CPI's D Raja slams govt over foreign conspiracy allegations, asks PM to "come forward and debate in public"

Amid the ongoing agitation against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, challenging the ruling party's narrative of external interference, Raja questioned the executive's reluctance to face open public or legislative scrutiny.

"When issues are raised by opposition parties, they target opposition parties for getting support from foreign powers, backed by foreign powers. Who are those foreign powers? As Prime Minister, he must know if that is so; why can't he come forward and debate in public in Parliament?" D Raja told ANI.

Echoing similar concerns regarding the functioning of the legislature, Congress MP Imran Masood accused the treasury benches of silencing opposition voices inside the House.

"Parliament has become one-way traffic. Rahul Gandhis microphone is repeatedly being switched off. He has openly challenged the Prime Minister. If he is confident, let him debate without a teleprompter," Masood told ANI.

Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Rajeev Kumar Rai also called for an open discussion.

"I am a small person still, I am giving suggestions, and I will also convince our leader and go to everyone. If the Bharatiya Janata Party says, yes, we are also ready for an open discussion with no time limit, no disruption, no hooting and shouting, let the peaceful whole country know what the truth is, and then the people of the country decide what is right, what is wrong," Rajeev Kumar Rai told ANI.

Meanwhile, Communist Party of India (CPI) MP P Sandosh Kumar launched a scathing attack on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing the government of systematically discrediting public protests and evading accountability through unsubstantiated claims of foreign interference.

Addressing the ruling party's recurring narrative against public agitations, Kumar asserted that foreign funding allegations have become the main agenda of the ruling party.

"Whenever a protest happens in our country. The allegation of foreign funding has become the main agenda of the BJP," Kumar told ANI.

Connecting the ongoing debate to wider electoral concerns, Kumar maintained that opposition apprehensions regarding administrative actions have been proven justified."So once again it has become evident that the apprehensions raised by the opposition political parties are correct," Kumar said.

Kumar alleged, "SIR was a systematic, intensive removal of voters from the list. This was our allegation; this was our apprehension. And it affected already around 14 per cent of voters. Now the Election Commission is slowly, slowly, deviating from its position. It acknowledges the stand taken by the opposition parties. Now everything is clearer, more evident."

The reactions came after Rahul Gandhi intensified his challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for an open debate, launching a poll on social media platform X asking young Indians whether they wanted to see the two leaders engage in a face-to-face discussion.

Gandhi tagged senior BJP leaders, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, urging them to convince the Prime Minister to accept.(ANI)