New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi urged Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar to resign and “turn approver” in the “vote chori” scam, saying that he was not the “mind behind” the “wrongdoing” and could even be forgiven if he stepped aside.
“You have done a crime, and frankly, you are not the main criminal. You made a mistake. You are not the mind behind the mistake. We are after the people who are behind what you did,” Rahul said Monday at a press conference in Delhi.
“It is very easy for you. Resign, get out of the way. No problem. We might even think of forgiving you, because that will be a service to this nation. That will be a service to this Constitution.”
The CEC, he alleged, was pressured by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, and industrialist Gautam Adani. “We know it. And we understand the type of pressure you are under.”
The Opposition’s fight would not end with Kumar’s resignation, he asserted. “The protest is to remove Gyanesh Kumar, and then after that, remove Mr Prime Minister, Mr Amit Shah, remove these people. We are not going to stop.”
He announced that INDIA bloc leaders would approach the Supreme Court with a petition on election fairness, adding that he and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had written to the Chief Justice of India expressing concern over the current events.
“Today, INDIA bloc leaders and I will go to the Supreme Court together and file this petition,” he said.
‘All protests are one’
Responding to ThePrint’s query on civil society groups, including the Cockroach Janta Party, and parallel protests, Rahul said the demonstrations were part of a common movement to defend the Constitution.
“All protests are one protest. The idea is up there: India is marching,” he said. “We do not care who you are or which formation you come from. If you are protecting the Constitution as we are, we are with you. We will support you, we will help you, we will protect you, and we expect the same from you.”
Asked about communication with the government, he said the people had reached out through those around him, but insisted that he was making his position public.
“Multiple people have reached out. It’s interesting. They don’t reach out to me, though. They reach out to people around me,” he said. “There is nothing that I do that is hidden from the people of India. Full transparency. What I have to say to the government and to the people of India, I say from here. I say on the street.”
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‘Delhi has been turned into a fortress’
The Modi government, he said, is preventing people from reaching Delhi for the protests.
“Why is Delhi jailed? Why is the capital city of India in jail? People are being stopped from reaching Delhi. Trains and buses are being stopped. People are being made to get off. Delhi has been turned into a fortress.”
Barricades would not prevent the movement from gaining public support, he asserted.
“The fact that Delhi is barricaded is an illusion, because the minds of the people of Delhi are not barricaded,” he said. “We are not fighting for the street. We are fighting for the mind. We are fighting for the heart of the Indian people.”
Police personnel were questioning why they were being asked to stop young protesters while
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) members were allegedly being allowed to move freely, he said.
“Police are asking why we are being told to beat up the youth of India. Why are we being told to stop young people? And then we are being told to let the RSS people roam freely.”
‘Officials sharing info’
Rahul said that 200 government officials were in touch with the Opposition and sharing information. “They are giving us information. Inside the ED, inside the CBI, inside the Foreign Ministry; all of them are giving us information.”
The Opposition, he said, was preparing evidence to submit to the President. “We will go and we will give the evidence to the President; there was no denial that came from her office.”
As for the Opposition’s next steps, Rahul compared the movement to the cosmic dance associated with Lord Shiva, saying it did not depend on a fixed plan. “This is tandav. This is Shiva’s dance. There is no planning in it. Today we are going to the Supreme Court. Tomorrow something else will happen.”
The LoP urged young people and citizens across political affiliations to join the movement, saying the fight was about the country’s future rather than individual leaders.
“This is not about Rahul Gandhi or Narendra Modi. This is about India. It is about the Constitution, the people of India, their expression and the future of India.”
The agitation would continue until the electoral system was reformed and accountability secured, he said “Until the Constitution is upheld, until the Election Commissioner goes, until the election system is revamped, until justice is delivered to India, the youth of India will not stop.”
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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