New Delhi, Oct 8 (IANS) With Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge hosting a lunch for INDIA bloc leaders for the second consecutive day, the party on Thursday said the Opposition was fighting to protect democracy, voters, and the common people of the country.
The development comes amid the Opposition’s ongoing protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Kharge hosted the lunch for INDIA bloc leaders at a restaurant in the national capital on Thursday. The lunch is likely to be followed by a protest, sources said.
Addressing reporters, Congress General Secretary, Organisation, K.C. Venugopal said the Opposition’s fight was aimed at protecting democracy and the rights of voters.
“We are here to protect democracy. That’s what we are doing. This is a do-or-die fight for us to protect the voters and the common people of this country. Our simple aim is to protect the voters and the common people,” he said.
Venugopal added that the INDIA bloc had already requested a meeting with President Droupadi Murmu, along with senior leaders of the Opposition alliance.
“We have already requested the President of India to have a meeting with her and the top INDIA bloc leaders. The first request was sent on October 2,” he said.
Venugopal said the Rashtrapati Bhavan had subsequently asked the Opposition to provide the names of the leaders who would attend the proposed meeting.
“Then the Rashtrapati Bhavan office asked us to give names, that’s why we have taken all INDIA bloc leaders,” he said.
Reacting to the FIR registered against Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over allegations of assault and misbehaviour, Venugopal accused the Delhi Police of using excessive force against the protesting Opposition leaders.
“We very peacefully protested at Jantar Mantar. The government has assigned this place for protest. A day before yesterday, when we went to protest outside the ECI office, they stopped us,” he said.
Venugopal claimed that Gandhi was sitting peacefully with only five MPs and that the Opposition leaders were seeking permission to hold their protest at a designated location.
“Rahul Gandhi was sitting with only five MPs. We wanted to protest, and we were asking to be given a place where we can protest. So, they said to go to Jantar Mantar. There too, they (the govt) stopped us. You see that. They deployed the entire Delhi Police yesterday,” he said.
He further alleged that the police action targeted students, youths and party workers who had participated in the protest.
“They are attacking our students, youths. And when our workers got hurt, then that LoP entered into the picture. Now you are saying all this. The way of Delhi Police was very brutal,” Venugopal said.
Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda also criticised the authorities, saying Opposition leaders had been prevented from meeting Election Commissioners despite being elected public representatives.
“We wanted to go to the Election Commission the day before yesterday. We wanted to meet the Election Commissioners; we are elected public representatives, but we were not allowed to meet,” Hooda said.
He said the Opposition subsequently decided to hold a demonstration at Jantar Mantar but alleged that the protesters were again prevented from exercising their right to protest.
“Yesterday we wanted to go to Jantar Mantar. We wanted to hold a dharna at Jantar Mantar because we were not allowed to meet. But yesterday we were not even allowed to sit at Jantar Mantar; you saw the brutality the police committed,” Hooda said.
He alleged that the ruling establishment was attempting to suppress the voice of the people.
“And this game is going on. The dictatorial force that is in power in the country wants to suppress the voice of the people of the country. Elections are being held in the country in collusion between the BJP and the Election Commission — we will not let this happen,” he said.
Congress MP Jebi Mather said the Opposition’s protest would continue irrespective of the lunch meetings.
“Lunch or no lunch, even if we eat or do not eat, the protest will continue, not just the day before yesterday, not just yesterday, not just today. We are making it very clear that we will continue our protest until Gyanesh Kumar resigns,” Mather said.
She added that the protest would continue under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, Kharge, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Venugopal and other INDIA bloc leaders.
Congress MP Vivek Tankha said the Opposition leaders had gathered at Kharge’s invitation and that discussions over lunch would be followed by a broader strategy.
“We have come here to save democracy. We have come here on Kharge’s invitation. There is a lunch here. The strategy that Kharge and senior leaders frame over lunch will be followed,” he said.
Tankha, who said he had been in the Supreme Court before receiving the invitation, said he immediately joined the meeting.
“And we want that whatever it takes, we will do everything to save democracy. And the biggest thing is that Gyanesh will have to go. Until credibility and trust return to the Election Commission, there is no solution to this,” he said.
On the FIR against Rahul Gandhi and allegations of misbehaviour with security personnel, Tankha said the Congress leader and Priyanka Gandhi could not have deliberately misbehaved with security forces.
“Rahul and Priyanka can never misbehave with security forces. This is unbelievable. If they are protesting and you are using force against them, then whatever scuffle happens in that process, they are doing it in their defence. When something is done in defence, it does not constitute an offence,” Tankha said.
He alleged that the FIR had been registered with “bad intention” and strongly condemned the action.
Samajwadi Party MP Rajeev Kumar Rai said his party stood with the Congress and other INDIA bloc constituents in the ongoing political battle.
“Samajwadi Party is with them in this fight,” he said.
CPI MP P. Sandosh Kumar also hit out at the security arrangements around the protests, claiming that a large number of police personnel had been deployed to prevent Opposition MPs from demonstrating at Jantar Mantar.
“We are having lunch every day. There is no difference today; we will have it tomorrow as well,” he said.
He claimed that Jantar Mantar, which is traditionally used for protests in the national capital, had effectively been closed to the Opposition.
“The point is, Jantar Mantar is the only place in Delhi where we can register our protest. But it has been completely closed. There are more than 40,000 police personnel for 200 MPs. What kind of arrangement is this? There are 200, at most 240 people, and there are more than 40,000 police personnel deployed to stop them,” he said.
–IANS
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