Actor Prakash Raj on Saturday said the country's younger generation would reclaim the Constitution and democracy by following Mahatma Gandhi's ideals, stressing that the fight against alleged restrictions on democratic rights must be driven by citizens rather than political parties.
Addressing the gathering at the 'Jantar Mantar in Kochi' protest meet organised by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, he called upon people to support the younger generation in its fight for democratic rights.
Recalling his participation in the protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, Raj said he had witnessed lakhs of young people gathering and showing courage and determination.
"I was there in Jantar Mantar. It was not just their strength; it was not just their fearlessness. I witnessed lakhs and lakhs of youngsters in one place, brave and young," he said.
He said the young protesters, often criticised for being preoccupied with mobile phones, were discussing the ideals of Bhagat Singh and B R Ambedkar and the sacrifices made during the freedom struggle.
"Those youngsters were talking about Ambedkar. Those youngsters were talking about Bhagat Singh. That is the youth to which this country belongs," he said.
Raj said the older generation should make way for young people to lead movements and take up leadership roles.
"All the elders and citizens of this country, I am telling you, we have had our time. Let us become stages for them. Because they know the language of protests, they know the language of fighting," he said.
Alleging that the SIR exercise had led to the deletion of a large number of voters, Raj claimed that 13 to 16 crore people had been excluded, with Adivasis, the poor, migrants and religious minorities, including Muslims and Christians, forming the majority of those deleted.
He alleged that the exercise reflected an agenda to relegate marginalised communities to the status of second-class citizens, invoking the Manusmriti in his criticism of the ruling dispensation.
Addressing the younger generation, Raj said they would reclaim the Constitution and democracy through the ideals of national leaders and freedom fighters.
"This younger generation, the citizens of this country, will reclaim our Constitution and democracy with the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi, not the violence of Godse. We will reclaim our democracy with the heart of Bhagat Singh, not by saying sorry like Savarkar. And we will reclaim it through the power of the Constitution Baba Saheb Ambedkar has given us, not with your Manusmriti," he said.
He said the movement was not aimed at securing a victory for any political party, but was a citizens' movement to protect democratic rights.
"We citizens of this country don't belong to any political party. We will select whom we want. Don't take that right away from us. In a democracy, we the citizens do politics; you guys do the job for which we elect you," he said.
Raj also called for more young representatives in Parliament, saying political parties should field younger candidates in the coming years.
"In the next two years, we will tell all political parties to have young parliamentarians. Enough of old men. We want youngsters in Parliament. We will make the rules because it is our life," he said.
He urged citizens to participate in protests being held across the country, describing the coming two years as an era of protests.
"This is not an era of silence; it is an era of protests," he said.
(With inputs from PTI)