PoliticsOpposition
'Modi's life is in Gyanesh Kumar': Rahul Gandhi holds up a parrot as Kharge vows to keep fighting until the CEC goes
Once the opposition march reached Ramlila Maidan, the INDIA bloc's two most senior Congress leaders took the stage, one with a folk tale and a parrot, the other with a promise not to let the 'government of theft' run.
Key points
- Rahul Gandhi said Modi's life lies in Gyanesh Kumar, like the king in the parrot tale.
- Mallikarjun Kharge said the opposition will fight until the CEC is removed.
- Rahul accused the BJP of forcing Connaught Place shops to shut.
Rahul Gandhi reached for an old folk tale at Ramlila Maidan on Sunday afternoon. Holding up a parrot, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha told the INDIA bloc rally that the Prime Minister’s life lies in the Chief Election Commissioner.
“The king’s life was in the parrot, and Modi ji’s life is in Gyanesh Kumar,” he said, drawing on the story of a king whose life is hidden inside a bird. The jibe summed up the day’s demand from the stage: that Gyanesh Kumar resign over the removal of names from voter lists during the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision.
The opposition march from Minto Bridge reached the ground at about 3 pm, after a slow crawl through central Delhi with Rahul, Akhilesh Yadav, Mamata Banerjee, Tejashwi Yadav and Farooq Abdullah on an open bus. Priyanka Gandhi, Supriya Sule and K C Venugopal were also among the leaders at the rally.
‘A government of theft’
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge made the same demand in harder terms. “We will not let a government of theft run,” he said, accusing Narendra Modi and Amit Shah of shielding the CEC.
“The way Narendra Modi and Shah tried to snatch away the people’s vote, today we have united here against it,” Kharge said. “Gyanesh Kumar has to go, and until he is removed, we will keep fighting.”
He said the government had tried to take away the votes of young people, women and Dalits, and was reported to have told the crowd that the opposition would track the CEC down even if he hid in the netherworld. He closed with a call to remove Modi to save democracy.
Shutters down in Connaught Place
Rahul also turned to Delhi’s traders, whom he had urged in the run-up to the rally to welcome the crowds. “We told people that when you come for the mega rally, do some shopping,” he said. “But while coming through Connaught Place, we found that the BJP had forcibly shut the shops.” He asked who would make good the traders’ losses.
The BJP has called the rally an attempt to spread anarchy, and its leaders spent the day reminding the Congress that 1 November is the anniversary of the 1984 anti-Sikh violence. The Election Commission has denied acting with political bias, and had not responded to the speeches by late afternoon.
Delhi Police have told the organisers to wrap up by 5 pm.