Rahul accuses Modi, Shah of direct assault on youth as protesters breach Delhi barricades

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah of targeting the country’s youth and turning Delhi into a “prison”, as protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar continued amid a police crackdown in the national capital.

“Narendra Modi and Amit Shah have attacked the youth of this country, turned Delhi into a prison, unleashed BJP gundas on boys and girls,” Gandhi said.

“But no matter what they do, the trap is closing on them,” he added, asserting that the country’s youth and the Opposition would get justice.

Meanwhile, protester Neha Bora said demonstrators had crossed police barricades and reached Connaught Place (CP) in Delhi.

“We have crossed the barricades and reached CP,” Bora said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut also criticised the police action against protesters, calling Delhi a “detention state” and alleging that the situation reflected an emergency in the country.

Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Raut said the protests demanding Kumar’s resignation were not limited to the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), but involved people who had faith in democracy.

“Delhi has become a detention state. When there is a detention state and police raj, then you have to accept that there is emergency in the country,” he said.

Raut also criticised the Maharashtra government over the police action against protesters in Mumbai on Saturday, saying Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis should apologise.

Police detained more than 7,000 protesters at multiple locations in Delhi on Saturday, preventing them from reaching Jantar Mantar, according to PTI.

CJP leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, who were placed under preventive arrest after being detained at Delhi airport ahead of the protest, were released on Sunday morning after being produced before an executive magistrate. CJP legal affairs head Ratna Singh said they were released on the condition that they would not “breach peace” for a year.

Raut also claimed that there was unease within the BJP over the political situation and predicted a change in the country’s political leadership by March-April next year. He alleged that four senior BJP leaders in the Union cabinet, whom he did not name, were discussing a decision in the interest of the country.

Drawing parallels with the Emergency imposed in 1975 and the final years of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini’s rule, Raut alleged that curbs on protests and the detention of Opposition leaders reflected a similar situation in India.