A woman Congress worker in Uttar Pradesh was thrashed at an internal meeting of the party after she objected to the nomination of the party candidate from Deoria, saying he is an accused in a rape case. Cellphone videos that are being widely circulated show Tara Devi being punched and pushed around by a group of men. She was finally rescued by a couple of others who led her away. In her complaint to the police, Tara Devi has named Congress district president Dharmendra Singh, vice president Ajay Singh and two others for the attack. She has also accused them of abusing and molesting her. Townhall for the by-polls is being held in Deoria, where the Congress has named Mukund Bhaskar as the candidate for the seat which was left vacant after death of BJP MLA Janmejay Singh. There were allegations that Tara Devi -- who came to the meet with three other women party workers -- threw a bouquet at the party's national secretary Sachin Nayak. Soon a fight started during which the woman was hit. On October 11, Union minister Hardeep Puri targetted the Congress over the attack on Tara Devi. The National Commission for Women (NCW) Chairperson Rekha Sharma on October 11 said that she will be taking cognizance of the issue. "How all these sick minded people come in politics...??" she asked on Twitter. The embarrassed state unit of the Congress expelled two members and termed the incident a "political conspiracy" to defame the party.
