Jaipur, Oct 17 (PTI) Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot accused the BJP of portraying peaceful opposition protests as attempts to create anarchy and said that demanding a change of power through elections and questioning the government are democratic rights.
Gehlot questioned the Centre’s reluctance to consult opposition parties on major issues, like delimitation and women’s reservation, and demanded an all-party meeting.
“BJP leaders are now alleging that the opposition wanted to bring about a change of government through Bangladesh-like unrest and street protests. The BJP should explain where it saw violence in the movement led by Rahul Gandhi,” he said. Referring to the October 12 march in Delhi, Gehlot said it was one of the most disciplined and peaceful demonstrations the national capital has seen in recent years.
He said leaders and workers of INDIA bloc parties, social activists, ordinary citizens and Gen Z participated in the march.
Raising the pitch over its “vote theft” charge, the Congress has vowed to intensify its resistance in Parliament, courts and the streets till the election commission is “restored” as an independent constitutional authority and demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as CEC Gyanesh Kumar for “match-fixing” of polls. The INDIA bloc has raised four key demands, including the immediate suspension of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the restoration of 13.3 crore voters whose names were deleted through this exercise.
Gehlot recalled that before 2014, Anna Hazare led an agitation for Lokpal, Baba Ramdev protested against black money, and demonstrations were held over issues like the 2G spectrum and coal allocation controversies. He said lakhs of people had gathered in Delhi during those protests.
“Congress lost the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, and we respected the people’s mandate. We never described democratic protests as anti-national conspiracies or attempts to create anarchy to overthrow the government, as the BJP is doing now,” he said.
Gehlot said the opposition’s responsibility in a democracy is to question the government, expose its failures and seek public support to remove it from power through elections. He said former president Pranab Mukherjee had also spoken about the importance of the opposition’s role in a democracy.
“Questioning the government in a democracy is not anarchy. It is the people’s right. The more the BJP tries to suppress this voice, the louder it will become,” Gehlot said.
The former chief minister said it had been a longstanding democratic tradition in India for the ruling party to take the opposition into confidence before making major decisions. “This is the third term of the Modi government, yet I fail to understand why it is not talking to the opposition on such important issues as delimitation and women’s reservation. What is the secret behind this?” he asked.
“The country wants to know what hidden agenda the BJP has behind this stubborn attitude,” he said.
On Friday, Union Minister Rajnath Singh lashed out at the Congress and its allies over the protests in the national capital. Singh accused them of seeking a regime change along the lines of Bangladesh and using the energy of youth to spread “anarchy”.
Addressing a press conference in Lucknow, Singh asserted that democracy does not give anyone the licence to create disorder or undermine the credibility of constitutional institutions. “It appears that the Congress and its political allies, directly and through their supporting organisations, are trying to use the energy of the youth to fuel political confrontation and spread anarchy instead of channelling it towards constructive work and nation-building,” the minister said.
“The youth of the country are being made pawns in the politics of anarchy,” he stated. PTI SDA ASD
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.