New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said students have exercised their constitutional right and protested against ‘vote chori’ as he asserted that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar will go and the system that put him there will go too.
In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said that today is Gandhi Jayanti and thousands of young people are on the streets against "vote chori" peacefully, without violence, exercising their constitutional rights.
"Their demand is clear: Gyanesh Kumar must resign. Save democracy. And the Modi-Shah government's response? Boys and girls are being dragged off the streets. Hundreds are in custody. Their only crime is that they dared to question vote theft," the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said.
"Bapu taught us exactly this - speak the truth, fight peacefully. And that's what scares this government the most," he said.
Because a lathi can stop a crowd, but not a question, he stressed.
"Gyanesh Kumar will go. And the system that put him there will go too," Gandhi said.
आज गांधी जयंती है।और आज ही, हज़ारों नौजवान वोट चोरी के ख़िलाफ़ सड़कों पर हैं - शांतिपूर्वक, बिना हिंसा के, अपने संवैधानिक अधिकार का इस्तेमाल करते हुए।उनकी माँग साफ़ है: ज्ञानेश कुमार इस्तीफ़ा दें। लोकतंत्र बचाओ।और Modi-Shah सरकार का जवाब? लड़के-लड़कियों को सड़कों पर घसीटा…
His remarks came as opposition parties and student organisations took to the streets in Delhi and Mumbai demanding the resignation of Kumar with more than 700 protesters detained in the national capital.
The protests were part of a wider mobilisation by political parties, student organisations and youth groups demanding Kumar's resignation and raising concerns over the electoral roll revision exercise.
Protests were also held in several other parts of the country, including Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Patna.