Mumbai, Oct 10 (IANS) The Shiv Sena (UBT) on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the Centre, accusing it of driving Indian democracy to its grave.
The Thackeray camp in the party mouthpiece Saamana editorial commented on the intensifying political showdown surrounding CEC Gyanesh Kumar and widespread opposition protests demanding his resignation.
The editorial highlighted that Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s aggressive campaign against CEC Gyanesh Kumar — triggered by allegations of electoral manipulation — has sent shockwaves through the ruling BJP.
It asserted that instead of addressing accusations of systemic electoral irregularities, the ruling establishment is shielding the election chief at all costs, calling protection of such actions a “betrayal of the nation”.
Condemning the handling of recent demonstrations, the editorial pointed out a glaring double standard by the administration. “While opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi were dragged, manhandled, and bundled into police vehicles during peaceful protests at Jantar Mantar, BJP Mahila Morcha activists staging abrasive demonstrations outside the Congress headquarters were granted absolute immunity by the Home Ministry,” alleged the editorial.
The Thackeray camp claimed the government planned to deploy around two lakh armed members of Bajrang Dal at Jantar Mantar to crush the opposition’s youth-led “cockroach” movement.
It argued that relying on political gangs and “private armies” to violently suppress lawful public dissent invites absolute anarchy and civil unrest.
Detailing ongoing administrative blocks, the editorial noted that Delhi Police denied formal permissions for protests, long-distance trains heading toward Delhi were canceled en route, and young demonstrators traveling to participate were intercepted and arrested.
Citing remarks from senior BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi regarding Abraham Lincoln’s democratic principles — which emphasise free elections, transparent bureaucracy, and responsible governance — the editorial lamented that none of these tenets survive under the current dispensation, where constitutional bodies face institutional capture.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena said the current political climate surpasses authoritarian levels, with the ruling administration allegedly willing to break opposition resolve through physical intimidation rather than political accountability.
As opposition parties rally and tensions and friction between state machinery and protestors peak, it warned that public discontent against the erosion of democratic frameworks has reached a critical threshold.
–IANS
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