Arrests of Opposition Leaders an Assault on Democracy: Revanth Reddy

New Delhi: Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy launched a blistering attack on the Union government on Wednesday, accusing it of orchestrating a conspiracy to strip citizens of their fundamental voting rights and attempting to divide the nation into “two classes of citizens—those with voting rights and those without.”

Speaking to the media in New Delhi following his detention by police on Wednesday night, the Chief Minister strongly condemned the arrest of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, and AICC General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The Congress leaders were detained while demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged widespread discrepancies in the electoral rolls (SIR).

Terming the arrests a direct assault on democracy, Revanth Reddy said the Centre was targeting opposition leaders instead of acting against officials responsible for electoral roll manipulation.

Drawing a parallel with the freedom struggle, Revanth Reddy invoked the historic ‘Simon Go Back’ agitation, calling on citizens to rally behind the nationwide ‘GK (Gyanesh Kumar) Go Back’ movement.

He warned that the stir would not subside until the CEC stepped down. Recalling the year-long farmers’ agitation, the Chief Minister noted that the Modi government was forced to repeal the contentious farm laws under intense public pressure. He asserted that the Centre would face a similar fate now, warning that an obstinate stance could snowball into an escalation demanding the Prime Minister’s resignation.

The Chief Minister made it clear that the constitutional right to vote cannot be usurped by any authority. He accused the Centre of previously weaponising central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and Income Tax Department against political opponents, adding that it has now compromised the Election Commission of India (ECI) for electoral advantage.

Revanth Reddy warned that the Congress party would foil all attempts to engineer election outcomes through arbitrary deletions from voter lists. He further argued that the heavy-handed police conduct towards Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi laid bare the intolerance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Emphasising that the agitation extends beyond party lines, Revanth Reddy stated that the INDIA bloc and citizens across the country are closely monitoring developments around the electoral discrepancies.

He warned that regimes that trample upon constitutional guarantees inevitably face rejection in the people’s court, urging the Union government to heed public outrage, remove Gyanesh Kumar from office, and restore institutional integrity. Congress cadre nationwide, he added, will escalate the democratic battle inside and outside Parliament to protect the Constitution.