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Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) Vice President V Gurunadham on Saturday strongly condemned the police crackdown of opposition leaders ahead of the scheduled 'Chalo Lok Bhavan' protest march in Vijayawada, asserting that the demonstration was organised to safeguard democratic rights and constitutional freedoms.
Speaking to ANI, Gurunadham said, "Yesterday at 6:30 PM, the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee organised an all-party meeting in Vijayawada. Leaders from CPI, CPM, BSP and around 40 people's organisations participated. In that meeting, we unanimously decided to hold a peaceful march today from Lenin Centre to Lok Bhavan. Gurunadham stated that the primary demand of the joint opposition was the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the complete withdrawal of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which he termed an orchestrated exercise in voter disenfranchisement. "Our demands are clear. We are demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the scrapping of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The primary duty of the Election Commission is to add voters, but thousands of genuine voters are being deleted in the name of dead, shifted, and relocated. This is vote theft," Gurunadham said. The APCC leader claimed that the police administration launched coordinated raids past midnight to preempt the mobilisation. "Since 2:30 AM today, police have been going to the houses of our leaders and activists. Leaders including Narayana and several Congress workers have been placed under house arrest. They are not being allowed to step out of their homes," he alleged. Accusing the ruling establishment in Andhra Pradesh of acting at the behest of the Centre to muzzle legitimate opposition, Gurunadham asserted that democratic liberties were being dismantled in the state. "Despite having just 1.5 per cent vote share in Andhra Pradesh, the BJP, with the support of the TDP and Janasena governments, is suppressing opposition voices and curtailing democratic rights. This is a clear violation of fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 19, 20, and 21 of the Constitution. Every citizen has the right to move freely, to assemble peacefully, and to protest," he said. Terming the clampdown an abuse of legal provisions, the Congress leader added, "We condemn this unconstitutional action by the Central and State governments. Misusing Section 163 of the BNSS and Section 30 of the Police Act to stop a democratic protest is undemocratic. The Congress party has always stood for the people of this country, for democracy, and for the Constitution, and we will continue to do so." (ANI)
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