Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge Condemn BJP Over Protest Arrests
Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge accused the BJP of authoritarianism after Delhi Police arrested activists protesting electoral roll irregularities at Jantar Mantar.
Opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge have accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of authoritarianism following the arrest of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) activists in New Delhi. The arrests of Sourav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, who were remanded to five days of judicial custody, occurred after they allegedly trespassed into the denotified protest site at Jantar Mantar.
The protests target Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Kharge criticized Union Home Minister Amit Shah for reportedly labeling 13.3 crore people excluded from the SIR as "infiltrators," describing the situation as an "unofficial Emergency."
Rahul Gandhi warned Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah that officials responsible for alleged police brutality against protesters would face consequences. During a press conference with National Students' Union of India (NSUI) activists, Gandhi urged students to record evidence of assaults, citing reports of a woman being choked and slapped by a constable. While Delhi Police maintain the arrests were necessary to preserve public peace, the Delhi High Court is currently considering a petition for an independent probe into the October 10 demonstrations, a move the police are challenging.
