New Delhi, Oct 2 — Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders and workers, who were detained during a protest at the national capital's Jantar Mantar on Friday and were brought to the Fatehpur Beri Police Station in south Delhi, asserted that they were "not afraid of the police" while demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation.
The Opposition's "vote theft" allegations against Gyanesh Kumar gained momentum following a media report claiming differences within the poll panel.
Speaking to IANS, former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, who was among the detainees, said: “Indians got the right to vote when millions of freedom fighters sacrificed their lives to win independence for the country. Babasaheb Ambedkar gave us the right to vote," while accusing the BJP-led Centre of attempting to take away the right to vote, "through Gyanesh Kumar".
"No FIR is being registered against Gyanesh Kumar over vote theft, but those protesting to demand his resignation are being brutally picked up and taken to police stations. But we are not afraid of the police. The fight for democracy will continue," she asserted.
AAP spokesperson Anurag Dhanda, who was also detained, echoed a similar view.
“We are simply demanding that democracy should not be destroyed. We were saying that people should have the right to vote. Gyanesh Kumar took away the right to vote and committed vote theft, yet the vote thief is not being put in jail. Instead, they brought us here and made us sit at the police station. This is a complete dictatorship of the Modi government," he told IANS.
Meanwhile, several other AAP leaders, including the party's Delhi chief Saurabh Bharadwaj and MLA Jarnail Singh, took part in a protest march in the national capital.
Talking to IANS, Bharadwaj cited agitations across the country by all age groups, demanding the resignation of the CEC.
"Various political parties, social organisations, youth groups, student unions, and students from colleges and universities are protesting across the country to save the country -- to protect the country's democracy. So, Gyanesh Kumar will have to be removed, reforms must be made in the Election Commission, and the irregularities in the SIR must be rolled back. This is the only solution, and the government will have to accept it," he said.
Jarnail Singh added: "The two fellow Election Commissioners have exposed the CEC. As long as we were saying it, it could have been termed as allegations, but now their crime has been proven. Gyanesh Kumar should face a case of treason, be arrested, and be dismissed immediately for deleting votes to help the BJP."
"The country won't accept this kind of hooliganism," he told IANS.
AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha accused the BJP and Gyanesh Kumar of "conspiring to end democracy".
"A case of treason and betrayal against the country's democracy should be filed against Gyanesh Kumar, and he should be immediately locked up in jail," he added.