New Delhi, Oct 8 (IANS) Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said the party and other INDIA bloc MPs are marching to Rajghat to stage a peaceful sit-in protest, while accusing the BJP-led government of undermining democratic rights and institutions.
The development comes as Congress and other INDIA bloc MPs were marching to Rajghat after lunch at a restaurant in Connaught Place. The Opposition parties have been seeking permission to hold protests over several issues, including alleged irregularities in the electoral process.
Speaking to reporters, Kharge said the INDIA bloc members would gather at the Gandhi Memorial for a peaceful demonstration and prayer, urging the BJP government to reconsider what he described as policies that were against the interests of the people.
"We, the members of the INDIA bloc, are heading to the Gandhi Memorial to stage a peaceful sit-in protest. We will sit there and pray that the BJP government, specifically Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, are granted the wisdom to realise that their actions are not in the nation’s interest, " he said.
He alleged that issues such as "vote theft", rising inflation and problems faced by the youth reflected a broader failure of governance.
Kharge further said the Opposition wanted to draw attention to what it considers attempts to weaken the freedoms secured during the country’s freedom struggle.
"We want to highlight that they are snatching away the freedom we secured, the freedom won for us by great leaders like Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, and Vallabhbhai Patel, and are making every effort to destroy it, " he said.
He also alleged that citizens’ voting rights were being undermined and said the protest at Rajghat would seek to remind the government of the importance of protecting constitutional freedoms.
Rahul Gandhi said nearly 300 MPs from both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha wanted to participate in the peaceful demonstration but had been prevented from protesting over the past two days.
“We have been prevented from protesting for two days now. On the first day, we were stopped outside the Election Commission. Subsequently, we expressed our desire to protest at Jantar Mantar, yet yesterday, as you witnessed, we were stopped there as well. Our people were assaulted, ” Gandhi said.
Gandhi alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had "hijacked India through a criminal conspiracy", damaged the Constitution, and stolen votes.
The Congress leader said the Opposition would continue its fight and assured supporters that those responsible would eventually face legal consequences.
“We, the Opposition, assure you that action will be taken. They will be brought to justice. This is our guarantee, ” Gandhi said.