New Delhi, Oct 7 (IANS): Congress MP Imran Masood on Tuesday reacted to the detention and subsequent release of opposition leaders during protests against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that the central government was weakening democratic institutions. He said that if people remained silent today, future generations would not forgive them.
Speaking to IANS, Masood said, “I also fell ill last night, and we returned at 10 p.m. In a democracy, arrests and protests are not unusual; they are a natural part of democratic life. But the work being done to destroy democracy is intolerable. If we remain silent today, future generations will not forgive us, because they have created a spectacle.”
Masood demanded the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that the Election Commission’s credibility has been severely damaged.
He claimed that public trust and confidence in the institution has been eroded and alleged that those responsible have no moral right to remain in office.
On the Opposition’s protests over alleged ‘vote theft’ and its criticism of Gyanesh Kumar, Masood said that the awareness generated by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has grown into a mass movement.
“The awareness ignited by Rahul Gandhi has now become a storm and a hurricane. Everyone will be blown away like leaves in this storm. This uproar will spread to every street, and people across the country will be seen raising their voices against it,” he said.
Countering the BJP’s claim that 13 crore names were only marked in the draft voter list and had not been removed, the Congress MP alleged that millions of people had effectively been deprived of their right to vote.
“You did not remove the names, but listed them as ineligible to vote. You deprived them of their right to vote. That is how you won. You formed the government with fewer votes than the number of people you deprived of their right to vote. In this case, your entire government is illegitimate,” he alleged.
Taking aim at the BJP’s nationwide ‘Seva Jyoti Yatra’ marking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 25 years in public life, Masood alleged that the country had lost more than it had gained during the tenure of the current government.
“What else can you do to ruin the country? The country has been destroyed. During the current government’s tenure, the country has lost and gained nothing. India’s credibility has declined globally. Respect for country’s constitutional institutions and their impartiality has eroded. The roots of democracy have been weakened. You have only learnt to do politics based on hatred,” he said.
Citing Pakistan as an example, Masood warned against politics based on communalism and hatred.
“If you follow the foundation of hatred and communalism, the path to destruction will open, not prosperity. Just look at our neighbouring country. At the time of Independence, Jinnah promised that his country would remain secular, but it did not follow that path and instead chose communalism. Today, Pakistan’s destruction is visible to all. The fire of communalism destroys everyone because, when a fire starts, it does not look at whose house it is,” he said.
