Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Oct 13: The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday reemphasised continuing the opposition campaign against alleged electoral irregularities and said the INDIA bloc would also challenge the government’s move de-notifying Jantar Mantar at the centre of Delhi from being used as a designated protest site and fight to restore what he called genuine democracy in India.
Mr Gandhi addressed a media conference after a meeting of the opposition leaders and representatives of student organisations, over high tea at his residence. Besides Mr Gandhi, the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and CPI leader D. Raja also addressed the media after the meeting.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka, and Ajinkya Shinde were detained by Delhi Police on Tuesday while they were trying to enter Jantar Mantar. The CJP has also accused Delhi Police of violating detainees’ fundamental rights by denying them access to lawyers, calling for the release of Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka, Ajinkya and other party members.
The CJP’s legal wing chief Ratna Singh alleged that detained CJP leaders Das, Ranka and Shinde, along with others were barred from meeting their lawyer by the SHO of Jaffarpur Kalan police station. Their phones have also been confiscated, she added.
The Supreme Court deferred to Thursday the hearing on pleas related to protests, closure of metro stations and disruptions in train services ahead of the October 10 agitations against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar due to the indisposition of Justice V. Mohana.
The Union Government had also informed the apex court that its response to petitions alleging illegal detentions, shutdown of public and rail transport, including Metro service, in Delhi on October 10 was “ready” but needed more fine-tuning.
The CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, who had left Delhi on Sunday for his native village Santuk Pimpri in Maharashtra’s Hingoli district to attend the asthi visarjan (immersion of ashes) of his late grandmother, Savitribai Dipke, on Tuesday warned that protest sites would emerge across the country if demonstrations were banned at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. Stating that he would join his protesting colleagues in Delhi on Wednesday, Dipke said if police stopped him on his way to Delhi, he would begin the agitation from wherever he was detained.
The hollowness of designating Ramlila Maidan as one of the designated protest sites in lieu of Jantar Mantar which had been de-notified, the official sources on Tuesday disclosed that the designated ground would not be available for any protest programmes till the end of the current year.
Ramlila Maidan has no free dates for the next two and a half months. Only December 29, 30 and 31 are open for booking, according to officials. The 12-acre ground, which can accommodate 50,000 people, can now be booked only for the three dates towards the end of the years, officials in the know said. “The booking rate for the ground is ₹50,000 per day, plus a ₹55,000 security deposit that is refundable. The initial outlay including taxes comes to ₹1.21 lakh for a day’s booking,” an official said.
Addressing the joint press conference, Mr Gandhi said the Opposition was united in its fight against alleged “vote chori” and would not give up until its objective was achieved. “One method of expression of democracy was Jantar Mantar, and now the government has decided that Jantar Mantar can no longer be used to express democratic feelings. We are going to challenge that idea,” Rahul Gandhi said.
Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the Congress MP said those responsible for the alleged destruction of democratic institutions would be held accountable. “The people who have done this, Mr Modi, who is the main architect, Mr Amit Shah, who is the implementer, Mr Gyanesh Kumar, and others, they need to understand that the net is closing around them. It is not going to be so simple that you can destroy the Indian Constitution and get away with it,” he said.
Rahul Gandhi said there were no separate protests by individual Opposition parties, describing the campaign as a unified movement with the objective of restoring democracy. He also thanked people in Delhi and across the country for supporting the Opposition’s protest.
“We are all standing here together as one. As I said yesterday, there are no parallel protests. There is one singular protest, and the protest has one mission: restoration of democracy in India. Democracy has been destroyed in this country. The election system has been destroyed. The constitution has been torn up and thrown away. We are fighting together to restore democratic rule, genuine democratic rule in this country,” he said.
Emphasising that the campaign would continue, Rahul Gandhi said the Opposition’s struggle could last days, months or even years. “I guarantee you that just as we mobilised with such energy, strength and unity, we will continue to fight together in the same spirit,” he said.
Rahul Gandhi expressed respect for the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice of India and the judicial system, saying the judiciary had a role to play. However, he added that political and public resistance would continue regardless of the role played by institutions.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the INDIA bloc’s activities over the preceding four days had drawn significant public participation, including from young people and citizens who had joined the campaign on their own initiative. “Everyone is now prepared to fully expose PM Modi’s plan to steal votes,” Kharge said, reiterating the Opposition’s allegations against the government and the election process.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav accused the BJP leadership and the Election Commission of undermining democratic institutions. He alleged that the decision to move protests away from Jantar Mantar reflected the government’s apprehension about the Opposition’s campaign.
NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) MP Supriya Sule also asserted that the Opposition remained united and would continue its agitation from Delhi to the grassroots level. She said the campaign was aimed at protecting constitutional rights. Samajwadi Party MP Harendra Malik said his party stood firmly with the INDIA bloc and would continue the fight for justice.
CPI general secretary D Raja said the meeting discussed how to intensify the campaign demanding Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. Raja criticised the barricading across Delhi during the Opposition’s march and condemned the reported decision to withdraw Jantar Mantar’s status as a designated protest site. “Protests will take place; you cannot crush them,” he said, adding that the Opposition would fight to regain Jantar Mantar as a venue for demonstrations.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut also attacked the Chief Election Commissioner, calling him a “mafia” and alleging that the system had been criminalised under his watch.
Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghose accused the Election Commission, under Gyanesh Kumar’s leadership, of undermining free and fair elections. She said the INDIA bloc would continue its campaign until Kumar was removed and criminal proceedings were initiated against officials accused of electoral wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah targeted Rahul Gandhi pointing out that opposition campaign against the “Special Intensive Revision” (SIR) of the electoral rolls was unfounded as the Congress under Mr Gandhi had been losing elections even much before SIR was introduced last year. He also accused the Congress leader of shielding infiltrators and predicted a massive NDA majority in the 2029 Parliamentary elections with the Congress headed for a fourth consecutive defeats.