Day after INDIA Bloc leaders filed a plea in the Supreme Court against CEC Gyanesh Kumar and irregularities in the SIR process, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi hosted a high tea at his Sunheri Bagh residence in Delhi today. Opposition leaders including Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, RJD Chief Tejashwi Yadav, CPI(M) leader D Raja, NCP SP's Supriya Sule among others attended the high tea.
The opposition's get together came amid INDIA Bloc's massive protests against the SIR and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing him of taking unilateral decisions regarding the SIR, without the consent of the two Election Commissioners.
INDIA Bloc's plea in SC questioned the massive deletion of voters from across the country, besides seeking an interim stay on the ongoing SIR process. The plea further sought disclosure of disagreements between the CEC and the two ECs and a judicial inquiry in the manner those decisions were taken.
One person that caught the eye of everyone at Rahul Gandhi's high tea was student leader and AISA President Neha Bora. The 28-year-old was also seen with the Gandhi siblings on Tuesday when they marched towards the Supreme Court to file their petition.
Who Said What After Rahul Gandhi's High Tea
After the high tea meet, a press conference was held, in which Lok Sabha LoP and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that they are all standing together as one and there are no parallel protests.
"There is one singular protest, and the protest has one mission: restoration of democracy in India. Democracy has been destroyed in this country. The election system has been destroyed. We are fighting together to restore democratic rule, genuine democratic rule in this country," Rahul Gandhi said.
Denouncing government's decision to denotify Jantar Mantar as a protest site, Gandhi said, "The one method of expression of democracy was Jantar Mantar and now the government has decided that Jantar Mantar can no longer be used to express democratic feelings. Well, we are going to challenge that idea. It is not going to be so simple for the government to decide that the Indian people will not fight for their voice. The people who have done this, they need to understand that the net is closing around them."
AISA president Neha Bora says, “When we say ‘We the People versus the BJP’, we are talking about one fight. We are talking about one common enemy, one enemy of the people of this country, one enemy of Indian democracy, one enemy of the Constitution, and the name of that enemy is the BJP. If the BJP thinks it can attack the foundations of democracy, and when people take to the streets to protest and demand their voting rights, their right to protest can also be taken away and they will remain silent, then the BJP has something else on its head."
Congress leader Pawan Khera said, "Did Mahatma Gandhi seek permission from the British? Did he obtain permission from the British for the Dandi March? So, what does permission even mean? We will do what we have to do. If we have to fight for the country, we will fight."
Samajwadi Party MP Harendra Singh Malik says, "The biggest thing is that we are all united for the protection of democracy against its destruction, and we will fight until our last breath, and we will definitely win."
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said, "The constitutional rights of our people, including the right to vote and decide their future, should not be taken away. Our stand on the SIR issue remains unchanged. We are not withdrawing. We need accountability for the injustice happening in our country, and we want the Supreme Court to hear the matter. We cannot accept the 'out of sight, out of mind' approach of moving protests outside the city. The authorities should listen to the people...."
TMC MP Sagarika Ghose said, "Every day, it is becoming clearer that the Gyanesh Kumar-headed Election Commission is destroying free and fair polls in India. As long as the Gyanesh Kumar-headed Election Commission continues, there will be no free and fair elections in India..."
Congress leader Deepender Singh Hooda said, "The Election Commission must be impartial, the electoral process in the country must be fair, and democracy must be restored in the country. With that objective, our struggle will continue..."