Kapil Sibal claimed up to six lakh people attended the INDIA bloc rally in Delhi. He said the peaceful turnout showed mounting opposition to alleged electoral irregularities.Sibal said the gathering showed that citizens wanted to protest peacefully against the government.
Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Monday claimed that around five to six lakh people attended the INDIA bloc's rally against alleged “vote chori”, or vote theft, and said the turnout had worried the BJP, news agency Press Trust of India reported.Sibal said the gathering showed that citizens wanted to protest peacefully against the government. Taking a swipe at the BJP, he said the ruling party should call its rallies “Humein Bachao”, or save us, instead of “Loktantra Bachao”, or save democracy.His remarks came a day after the INDIA bloc held its “Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao” rally at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan to protest against alleged electoral irregularities and the revision of voter lists.“By my own estimate, there were roughly five to six lakh people present, as Connaught Place and all adjacent connecting roads were completely jammed.
There was virtually no space to be seen,” Sibal said at a press conference in New Delhi, according to PTI. “This visible turnout seems to have caused them some worry. I heard they are organising their own ‘Loktantra Bachao’ rallies, with their national president reportedly reaching Rohtak with just 100 to 200 people,” he said.“Rather than calling it a ‘Loktantra Bachao’ or ‘Desh Bachao’ rally, they should realistically call it a ‘Humein Bachao’ rally,” Sibal added.
He said the peaceful assembly of around six lakh people without any violence showed that citizens would protest against the government peacefully.“This raises a critical question: who instigated the violence when protests were first held at Jantar Mantar? At Jantar Mantar, our youth were sitting on a peaceful hunger strike, protesting and seeking the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan,” he said.“I urge the government to investigate who was responsible for that violence, because I know they are aware of who did it, though they will not investigate.
Who brought the truck loaded with stones and who were the plainclothes individuals stationed there without uniforms?” Sibal asked.He alleged that the BJP's politics relied on inciting violence, ordering baton charges and using pellet guns before blaming young protesters.“We are not like France, Albania or Spain; our history is rooted in peaceful protest. This movement will continue until we achieve the objective that Rahul Gandhi spelt out yesterday,” Sibal said.He said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had previously held a detailed press conference to explain how voters were systematically removed from electoral rolls in Karnataka, adding that similar patterns had emerged in Maharashtra.“Their governance relies on manipulation to attain and retain power.
This is why their rally should be called ‘Humein Bachao’ because they have no regard for saving democracy,” he said.Sibal argued that depriving citizens of their fundamental right to vote amounted to treason because it was a subversive act against the Constitution and India's security.He also referred to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's Dussehra address, in which Bhagwat had said Indian democracy was threatened by foreign powers and external conspiracies.“Which foreign agency mobilised the hundreds of thousands of poor and middle-class citizens who travelled from Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Haryana to assemble yesterday?” Sibal asked.He said making such claims would further damage Bhagwat's credibility. “They must introspect and urge Prime Minister Modi to stop undermining our democracy,” he added.Sibal maintained that the INDIA bloc rally reflected peaceful public opposition to the government and said the movement against alleged electoral irregularities would continue.- Ends