Pune (Maharashtra) [India], October 7 (ANI): Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray accused the BJP government in Centre of being "arrogant" and said protests across the country were part of a continuing “fight against injustice”.
He also alleged that the BJP-led government in Maharashtra had been formed with the “blessings” of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
“The government is arrogant. Today, protests are taking place across various sectors of the country. This is a fight against injustice, and this fight will continue,” Thackeray told reporters here, adding, “Their (BJP's) government has been formed with the blessings of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. If Gyanesh Kumar goes, their government will go too. This government is illegal."
Earlier, after being detained during a protest demanding the removal of CEC Kumar, INDIA bloc MPs left the New Police Lines in Kingsway Camp, with Congress MP Pawan Khera warning that Kumar would “regret” refusing to meet the protesting opposition and asserting that the “trouble” had only just begun.
“The trouble has only just begun. Gyanesh Kumar will regret not meeting us. Watch what happens next,” Khera told ANI on Tuesday.
Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav said the Opposition’s fight would continue until CEC Kumar resigns.
“This battle has only just begun. On the very first day, the entire Opposition, united under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, marched to the Election Commission to demand the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar. It is our constitutional right to peacefully raise our demands. The manner in which Rahul Gandhi was stopped and detained is completely unacceptable, and this fight will continue until Gyanesh Kumar resigns,” Yadav said.
Congress MP Amarinder Singh Raja Warring alleged that the police treated MPs, including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, as "criminals”.
“They treated MPs, including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, as if we were criminals,” Warring said.
Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad said the Opposition would not be deterred by the police action.
“We were detained and brought here. We will not get scared by the action of the police. The fight will continue until the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar,” Gaikwad said.INDIA bloc leaders marched towards the Election Commission headquarters in New Delhi earlier in the day.
Opposition MPs were stopped by barricades from entering Nirvachan Sadan, following which several leaders, including Leader of Opposition (LoP) Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Congress general secretary KC Venugopal, staged a sit-in at the nearby Akashvani Bhavan, around 100 metres from the poll panel’s office.
Following the protest, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, along with several other leaders, were detained by Delhi Police from Akashvani Bhavan, where they staged a dharna against CEC Kumar. Congress MPs Pawan Khera, KC Venugopal and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring were among those detained by Delhi Police.
Delhi Police also detained several Youth Congress and NSUI leaders, including IYC president Uday Bhanu Chib, outside Akashvani Bhavan.
The protest is part of the broader “Save Democracy” campaign announced by the Opposition, under which its leaders have been holding demonstrations and public programmes against the Election Commission of India amid a row over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. (ANI)
"Fight against injustice will continue": Aaditya Thackeray targets Centre amid CEC row
