Congress leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi on Saturday urged the country’s youngsters to continue the agitation against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, vowing that his party would ensure the defeat of the ruling government and the ones he accused of attacking the Constitution.
Amid calls for a massive stir in Delhi, the Congress MP alleged that Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Mohan Bhagwat, CEC Gyanesh Kumar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval were under intense pressure.
A still from the protests staged in Delhi today
Posting on ‘X,’ he described what he termed ‘core characteristic’ of the Prime Minister and the RSS as cowardice, asserting that the opposition was closing in on those he held responsible for undermining principles of the Indian Constitution. His post read, “I've been fighting Narendra Modi and the RSS for over a decade now. I understand them like you would understand your opponent; inside out, like the back of my hand.”
“We are not going to back down”: Gandhi
Throwing a direct challenge before PM Modi, Gandhi said the deployment of additional police personnel, coupled with the arrest of protestors would not deter the opposition from pursuing their campaign. He said, “Mr Modi, do whatever you want. Call out all the police: 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, whatever you want. Arrest all the leaders. Arrest all the young people. Arrest us all. We are surrounding you, and we are not going to back down.”
Rahul Gandhi
He maintained that the opposition already possessed the information it needed to defend the Constitution and conserve the voice of the citizens of India. Furthermore, he pledged to prevent what he termed ‘the injustices inflicted on India’ over the past 10-15 years from being repeated. He asserted, “Mark my words: we already have the information we need. We are going to defend our Constitution. We are going to protect the voice of the Indian people.”
Gandhi lauds young agitators
Expressing confidence in the younger generation, Gandhi opined he was proud of India’s youth and pleaded with them to remain steadfast in their protests. He assured the participants of the stir that the Congress stood alongside them, reiterating his determination to defeat the government and the ones he accused of attacking India’s Constitution. He remarked, “We are going to ensure that this regime and the people who have attacked our Constitution are defeated.”
He also shared a video of his remarks on social media.
Cops detain thousands of people amid protest in Delhi
The Congress leader’s statements surfaced hours after the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) staged a protest against CEC Gyanesh Kumar in the national capital on Saturday. Police ended up detaining more than 3,000 agitators who were attempting to reach the protest site. In a parallel development, more than 600 people with criminal antecedents were detained too, police said. As per authorities, permission had not been granted for the demonstration and prohibitory orders had been clamped down in the New Delhi area.