Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Saturday claimed that the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre would “collapse” by March-April next year.
“The beginning of the end of the Union government has started. It has panicked in the face of huge public dissent and will cease to exist by April next year. An alternate government would be formed at the Centre,” Raut told reporters in Pune on Saturday.
He criticised the mass security crackdown in the national capital in view of the Cockroach Janata Party’s (CJP) protests against the chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, saying that trains have been halted, protesters detained, and borders sealed to suppress widespread public agitation.
“Around 4.5 lakh Border Security Force (BSF) personnel have been brought in from Jammu & Kashmir and heavily deployed across Delhi to block youth and members of various organisations from gathering for protests against the government. But this is a people’s protest, and you cannot silence the voice of the people,” he said.
“The government must explain why roads leading to Delhi were sealed and several Delhi bound trains from various parts of the country were stopped and commercial flights diverted. This is an undemocratic government. Both Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah have become fearful following the revolt by the country’s people,” claimed Raut.
Responding to questions, Raut said that the country’s people want Kumar to step down immediately.
Earlier in the day, CJP activist Abhijeet Dipke, who was on a flight to Delhi from Mumbai to participate in the protest, posted a video on Instagram claiming that police were detaining him and his associates even as they deboarded the aircraft at Delhi airport. The CJP claimed that content creator Dhruv Rathee had been detained, saying, “The Dictator is TERRIFIED of young people who question its wrongdoings and refuse to stay silent.”
80 students, CJP volunteers detained during protest near Lal Mahal
Pune city police detained around 80 students and volunteers of the CJP near Lal Mahal on Saturday afternoon as they staged a protest against the Union government and demanded the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar. The protesters also asserted that they would not tolerate “vote chori” (vote theft) during elections under any circumstances. The police had deployed adequate personnel in the vicinity of Lal Mahal to maintain law and order. Additional police commissioner Rajesh Bansode said the protesters were taken to the Cantonment Police Station and released a couple of hours later.
“There were no untoward incidents at the protest venue,” he added.
