Delhi violence: Congress holds meet, Rahul not present as he's abroad

Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, Priyanka were among leaders present at CWC meet

congress-hand-flag-symbol Representational image | via Commons

Amid continued communal violence in parts of northeast Delhi that has claimed 17 lives, the Congress top leadership started deliberations on the issue at a meeting of its working committee on Wednesday.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi and top leaders like former prime minister Manmohan Singh, A.K. Antony, Ghulam Nabi Azad, P. Chidambaram and Priyanka Gandhi were present during the meeting.

However, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi was not present at the meeting as he is abroad, sources said.

The Congress is likely to evolve a strategy on the continued violence in Delhi, following protests over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).

The Congress is against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and has urged the government to keep it in abeyance or take it back as it is causing concern among a major section of the country's population, especially the Muslim community.

The death toll in the northeast Delhi communal violence over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act rose to 17 on Wednesday, according to GTB Hospital authorities.

Communal violence in northeast Delhi escalated on Tuesday as police struggled to check the rioters who ran amok on streets, burning and looting shops, pelting stones and thrashing people.