Chandigarh: Congress MP Manish Tewari on Thursday questioned the BJP’s ‘Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy’ march, saying that restoring the voting rights of 13 crore disenfranchised people would eliminate the need for rallies.
The remarks come amid a political face-off between the BJP and the Congress, with both parties claiming to be defending democracy.
As the Congress prepares to take its ‘vote chori’ campaign to Ramlila Maidan on November 1, the BJP has taken its campaign to the streets of Old Delhi, organising a ‘Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy’ padyatra in busy Chandni Chowk. The BJP is also holding similar marches across the country.
Led by BJP President Nitin Nabin and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, the march comes amid concerns raised by traders who fear that barricading, traffic diversions and possible Metro restrictions due to marches and protests during the festive shopping season could disrupt business in the capital’s wholesale markets.
Speaking to IANS, Tewari questioned the purpose of the BJP’s march in an area that is not a designated protest sight in the national Capital.
“What is this padyatra even about? We are fighting for voting rights. Restore the voting rights of the 13 crore people who have been disenfranchised, and there will be no need to take out any rallies,” he said.
Tewari also reacted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks on the recent Member of Legislative Council (MLC) poll results, saying that every election had its own context.
“The context of every election is different. MLC elections have a distinct electoral constituency. In such a situation, it does not behove someone holding the office of Prime Minister to make such remarks. As I said earlier, every election has its own unique context and scope,” he said.
On Wednesday, PM Modi took a swipe at the Congress over MLC elections held across 28 seats in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka, highlighting that the polls were conducted using ballot papers and questioning how many seats the Congress had won.
However, the Nagpur MLC election result provided the Congress with an opportunity to target the BJP, including PM Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis as it retained the seat in the area that houses the RSS’ national headquarters.
The Maharashtra results also provided a boost to the Opposition MVA, which won three of the five seats that went to polls in the state.
(IANS)
