New Delhi [India], October 13 (ANI): Addressing the ongoing legal and political battle by the INDIA bloc against the Election Commission of India (ECI), Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday asserted that the opposition is determined to hold the constitutional body accountable.
Speaking to ANI about technical discrepancies in the bloc’s petition, Raut said, “The petition that has been filed mentions that the fee is short by Rs 220, there are several errors, and there are facts about 14 documents mentioned in it. Well, it is possible. We have individual petitions in the names of Rahul Ji, Mallikarjun Kharge Ji, and all other India Bloc leaders. There might be some errors in it, which we will now rectify and repair.”
Confirming his own involvement in the legal challenge, Raut stated, “Definitely, I am a petitioner. All the parties that were involved in yesterday’s protest are all petitioners.”
When asked about the specific objectives behind their plea to the Supreme Court, Raut said, “What do we want? We want the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar to resign. We want to stop the scams happening in the Election Commission. We want to stop the political pressure that is being exerted on the Election Commission. We want to stop the ECI. They have deleted the names of 13 crore people, and we want them to restore them.”
On the future strategy of the opposition, Raut noted, “Rahul Gandhi invited everyone for tea this evening. After that, we will decide the future direction. I won’t call it a strategy, but what the future direction is, that will be decided. We are all staying in Delhi, and until the future direction is finalized, we will stay here.”
Earlier, addressing the press, Raut also launched a blistering attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, accusing the central government of “choking democracy” by imposing restrictions on protest sites like Jantar Mantar in the national capital.
“Modi and Shah have become so scared that their bodies tremble and they lose sleep upon hearing the voice of the people. To prevent the protest from happening in Delhi, they have put a ban on Jantar Mantar. Jantar Mantar is closed. This is fear. The soul of democracy was at Jantar Mantar. The government has done the work of choking that democracy and silencing its voice by stopping the movement at Jantar Mantar,” Raut said.
Referencing Monday’s demonstrations, the Rajya Sabha MP lauded Rahul Gandhi for “awakening the country.”
“If Modi and Shah have watched the protest from yesterday, the question they asked—’Who is Rahul?’—must have been difficult for them to digest. This country has become awakened, and Rahul Gandhi is the one doing the work of waking it up. No matter what happens, even though Jantar Mantar was closed yesterday, lakhs of people took to the streets. It could have even reached in front of Modi’s house, and could have turned towards Krishna Menon Road. There was that much energy in that crowd yesterday. Even though Jantar Mantar was closed, as you must have seen, the protest was carried out under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi right in front of Modi’s residence. Tomorrow, we will do it at Krishna Menon Road as well. This is the voice of the public,” Raut asserted.
Raut emphasised that the public’s voice cannot be confined to the outskirts of Delhi. “By putting a ban on the locations of the movement, you cannot stop the movements against you,” he added. (ANI)
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