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Following the detention of Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and other INDIA bloc MPs during a protest in the national capital, Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has come out strongly in their support, stating that they are "fighting for the younger generation".
Speaking to ANI on Tuesday, the Karnataka CM slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alleging voter roll manipulation in Karnataka and urging them to contest elections fairly. Rallying behind the Gandhi siblings, CM Shivakumar said, "Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi are fighting for the younger generation... See, this is a democratic world... The way they are trying to delete votes in my state, I am ashamed. BJP should not go to this level. We should win the election in a general way, earning the hearts of the people of the country. The entire nation, in fact, all the voters, have been worried about this issue... My vote is my right... I think today we all should stand by him." Taking a direct swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shivakumar questioned whether the actions were taking place with the knowledge of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "I don't know whether the Prime Minister knows about it. Without the consent of the Prime Minister, I think they would not go to this level," he added. His remarks came after INDIA bloc leaders marched towards Nirvachan Sadan on October 6 to protest against the Election Commission and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The INDIA bloc has been demanding answers from the Election Commission over the issue and has accused the poll panel of failing to address its concerns. The Opposition's protest formed part of its broader Save Democracy campaign. Leaders of several INDIA bloc parties had marched towards Nirvachan Sadan but were stopped by barricades. The protest was followed by a sit-in at Akashvani Bhawan, where Rahul Gandhi claimed that around 300 Opposition MPs wanted to meet the Election Commissioners and submit their concerns. Several Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, were later detained by Delhi Police. Rahul Gandhi had defended the protest, saying the Opposition merely wanted to meet the Election Commissioners and ask questions about the electoral roll revision. 300 opposition MPs were removed from there, so I came here and sat. We just want to meet Gyanesh Kumar and the other election commissioners. We are all opposition MPs from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and we just want to talk to them. Dont know why the Election Commission does not want to talk to us. Crores of people have voted for us. We just want to ask questions, but they dont want to answer, Gandhi said. (ANI)
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