however, is not hospitalised and is under observation at his residence.

'When three big, burly policemen crash into you, you are lucky to get away with a suspected hairline crack! Doctors have said that if there is a hairline crack, it will heal by itself in about 10 days. I am fine and I will go about my work tomorrow,' he tweeted.

This comes after Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who was detained by the Delhi Police on Monday during the 'Satyagrah' march in support of Gandhi, alleged manhandling by police personnel on the way to the ED office.

Chowdhury wrote a letter to Station House Officer Tughlaq Road alleging manhandling by Delhi Police personnel and asked to take action against them.

'This is to intimate you that today I have been badly manhandled by the Delhi Police on the way to the ED office without even an iota of provocation. During the phase of police atrocities, I got an injury in the upper jaw of my mouth. May I request you to treat my letter as an allegation against those police personnel and do the needful,' he said in a letter.

Notably, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, along with other top Congress party colleagues Adhir Ranjan Chaudhari and K C Venugopal were among those detained as party leader Rahul Gandhi arrived at the Enforcement Directorate office in New Delhi on Monday for questioning in the National Herald money laundering case.

After the incident, Gehlot, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, and other party leaders, including Raghu Sharma, Mukul Wasnik, Rajeev Shukla, Ajay Maken, T S Singh Deo, met at the party office in Delhi in the evening.

Earlier on Monday, Congress workers staged a protest holding placards and amidst massive sloganeering in support of Rahul Gandhi. 'Rahul Gandhi zindabad' shouts resonated at the Congress party headquarters in New Delhi.

Rahul Gandhi was summoned by the ED to join the investigation on June 13.

He was earlier summoned to join the investigation but he was out of the country and later he was given a fresh date of June 13 to join the probe.

On Friday the ED also issued a fresh summons to Sonia Gandhi asking her to appear on June 23 for questioning in connection with the National Herald money laundering case.