India Will Be Governed by Parliament, Not Streets: Ravi Shankar Prasad

His remarks came after several Opposition leaders, including former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, were detained after attempting to participate in a protest at Jantar Mantar against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Delhi Police had denied permission for the demonstration.

Addressing a press conference, Prasad said India had never bowed under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and would continue to uphold its democratic system.

Referring to events over the preceding days, the BJP leader said Indian democracy had thwarted attempts to create anarchy and maintained that the country’s governance would be conducted through Parliament, not the streets.

He also cited the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance’s performance in bypolls in Assam, West Bengal and Puducherry on Friday, arguing that the results came amid protests in Delhi and other parts of the country.

Prasad said the BJP did not oppose protests in a democracy but accused Opposition parties of using street demonstrations in response to electoral defeats. He also pointed to divisions within the Opposition, saying its parties were not acting together.

Taking a swipe at the INDIA bloc, Prasad referred to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), Kejriwal, Banerjee and Left parties, accusing them of engaging in political one-upmanship through their participation in the protests.

He alleged that Opposition leaders had disrupted life in the national capital over the past three to four days and were using street demonstrations as a political tool.

Prasad said the BJP was proud of the people for what he described as rejecting the Opposition’s alleged attempt to create unrest, adding that democratic institutions had countered what he called efforts to promote anarchy.