BJP govt subverting democracy and Constitution: Opposition leaders
Lok Sabha elections with a scathing attack on Narendra Modi government, accusing it of subverting democracy and Constitution.
All major Opposition leaders — Sonia Gandhi, son Rahul, daughter Priyanka, Mallikarjun Kharge, Sharad Pawar, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, Sitaram Yechury, D Raja, Uddhav Thackerary, son Aditya, Farooq Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti, Champai Soren — came together at 'Loktantra Bachao Rally' to press for the release of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Jharkhand's former CM Hemant Soren.
Kejriwal's March 21 arrest is the immediate trigger for the entire Opposition to come together, but the finer optics of the rally went far beyond. For starters, Trinamool Congress, which could not hammer out a seat-sharing pact with the Congress in West Bengal, came out strongly in support of the INDIA bloc, with leader Derek O'Brien stating that his party «was, is and will be with INDIA bloc». Sonia, who has been keeping away from most public engagements, made a rare appearance and sat next to Kejriwal's wife Sunita to show her support. Two chairs were kept empty on the stage for Kejriwal and Soren to emphasise that Opposition leaders' arrest by central investigative agencies was the central point of the rally.
The Opposition put forth following demands to the Election Commission of India: A level playing field before elections, efforts to forcefully scuttle Opposition parties' finances should be immediately stopped, action by ED, CBI and the Income-Tax department should be stopped and a Supreme
