PULWAMA — Former Member of the Punjab Legislative Assembly and All India Congress Committee (AICC) Observer Kuljit Singh Nagra on Thursday described his party’s campaign against alleged electoral manipulation and the BJP-led government at the Centre as a second freedom movement, saying the struggle would continue until those responsible for undermining democracy were held accountable.
He also slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party over the division into two Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh in what he described as a ‘sheer disregard for the constitution’.
Speaking during a meeting with party leaders in Pulwama, Nagra said the Congress campaign was not a one-day protest but a sustained political movement that would intensify with a major gathering at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on November 1.
Members from other political parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party, also participated in the meeting under the larger banner of the INDIA bloc.
Among other Congress party leaders who participated in the meeting were Surinder Singh Channi (Vice President J&K Congress), Umer Jaan (Pulwama Congress President) and Irfan Hafiz Lone (Wagoora–Kreeri Assembly constituency MLA).
Allegations of electoral manipulation
Irfan Hafiz Lone said slogans such as “Vote Choor Kahan Milenge, BJP Ke Daftar Mein” and “Naam Narender, Kaam Surrender” had become people’s slogans to criticise the shortcomings of the ruling party.
He alleged that electoral processes had been manipulated to secure political victories, claiming that questions surrounding elections in several states had raised serious concerns about the functioning of democracy.
“They want to run the country by dividing and ruling. They have adopted the backdoor route, whether in Lok Sabha elections or Assembly elections,” Lone alleged.
He said the campaign had moved beyond the Congress, Rahul Gandhi and the INDIA bloc and had become a wider national concern.
“This is no longer only the issue of the Congress Party or Rahul Gandhi. It is not only the issue of the INDIA bloc. It is an issue concerning the entire country,” he said.
He claimed people were increasingly questioning how electoral victories had been secured and alleged that democratic institutions had been undermined.
Upcoming programmes
Meanwhile, Kuljit Singh Nagra said the first major demonstration of the next phase of the campaign would take place at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on November 1. He also referred to another programme scheduled for November 25 and indicated that the movement would continue during the subsequent parliamentary period.
“You will see the first glimpse on November 1 at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi. It will not end with that gathering. There is another programme on November 25, and the movement will continue,” he said.
The Congress leader maintained that the campaign would continue until accountability was established for what he described as attempts to undermine the country’s democratic system.
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