Congress MP and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi said on Tuesday that protests mounted by the INDIA bloc over alleged voting irregularities were directed toward a single objective: the restoration of democratic norms across the country.
Speaking to journalists, Gandhi addressed supporters who had assembled at his residence following a high tea with leaders drawn from the INDIA bloc, opposition parliamentarians, and student groups. He contended that democratic institutions had been progressively undermined by the government and outlined plans for a coordinated opposition push aimed at restoring democratic norms, describing the effort as a single, focused movement built around one objective — the reinstatement of democratic governance in India.
Gandhi claimed that democratic institutions — including the Election Commission and the Constitution itself — had been gutted and rendered ineffective. He conveyed that those involved in the effort were united in their push to bring democratic governance back to the nation.
The opposition, he added, intends to mount a legal or formal challenge against the authorities' move to bar Jantar Mantar from serving as a venue for public protest. He stated that Jantar Mantar had long served as one avenue for democratic participation, yet the authorities had moved to restrict its use for public expression of that kind — a position his group intended to contest.
Gandhi further contended that Prime Minister Narendra Modi bore primary responsibility for what he described as an assault on the Constitution, with Home Minister Amit Shah carrying out that agenda, and Gyanesh Kumar also named as a party to those actions. He added that a government cannot so readily strip citizens of their right to political representation.
Gandhi put forward the position that any attempt to dismantle the Indian Constitution would carry consequences for those behind it.
Following the meeting, Kerala Minister Ramesh Chennithala told reporters that the INDIA bloc and Congress intended to press ahead with their opposition to the Election Commission. Chennithala asserted that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had undermined the integrity of the electoral process.
The INDIA alliance, along with the Congress party, has pledged to contest the electoral process through every available avenue. Chennithala stated that a shared resolve had formed across the group to take action against what he described as wrongdoing by the Central Government and by Gyanesh Kumar in particular.
Chennithala further claimed that a file relating to Gyanesh Kumar's conduct during his time as PWD secretary in Kerala roughly two decades ago was under review by the state government, adding that an application concerning those activities had come to him during that period. The document's details are now under review.
He alleged that the documentation pointed to Gyanesh Kumar's involvement in a range of irregularities, and added that the government had resolved to examine the matter thoroughly, with a formal position expected once a detailed review was completed. Chennithala said the matter had been placed before the Director and the Anti-Corruption Bureau of Kerala.
