BJP, Oppn trade barbs over protests against CEC, SIR
Here's the latest protest news from across India:
Lucknow/New Delhi: Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Friday attacked the Opposition Congress over protests against chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, accusing it of trying to seize power by spreading anarchy, even as the party hit back, saying it wanted to defeat the BJP through democratic means and not extra-constitutional methods.
Adding to this, India News “This fight is not for electoral reforms, not for SIR, not against Gyanesh Kumar, not for bright future of youth. It is a conspiracy to grab power. In democracy there is no licence to spread anarchy and attack constitutional institutions,” Singh shared while addressing a press conference in Lucknow.
Meanwhile, Congress MP Pawan Khera rejected the allegations, accusing the BJP of treating protests as anti-national when it faced public criticism. “The BJP is not used to democracy when it is on the receiving end of it. When it has to face the heat of democracy, answer questions and confront protests, democracy suddenly begins to look like treason and anti-national activity to them,” he shared.
Notably, Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets seeking Kumar’s removal and the scrapping of SIR, even as authorities ordered Metro closures, Internet shutdowns, imposed prohibitory orders and deployed 40,000 security personnel to turn Delhi into a virtual fortress. Many protesters were dragged, manhandled and detained as the ruling BJP accused the Opposition of trying to deflect attention from its electoral failures.
As per the latest buzz, Singh accused the Congress and its allies of seeking a change of government along the lines of Bangladesh, saying they were using the energy of young people to spread anarchy and undermine democratic institutions.
In further updates, “It appears that the Congress and its political allies, directly and through their supporting organisations, are trying to use the energy of the youth to fuel political confrontation and spread anarchy instead of channelling it towards constructive work and nation-building,” he shared. “The youth of the country are being made pawns in the politics of anarchy,” he added.
On top of that, “They openly say at press conferences that they have drawn inspiration from Bangladesh for regime change, while another speaks openly about bringing down the government. This makes it clear that their only agenda is to dismantle democratic institutions and set the country on fire,” he shared, referring to the uprising in Bangladesh in 2024 that toppled the Sheikh Hasina government.
Khera shared the Opposition wanted to change the government through elections, citing the change of government in 1977 after the Emergency. “How does regime change happen in a democracy like India? Through elections. Changing the regime through elections is precisely the Opposition’s objective,” he shared.
Source: Hindustan Times