Priyanka sped away on 2-wheeler to foil cops' bid in Lucknow

 Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hitched a ride on a scooter, when the police tried to block her way to the house of retired IPS officers S.R. Darapuri, in Lucknow on Saturday.

She was stopped by the police at Lohia Path in the UP capital. But she sped away on a scooter, driven by party Secretary Dheeraj Gurjar. They were later stopped at the Polytechnic Square, form there she walked to Darapuri's residence.

It was a dramatic scene at the Lohia Path with state party chief Ajay Kumar Lallu and other Congress leaders, like Jitin Prasada and Acharya Pramod Krishnam, sprinting behind her.

Priyanka Gandhi later alleged that she was manhandled by the police and "grabbed by the neck for no reason".

"The police stopped me while I was going to meet Darapuri's family. The cops manhandled me. They surrounded me while I was riding pillion on a party worker's two-wheeler. After that I walked to Darapuri's residence."

She was also prevented from meeting the family of Congress leader Sadaf Jafar, who has been arrested over anti-CAA protests.

Priyanka Gandhi was also heard saying, "Why are you stopping us? What's the point of stopping us in the middle of the road." One of her aide was heard saying, "Stopping the car in the middle of road could lead to accident."

Earlier during the day, she attended the party's 135th Foundation Day celebrations, here, and administered the oath of the Preamble of the Constitution to party workers.

She asked the party workers to follow the path of great Congress leaders who made the supreme sacrifice for the country, and also urged them to oppose all those who attacked the Constitution and its values.

"We are the voice of the last man standing on the edge of society. Love, brotherhood and peace are the facets of truth. We take pledge to stick to our ideology of non-violence and kindness. We are the Congress," she said.

She will later meet key state party leaders to chalk out campaigns for 2020 and form an advisory council and strategy groups for this.IANS