People will decide country’s fate: AISA’s Neha Bora ahead of Jantar Mantar protests
Here's the latest protest news from across India:
Neha Bora, national president of the All India Students’ Association (AISA) feels Friday’s Jantar Mantar protests is not an isolated call centred on the national Capital but the one that will echo throughout the country and resonate with more people. In a conversation with HT, Neha shares her insights into the central focus of the protests adding that the demand for accountability is a wildfire spreading across the country. Edited excerpts:
Adding to this, Neha Bora shared this is not just a protest by one organisation but a protest about common demands. (PTI picture) You are back on the streets after the earlier protests. What is the central focus of Friday’s mobilisation, Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, Special Intensive Revision (SIR), or the larger question of electoral accountability?
Meanwhile, Any one of these issues is not separate from the other. It is precisely because the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has not only disenfranchised voters but has completely eroded the trust of the common people in the electoral system. The man bulldozing the SIR is none other than Gyanesh Kumar, and Friday we are going to be demanding that he be impeached and arrested. Of course, we also understand that Gyanesh Kumar is working on the orders coming from above. This entire exercise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is destroying the democracy of this country, disenfranchising voters, and attacking the Constitution. The lack of trust in the electoral system is a direct reflection of the BJP’s policies and political decisions.
Notably, What are you expecting tomorrow in terms of turnout? Do you expect it to be on the lines of last time?
As per the latest buzz, Last time, the call was more spontaneous in nature and it was on a weekday. As such, there was a limited reach that we were able to achieve among people. Today, we are expecting that common citizens will join together in hundreds for this protest.
In further updates, Is this going to be a one-day protest or the beginning of a sustained campaign till Gyanesh resigns? Do you expect him to resign at all?
On top of that, Moreover, this is not an isolated call centred on the capital but a call that will be echoed throughout the country. Many people know that there is going to be a major protest in Mumbai. There are also going to be protests in Bangalore, Lucknow and other centres demanding that the CEC be removed. AISA, along with students and civil society activists like Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan, Nandita Narain, Nikhil Dey and others who have worked on this issue, will be joining these protests and will be at the forefront of building up the momentum for this movement.
The INDIA Alliance parties have also started what will be a sustained movement. This is not just a single-day protest call but one that will build up by uniting voices across the country. Whether or not Gyanesh Kumar resigns, the people will decide the fate of this country and will ensure that he is taken down from his seat of power that he has corrupted and through which he has destroyed the fabric of our electoral democracy.
Source: Hindustan Times