BENGALURU: In the backdrop of an alleged conspiracy to topple the Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan, the Congress on Sunday upped its ante and held a nationwide digital campaign titled ‘SpeakUpForDemocracy’. The campaign is in protest against BJP’s alleged attempts to topple its state governments ‘misusing the high constitutional office of the Governor’.
The party has accused the BJP of killing democracy in broad daylight in Madhya Pradesh and now in Rajasthan, even as the whole country is in the middle of a coronavirus crisis. On Friday, Rajasthan Congress MLAs held a five-hour dharna on the lawns of the Raj Bhavan pressing for an Assembly session.
The social media campaign will be followed by protests outside Raj Bhavans across the country on Monday. In Karnataka, the Raj Bhavan protest comes on a day when Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa will release a book listing his government’s achievements in the last one year. The protest at 2pm will be led by State party chief D K Shivakumar.
Several party leaders posted videos and tweeted as part of the digital campaign on Sunday. Senior leaders from Karnataka like Rajya Sabha MP Mallikarjun Kharge, Shivakumar and Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah shared videos and tweets condemning the BJP and appealing to citizens to ‘Save Democracy’.
“The world is battling a pandemic but in India, we are fighting two battles together. One against Covid-19 and another against the anti-democratic acts of the BJP. Ever since they came to power in 2014, they are trying to topple every stable non-BJP government using their money, muscle and institutional powers. Their attempts to murder democracy don’t stop even during a pandemic,” said Siddaramaiah in a video message as part of the campaign.
On Monday, Siddaramaiah is expected to join Shivakumar in the protest.“People of Karnataka have been observing the theatrics of BJP for quite some time now. People have seen everything that has happened in the last one year from Madhya Pradesh, in Karnataka to the midnight drama in Maharashtra. The same story in Rajasthan now. The BJP is destroying all Constitutional, Democratic institutions. We have to save them,” said Shivakumar in his video message.
Kharge said in a series of tweets, “In the last six years, BJP has undermined every law, institution & the Constitution itself to ensure they destabilize Congress Govts across states. They have legalized horse trading & made it the new normal to come to power at any cost. (sic)”