Jammu, Oct 10: Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary on Saturday took exception to the detention of Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) leaders and curbs to prevent its protest in the union capital, asking if the current situation was not akin to emergency.
“Protest is democratic right and detention is wrong. The allegations against the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) have been made by his own colleagues- the two other Election Commissioners. The allegations against CEC warrant an investigation and therefore he should resign on moral grounds. BJP leaders, off and on, refer to the emergency and criticise it. But is the prevailing situation less serious than an emergency? What do the curbs in the union capital, completely paralysing it, convey? They raise questions over democratic rights,” Choudhary said, on the sidelines of a public function here.
He was responding to media queries on the side about the developments unfolding in the union capital amid CJP’s call for protest and detention of its leaders.
Choudhary asserted that there was a need for a transparent voting process to strengthen democracy and make it vibrant.
The Deputy Chief Minister also defended the meeting of opposition leaders with the President Droupadi Murmu, by describing it as a move aimed at protecting the freedom and integrity of constitutional institutions by airing issues before the “custodian of the Constitution” as he referred to the President. He also criticised the alleged “use of force against the young protesters, particularly the women.”
He accused the BJP of diverting attention from real issues of the country like unemployment by “labelling the protesters who raise genuine issues as anti-nationals and dividing the country.”
