AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal on Sunday vowed to go ahead with a major Opposition protest against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar in New Delhi on October 12, calling the agitation a “second freedom struggle” to safeguard democracy and voting rights.
On Monday, the Congress and the entire INDIA bloc and the country’s youth will again take to the streets of Delhi in massive numbers in a protest against the CEC Kumar on the ‘vote chori’ charges.
Speaking to reporters here, Venugopal alleged that attempts were being made to prevent party workers from reaching Delhi and that raids were being conducted at places where they were staying.
"Even if all this is done, it won't fail. Tomorrow in Delhi, a more powerful struggle will be there. The opposition is united and standing together as a single unit," he said.
Describing the ongoing agitation as a fight for the country's democratic future, Venugopal said it was not merely a protest or a resistance but a struggle to protect citizens' voting rights.
"This is the most powerful struggle to protect democracy in the country. It is a struggle to maintain the voting rights of the voters of the country," he said.
Venugopal said the right to vote was fundamental to citizens' existence in a democracy and alleged that the country's democratic institutions were being undermined.
He accused the Chief Election Commissioner of acting at the BJP government's behest.
"All the opposition parties in India have united and all organisations have come together. A struggle that can be called a second freedom struggle is taking place," he said.
Venugopal alleged that police and paramilitary personnel were being deployed in large numbers in Delhi to prevent the agitation, with forces being brought in from various states.
"What is it for? War. With whom is the war? With the citizens of India, common people," he said.
Referring to the detention of opposition leaders during an earlier INDIA bloc protest, Venugopal alleged that police and CRPF personnel had handled them inappropriately.
He claimed that raids were being conducted at hostels and private residences in Delhi to prevent people from participating in the protest.
He also alleged that train cancellations had affected ordinary people travelling to the national capital.
Venugopal said the opposition would continue its agitation despite such measures, asserting that attempts to suppress dissent would not defeat its campaign to protect democracy and voting rights.
(With inputs from PTI)