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Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday slammed the Centre over its handling of the protests in the national capital, saying that everyone is witnessing a "death of democracy" here.
Speaking to reporters as Congress leaders donned black on the Parliament premises, Tharoor said politics will be done if an important issue of paper leaks cannot be raised in Parliament. "This (black-coloured clothes) is protest and mourning as we can witness the death of democracy. Look, the fact is, politics has come into it. Obviously politics also comes into it. But the real issue is the feelings of the students; they're the future of the country. If they're feeling betrayed and let down, there ought to be some opportunity to reach out to them. I'm really surprised that the government has allowed matters to get out of hand like this and greeted the students with violence and lathis. That was really a bad idea," he said. Tharoor said he met some of the students who were injured in the police action and was moved by it. "A young man who was distributing water to the protesters was beaten up with lathis under the eye, on the head. A young girl was talking about being manhandled by male policemen. And these are very painful things. Many of them saw some fellows in plain clothes with sticks that had nails or screws hammered in them. This was quite shocking for them as well," he said. He also questioned the government over shutting down 16 metro stations for a brief period due to security reasons. "Who's threatening the Metro? I don't understand the logic of shutting down the city. They're creating a whole atmosphere that does not need to be created. I don't understand what the problem is," he said. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) announced the temporary closure of 16 metro stations to maintain security, while ensuring that train switching options remain accessible at major nodes. According to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, stations that have been closed till further instructions include Lok Kalyan Marg, Rajiv Chowk, Patel Chowk, Ramakrishna Ashram Marg, Barakhambha Road, Supreme Court, Seva Teerth, Janpath, Mandi House, Central Secretariat, ITO, Delhi Gate. Indraprastha, Khan Market, Jor Bagh and Shivaji Stadium. (ANI)
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