Rahul Gandhi Backs Young Protesters as Police Crack Down on CJP Demonstration
Rahul Gandhi criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar amid mass detentions during protests over the electoral roll revision exercise in Delhi.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday expressed support for young protesters as Delhi Police detained demonstrators during a crackdown on a protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
In a post on X, Gandhi criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other senior figures, including RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. He accused the government of attempting to suppress dissent and said the Opposition would defend the Constitution and protect citizens’ voices.
Gandhi urged young Indians to continue protesting, asserting that arrests and increased police deployment would not stop the movement.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also criticised the security restrictions in Delhi. She alleged that MPs and young demonstrators had been illegally detained and questioned restrictions affecting public movement and protest activity.
The remarks came as police detained several Opposition leaders, including Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal, during efforts to prevent the CJP protest from reaching Jantar Mantar. Other detained leaders included TMC MPs Derek O’Brien and Dola Sen, former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and several AAP leaders.
More than 2,000 people were reportedly detained during the operation, including YouTuber Dhruv Rathee.
Mamata Banerjee later said she and other leaders had begun a sit-in at Dwarka North police station. The detentions intensified Opposition demands for accountability from the Election Commission and criticism of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
