Modi silencing dissent, but spirit of democracy can’t be crushed: Rahul Gandhi

“They are silencing voices as you saw in Delhi. The entire city was shutdown, internet was shutdown. Police was beating students. BJP released their own ‘goondas’ who were beating and thrashing students,” Rahul said while addressing students at the party’s outreach programme ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ in Chennai.

Addressing thousands of students from across the city, Rahul, who had earlier held a meeting with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, slammed Modi over the alleged police action on student protesters. “Modi is destroying India’s democracy. Centre is killing curiosity. But he doesn’t understand that the game is over. The Opposition has surrounded Modi and Shah and their coterie. Mogambo Modi is destroying democracy in India, but I assure you that nobody is going to crush the spirit of this country however powerful or resourceful he might be,” Rahul said amid applause from the young crowd.

“I guarantee you this. Stand up against injustice. Never stop asking questions,” he urged the students.

The Congress leader’s remarks came as protests rocked Delhi over demands for Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and allegations of irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

He linked the importance of dissent and questioning to the role of students in a democracy, arguing that curiosity was essential for progress and innovation.