Top leaders from the Opposition INDIA bloc on Sunday slammed the Narendra Modi-led government over a wide range of issues, including “misuse” of Central probe agencies, and vowed to contest the Lok Sabha elections together to oust the ruling BJP.
At the “Save Democracy” mega rally organised by the Opposition bloc at the Ramlila Maidan here on Sunday in the wake of the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, on behalf of the Opposition, put forth five demands, including immediate release of Kejriwal and former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren.
The other four demands include a level-playing field to be ensured by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in the Lok Sabha elections, cessation of action against the Opposition parties by investigative agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Income Tax (IT) Department with the aim of rigging the elections.
Besides, the INDIA bloc demanded that “coercive” action to financially strangle Opposition parties during the elections should stop immediately and a Supreme Court (SC)-monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) to be formed to investigate the funds raised by the BJP through electoral bonds.
The rally, seen as show of strength by the Opposition ahead of the LS polls, was attended by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, CPP Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, former party president Rahul Gandhi, Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SCP) President Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray, chief of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) Farooq Abdullah.
Senior leader of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren, senior AAP leader and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, former Bihar deputy chief minister and senior Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Tejashwi Yadav and Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek O’Brien were also present on the occasion.
Among other prominent leaders were senior AAP leaders Gopal Rai, Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj, Delhi Congress president Arvinder Singh Lovely, Sunita Kejriwal, wife of Delhi CM Kejriwal; and Kalpana Soren, wife of Hemant Soren.
Addressing the mammoth gathering, Congress President Kharge said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not want democracy, his mindset is of dictatorship. One by one, he is finishing our institutions.”
He alleged that Opposition leaders are being intimidated by “misusing” Central probe agencies.
“You have to decide if you want democracy or dictatorship. We have to throw those who support dictatorship out of this country,” he said.
Kharge, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, said, “The BJP and the RSS are like poison. You will die if you taste it.”
Referring to the IT notices to Congress, he said, “Money was stolen from the party’s accounts. Rs 3,567 crore penalty has been imposed (by the IT) so that we cannot campaign in the elections.”
“We have to fight to save the democracy and the Constitution. You will secure your rights only if there is a Constitution,” he said.
Echoing similar sentiments, Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of trying to win the general elections through “match-fixing”. He alleged Narendra Modi wants to change the Constitution by winning elections through “match-fixing”.
Referring to the “Ab ki Baar, Chaar Sau Paar” slogan of the BJP aiming to win 400 seats in the upcoming LS polls, Gandhi said, “The entire NDA cannot reach even 180 seats without manipulating the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and other intimidating tactics.”
Drawing an analogy of “match-fixing”, he said, “Various methods like appointing the umpires of choice, buying out the players and intimidating the captains, same way Modi had appointed the Election Commissioners of his choice, was trying to pressurise the judiciary and had jailed Hemant Soren and Arvind Kejriwal, just ahead of the elections.”
“This is not just an election to form the government, it is to save the country and the Constitution,” he added.
Attacking the BJP Government at the Centre, Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren said, “Our leader, Hemant Soren, has never bowed down, nor will he ever do so in the future. We are the product of struggle. We are all one and will save the democracy by ousting the dictatorial BJP government.”
Calling the Delhi chief minister a phenomenon and a thought, Punjab Chief Minister Mann said, “You can arrest Kejriwal, but how will you arrest his thought.”
Warning that the country was in danger under the ruling dispensation, he said, “Together we will teach a lesson to the BJP (in polls).”
SP chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav said, “BJP says it is the largest political party in the world, but if you look at it 10-year tenure, it is a party of liars.”
“The way you have arrested elected CMs you are being criticised by the people not only in India but across the world,” he said in a scathing attack on the BJP.
Senior RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said, “There is an undeclared emergency in the country. They are coined a new slogan of crossing the 400 mark, it seems like the EVM is set for the purpose. But, in democracy, it is the people who will decide.”
Accusing the BJP of divisive politics, he said, “Modi will be ousted in the elections.”
NCP-SP President Sharad Pawar said, “The arrest of Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Soren is an attack on the democracy and Constitution of the country.”
TMC MP Derek O’Brien called it BJP Vs democracy. He coined a new slogan: “Modi guarantee, zero warranty” and demanded a “white paper from the government on the 2019 Pulwama attack.
The TMC parliamentarian categorically said, “The TMC was, is, and will be part of the INDIA bloc.”