New Delhi: Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday accused the central government of transforming the “Mother of Democracy” into a “Muzzled Democracy” through widespread detentions and severe security clampdowns ahead of demonstrations in the national capital.
Delhi has turned into a high-security fortress as the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) announced a ‘Jantar Mantar 2.0’ protest on Saturday, October 10, demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
In a post on X, Kharge condemned the heavy-handed response against citizens exercising their democratic rights. He said students, youth, lawyers, journalists, social activists, farm union leaders and content creators questioning the government were being systematically detained.
“Our youth, students, lawyers, journalists, social activists, farm union leaders, YouTubers, content creators, everyone who is questioning this regime are being detained. Modi Govt has turned the ‘Mother of Democracy’ into a ‘Muzzled Democracy’! The cowardice of the BJP-RSS is on full display today,” he said.
Kharge emphasised that detentions, arrests and police action would not deter the youth.
“Detentions, arrests, jails, lathis and pellets cannot deter the people of India. Since the days of our Freedom struggle, the youth have been at the forefront of shaping the nation’s destiny,” he said.
The senior Congress leader added that the party remained firm in its fight against the “tyrannical regime” to defend Indian democracy.
“The Congress Party, along with the united Opposition, will fight this tyrannical regime, tooth and nail. We shed our blood to win India’s freedom. We will continue to fight, with every ounce of our strength, to defend our Democracy, our Constitution and the fundamental rights of every Indian,” he said.
Meanwhile, Delhi Police continued to detain activists after informing them that permission had not been granted for the protest.
Earlier on Saturday, CJP activist Abhijeet Dipke, who was travelling to Delhi from Mumbai to participate in the protest, posted a video on Instagram claiming that police were detaining him and his associates as they deboarded the aircraft at Delhi Airport.
The CJP also claimed that content creator Dhruv Rathee had been detained, stating, “The Dictator is TERRIFIED of young people who question its wrongdoings and refuse to stay silent.”
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of turning the national capital into a “fortress” to crush peaceful youth demonstrations over alleged voter disenfranchisement.
In a post on X, Ramesh said the central leadership was “extremely nervous and rattled” by the youth-led protest organised by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) at Jantar Mantar against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
“The nation’s capital has been turned into a fortress. Armed security personnel are all over the place. The PM-HM duo is extremely nervous and rattled by a peaceful protest by youth deeply concerned with the planned stealing of their Constitutional right to vote guaranteed by Article 326,” he said.
Meanwhile, security personnel were deployed at multiple locations as CJP activists remained firm on their call to protest against the Election Commission. Entry points to the national capital were placed under heightened security, while 46 Metro stations remained closed, according to the details provided.
