NEW DELHI: Opposition leaders on Thursday held a peaceful sit-in protest at Rajghat, with Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi joining INDIA bloc MPs in protesting against "vote chori" and attacks on democracy and the Constitution.
It was the third day of protests against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and alleged 'vote chori' by opposition leaders, who pledged to continue their agitation until Kumar resigns.
After two days of fierce protests, during which several leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, were detained and forcibly removed by police, the opposition leaders gathered at Rajghat to offer floral tributes and pray for "wisdom to the BJP government and the chief election commissioner".
INDIA bloc constituents Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SCP) have not taken part in the protests so far.
The opposition leaders are now seeking an appointment with President Droupadi Murmu to present their case and demand the CEC's dismissal.
Addressing the media, Rahul Gandhi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had "criminally conspired" to "hijack" the country, destroy the Constitution and "steal votes".
"They will all be brought to justice and this is our guarantee," he asserted.
Referring to the ongoing protests, Gandhi said around 300 MPs wanted to stage a peaceful protest but were stopped near the Election Commission office on Tuesday and prevented from proceeding to Jantar Mantar the following day. "Our people were beaten up," he said.
"They (Amit Shah, Narendra Modi, Mohan Bhagwat and Gyanesh Kumar) will be brought to justice. This is our guarantee, and you will see it happen," the Lok Sabha LoP added.
Gandhi spoke after Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge hosted a lunch for opposition MPs and leaders at Moets restaurant in Connaught Place. The Samajwadi Party, Shiv Sena-UBT and NCP-SP, which were absent from Wednesday's meeting, attended Thursday's lunch.
After the lunch, the leaders travelled to Rajghat in three buses accompanied by hundreds of supporters raising slogans and waving flags.
Amid drum beats, the bus procession moved slowly via Minto Road and Asaf Ali Road, crossing Delhi Gate and Delite cinema, with members of the Youth Congress, NSUI and Left organisations raising slogans against Modi, Shah and Kumar. The workers waved the tricolour, along with flags of their parties and organisations. The nearly five-km journey took about two hours. Upon reaching Rajghat, the leaders went to the memorial and sat in silence while paying floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi.
Kharge said the INDIA bloc MPs had gathered at Rajghat to peacefully protest and pray for "wisdom" to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He said the Opposition wanted to convey to the country that the BJP government was taking away people’s right to vote.
Kharge said the protest was also aimed at protecting the right to vote and democratic freedoms secured through the country’s freedom struggle.
"Modi and Shah are taking away the freedom that great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel won for us," he said.
Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal, senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Telangana CM Revanth Reddy, Keralam CM VD Satheesan, Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and a large number of INDIA bloc MPs were present at the Rajghat protest.
Meanwhile, lakhs of people participated in nationwide demonstrations organised by the Congress at the state, district and block levels.
Pradesh Congress Committees, District Congress Committees and Block Congress Committees held protests against the police brutality meted out to senior party leaders during Wednesday’s protest in Delhi.
They also protested against alleged manipulation of electoral rolls and demanded accountability in the functioning of the electoral system.
Hailing the success of the nationwide protests, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said the party would continue the campaign until CEC Gyanesh Kumar resigns, its concerns regarding the electoral system are addressed and the integrity of the electoral process is fully restored.
Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh, Venugopal and Congress' head of media and publicity department Pawan Khera, along with leaders from CPI-M, CPI, TMC, RJD and SP, asserted that the agitation would continue on Friday.
