ഇന്ത്യ ഒരു 'ബനാന റിപ്പബ്ലിക്കല്ലെന്നും' രാജ്യം ഭരിക്കുന്നത് തെരുവുകളിൽ നിന്നല്ല, പാർലമെന്റിൽ നിന്നാണെന്നും ബിജെപി എംപി രവിശങ്കർ പ്രസാദ് പറഞ്ഞു. തിരഞ്ഞെടുപ്പ് കമ്മീഷണർക്കെതിരെ പ്രതിപക്ഷ നേതാക്കൾ നടത്തിയ പ്രതിഷേധത്തെ തുടർന്നാണ് അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ പ്രതികരണം. തിരഞ്ഞെടുപ്പ് പരാജയങ്ങൾ മറയ്ക്കാൻ പ്രതിപക്ഷം തെരുവുകളെ ആയുധമാക്കുകയാണെന്നും അദ്ദേഹം കുറ്റപ്പെടുത്തി.
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BJP MP and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Saturday that India is "not a banana republic" and that the country will be governed from Parliament, not from the streets.
He was speaking at a press conference in New Delhi, hours after Delhi Police detained several Opposition leaders and members of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Jantar Mantar. Those held included former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Aam Aadmi Party convener and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, and former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. They had gathered to protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Police had refused permission for the demonstration.
"India is not a banana republic. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, this country has never bowed and never will," Prasad said.
Pointing to the events of the past three days, Prasad said two things had become clear. "One, Indian democracy has thwarted attempts to incite anarchy. Two, the country will be governed by Parliament, not by the streets," he said.
He cited the BJP-led NDA's bypoll wins in Assam, West Bengal and Puducherry on Friday. "The BJP wishes to particularly highlight that this stellar performance in Bengal, Assam, and Puducherry occurred while a movement for anarchy was underway in Delhi and other parts of the country," he added.
Prasad said the Union government was not against protests, but accused the Opposition of misusing them. "Protests should take place in a democracy. But you have weaponised street protests because of your electoral defeats. And the surprising thing is that you are not even moving together," he said.
Taking a dig at the INDIA bloc, he said: "There is competition even within that."
He then described how the protests had unfolded. "Rahul (Gandhi) ji held on for three days before leaving. Then came CJP, doing 'shadow boxing' for the Aam Aadmi Party. The drama began in the morning, followed by the arrival of Arvind Kejriwal and others. Then Mamata (Banerjee) ji wondered why she should be left behind, so she showed up too, and the CPI/CPI-M also joined the fray. These defeated, desperate individuals have been harassing the people of Delhi for the past three or four days and weaponising street protests," he said.
Prasad ended by praising the public. "We are proud of the people of India for thwarting and defeating this conspiracy of theirs (opposition parties). The dignity of democracy has destroyed the chronic anarchy which the Opposition is trying to ferment," he said.
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