Jaipur, Oct 15 Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Thursday slammed the Centre over the detention of peaceful protesters in Delhi and demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing him of acting unconstitutionally.
Speaking to reporters at his residence here, the former Rajasthan deputy chief minister alleged that protesters demanding their rights were detained around 3 am, forced into buses and taken to police stations.
“Detaining people who are peacefully raising their demands reflects the government’s arrogance,” Pilot said.
The party general secretary said the Constitution guarantees citizens the right to express their views and stage peaceful demonstrations, as he condemned the alleged use of force and lathicharge against young protesters.
Pilot also questioned the fairness of deleting 13.30 crore names from electoral rolls, and wondered whether the Election Commission acted impartially.
“If people’s right to vote is taken away, how will democracy survive?” he said.
Pilot also mentioned objections raised by two election commissioners to decisions taken without consulting them.
“Earlier, there was notebandi. Now, there is votebandi (denial of voting rights),” Pilot said.
Pilot also expressed concern over the reported murder of former MLA Atar Singh Bhadana in Rajasthan, saying the broad daylight killing raises serious questions about public safety and law and order.
He also criticised the AAP government in Punjab over the killing of an anti-drug crusader in Mansa district.
The Congress Punjab in-charge claimed that gangsters and drug traffickers operate without fear in the state. He said Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann should resign if he cannot rein in criminals.
Pilot expressed confidence that the Congress would secure a majority in the upcoming panchayat elections in Rajasthan.
He said the party has constituted campaign and political affairs committees and appointed district in-charges to oversee preparations.
Pilot claimed that rural voters are unhappy with the BJP government over fertiliser shortages, lack of development and the alleged weakening of MGNREGA.
(PTI News)
