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Updated August 22nd, 2021 at 12:52 IST

Andhra youth leader Siraj writes to Congress high command, seeks revocation of suspension

Sriraj was suspended for going against the party's principles when he cooked a quail bird as a mark of protest against the microblogging site, Twitter.

Reported by: Aayush Anandan
Congress
Image: GVSriraj/Facebook | Image:self
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Congress youth leader GV Sriraj, on Saturday, wrote to the party's high command requesting his suspension be withdrawn. Siraj, a youth leader from Andhra Pradesh, was suspended for going against the party's principles when he cooked a quail bird as a mark of protest against the microblogging site, Twitter.

Announcing their decision, the Andhra Pradesh Congress’ disciplinary committee had made it clear that Siraj's actions were against party principles. Sriraj, however, informed Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi, through his letter, that his act of cooking a bird was in support of Rahul Gandhi and did not promote violence or cruelty against animals. 

What was the protest about?

Defending his action, Sriraj wrote, "The act of cooking the quail bird in oil was a sign of protest and did not incite any violence or intend any animal cruelty, in any manner. As a matter of fact, any non-vegetarian dish is required to be cooked in oil to ensure it is ready to be consumed. I have not tortured any live bird and never intend to do so either." 

The youth leader pointed out that quail is a staple dish in Andhra Pradesh. "A cooked/fried quail bird is a staple dish in Andhra Pradesh and several other parts of the country as well. I have purchased a certain quantity of a quail bird from a local market and cooked in the manner it is usually cooked and staged the same as a protest to ensure the Twitter authorities stop acting at the behest of BJP and restore the Twitter account of Rahul Gandhi Ji,” his letter read. 

Siraj said that his actions were not to promote any violence and must not be misconstrued to be interpreted as actions of torturing a live bird. He said, “The video that I have uploaded merely records cooking a quail bird, which is a staple dish in Andhra Pradesh and does not record the killing or torturing of the bird." He added that it is not the first time that a protest was staged using the kitchen.

"Several members of our own Party have staged protests on national highways by cooking non-vegetarian dishes. Such actions by members were not meant to torture animals, they were intended to spread awareness regarding their particular issue and similarly, my actions were also purely to protest against the actions of Twitter Authorities to blindly act on the instructions of BJP and suspend Rahul Gandhi Ji's Twitter handle without verifying the authenticity of allegations made against him," Siraj wrote. 

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Published August 22nd, 2021 at 12:52 IST

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