Lucknow: Lok Dal national president and former MLC Chaudhary Sunil Singh announced the party’s support for the ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ programme scheduled at Central Park in Connaught Place, New Delhi, at 5 pm on October 16. Addressing a press conference at the party’s central office at 8 Mall Avenue in Lucknow, he also criticised the government over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the delay in Uttar Pradesh panchayat elections.
Singh said the programme, announced by Abhijeet Deepke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), sought to raise democratic and peaceful voices in support of national unity, the Constitution and democracy. He alleged that people who reached Jantar Mantar to protest against SIR had been detained and subjected to excessive force. He also claimed that restrictions on demonstrations reflected the government’s reluctance to face criticism.
The Lok Dal chief said farmers would join the movement, asserting that tractors could reach Delhi as part of the campaign. He also raised questions over Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, including demands for his resignation.
Welcoming the Allahabad High Court’s order directing that panchayat elections be held within three months, Singh alleged that the Uttar Pradesh government was seeking to delay the polls ahead of the Assembly elections. He warned that if the government approached the Supreme Court to postpone the elections, Lok Dal would contest the move legally.
Singh said panchayat elections were essential to grassroots democracy and that postponing them for political reasons would undermine the rights of rural residents. He added that Lok Dal, in coordination with the INDIA alliance, would continue to raise issues concerning farmers, youth, workers and rural communities through democratic and legal means.
