Tens of thousands of people took part in a mega ‘Loktantra Bachao Arajakta Hatao’ Padyatra taken out by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Jabalpur on Monday. Senior party leaders launched a strong attack on the Congress over its stand on democratic institutions, electoral rolls and the Election Commission. Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav, State BJP President Hemant Khandelwal and Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal led the ‘Loktantra Bachao Arajakta Hatao’ Padyatra and addressed the gathering at Shaheed Smarak, Gol Bazaar. The march covered a route of more than 2.5 km through the city. Around 80 welcome platforms were set up along the route. People from different communities, social organisations, trade groups and sports organisations welcomed the procession with flower showers. Lawyers, traders, women and party workers joined the march carrying the national flag. Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav accused the Congress of having a history of weakening democracy.

 

He referred to the Emergency imposed during the tenure of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and said the party had no moral right to lecture others on democratic values. Dr Yadav also referred to the political history of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Congress. He said the party had not stood by Bose and alleged that its leaders had repeatedly failed to respect democratic values. “The Congress party is no longer capable of running the country,” Dr Yadav said, adding that people had decided to end the party’s political influence across the country. He claimed that the Congress had already lost its presence in nearly 80 per cent of the country and would be wiped out from the remaining areas in the coming elections. Referring to the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, he said the large gathering in Jabalpur reflected public anger against the Congress.

 

The Chief Minister accused the Congress of questioning the EVMs, Election Commission and Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls after losing elections. He said the party accepted democratic institutions when it won but questioned them when it lost. State BJP President Hemant Khandelwal said the Congress and Rahul Gandhi are opposing the SIR of electoral rolls despite the process having been carried out several times during Congress governments. He said that after Independence, most SIR exercises had taken place under Congress governments. The process was also carried out during the tenure of former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and is now being conducted under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Khandelwal questioned why the Congress was opposing the removal of foreign citizens and deceased persons from voter lists. He also asked why the party was against removing duplicate names from electoral rolls.

 

He alleged that Rahul Gandhi was questioning democratic institutions to hide his political failures. Khandelwal said electoral roll verification was necessary to ensure fair elections. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal accused Rahul Gandhi and opposition leaders of trying to create disorder by questioning constitutional institutions. Referring to the opposition’s attempt to meet election officials on October 6, Meghwal said the Election Commission had asked them to provide the names of delegation members and details of their memorandum. He alleged that the opposition did not follow the process and later created a scene on the streets. Meghwal also referred to the opposition delegation’s meeting with the President. He said the President had asked them to provide proof of their allegations, but they failed to present evidence. The Union minister also cited the statement of Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant on approaching the Supreme Court.

 

He said the Chief Justice had made it clear that anyone could file a petition and the court would hear it. He accused the Congress of harming the country’s image and economy through its statements. Meghwal said the public participation in Jabalpur showed that people were committed to protecting democracy and respecting constitutional institutions. The march started at Shaheed Smarak in Gol Bazaar and passed through Shyam Talkies, Super Market, Lordganj Chowk, Ghamandi Chowk, Bada Fuhara, Andherdev, Tularam Chowk, Karamchand Chowk, Baglamukhi Temple and Malviya Chowk before returning to Gol Bazaar. Deputy Chief Minister Jagdish Deora, state ministers Rakesh Singh, Prahlad Patel and Sampatiya Uike, BJP state vice-president Dr Nishant Khare, state general secretary Rahul Kothari, state treasurer Akhilesh Jain, MPs Ashish Dubey and Sumitra Valmiki, Mayor Jagat Bahadur Singh and MLAs Ashok Rohani, Abhilash Pandey, Neeraj Singh, Sandeep Jain were among those present. Several other party leaders, public representatives, traders, social organisations and prominent citizens also participated in the march.