Leading Indian political figures have criticized the detention of protesters, journalists, and activists during demonstrations in Delhi, comparing the situation to the Emergency. The protests were organized by the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign and student groups affiliated with Left parties.
On Saturday, opposition leaders in India condemned the detention of hundreds of protesters, journalists, and activists during demonstrations in Delhi, comparing the situation to the Emergency. The protests were organized by the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign and student groups affiliated with Left parties to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission and its handling of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls.
Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of protecting electoral fraud by ‘crushing democracy’. He demanded that Kumar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi must step down. Kejriwal also stated that the detention of protesters, including Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke from an aircraft, reflected the government’s ‘unprecedented level of fear’.
Congress leader KC Venugopal accused the Modi government of waging ‘war against its own people’, citing restrictions on transport, metro services and mass detentions in the national capital. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that Delhi had been ‘turned into a fortress’ in response to peaceful protests by young people concerned about their voting rights.
Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin demanded the immediate release of political leaders, students and young protesters detained across the country. He compared the scenes in Delhi to the Emergency that he lived through. Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti compared the restrictions in Delhi to the situation in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution in 2019.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) condemned ‘widespread repression’ by the Delhi Police, saying its leaders were detained while demanding electoral reforms and Kumar’s resignation. Among those detained were CPI(M) General Secretary MA Baby, former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Brinda Karat and Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra condemned Dipke’s detention aboard an aircraft, describing it as ‘bullying’ and compared the situation to the Emergency.
Source:
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