The ‘Save Democracy’ campaign was organised at Jantar Mantar as part of the nationwide protest called by the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) over the suspension of parliamentarians.
Photo: ANI
Leaders from Opposition parties on Friday took to street of the national capital for the second consecutive day over the suspension of 146 MPs during the Winter Session of Parliament, accusing the BJP-led government of “dictatorship”.
The ‘Save Democracy’ campaign was organised at Jantar Mantar as part of the nationwide protest called by the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) over the suspension of parliamentarians.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, former party president Rahul Gandhi and party’s leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury; Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury, CPI leader D Raja and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Manoj Kumar Jha, among others participated in the protest.
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Addressing the gathering, the Congress chief said, “(Narendra) Modi and Amit Shah have taken the initiative to end the democracy and Constitution of the country. So, we have formed the INDIA alliance.”
Kharge, who is also the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, said “Under our Constitution, everyone has the right to speak. When we give notice (in Parliament), we are not even allowed to read the notice. You can’t take away our right to speak. This freedom was given to us by Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi.”
Attacking the government, he said, “You suspend Opposition MPs and pass the laws (Bills) unopposed. This is not good for democracy. But, we are not afraid of the Modi government. We will fight together.”
Echoing similar sentiments, the NCP chief said, “We are ready to pay whatever price … to save the democracy of the country. We will work hard to remove the forces attacking the democracy.’’
The CPI leader said, “The prime architect of our Constitution, Dr BR Ambedkar made it clear that Parliament is supreme as it represents the sovereign will of the people. If Parliament becomes redundant, democracy will be killed.”
He further said, “Can we allow such a fascist dictatorship to take over the country? The INDIA alliance must put up a collective fight against the BJP-RSS. The Constitution must be saved. India’s democracy must be saved.”
Slamming the government over the suspension of MPs, RJD leader Jha said, “This fight is not just of the suspended MPs but of the entire country.”
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