Thiruvananthapuram: Actor-activist Prakash Raj has asserted that peaceful nationwide protests against CEC Gyanesh Kumar and the SIR of electoral rolls would persist despite attempts to suppress them.
He was speaking to reporters after attending a protest meeting against Chief Election Commissioner Kumar and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls at Manaveeyam Veedhi Friday.
Before the event began, police intervened, saying the organisers did not obtain permission to use a microphone.
This led to a minor tussle, after which the police allowed the event to continue.
Raj said the country’s youth would continue to protest peacefully, drawing inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi, B R Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh.
There is Gandhi’s blood in us. There is Ambedkar’s blood in us, there is Bhagat Singh’s blood in us. We will continue to fight, we will continue to protest peacefully across the country, and it will prove you wrong that you can get away with this dictatorship, he said.
Questioning the CEC over restrictions on protests, Raj said, We are asking questions Gyanesh Kumar, why are you stopping us The very fact that you are stopping us, detaining us illegally, shows something is wrong
He said India is a democratic and peace-loving country and that people have the right to raise questions and protest.
The people of this country, the farmers of this country, the labour unions of this country, and all the student organisations will come to the streets and protest peacefully till you clear us out, he said.
Asked about the police intervention in Keralam, Raj questioned the need for permission to hold a peaceful protest.
In this country, to protest, whose permission do we need he asked.
He said peaceful demonstrations by young people and citizens demanding answers could not be treated as a crime.
What do you mean by protest Are they terrorists The youth and the people of this country are doing a peaceful protest. Is that a crime in this country It is a crime for you because we are asking difficult questions to which you don’t have answers, he said.
Raj expressed confidence that police personnel would eventually refuse to carry out orders.
I trust the police will get tired and tell (PM) Modi and (HM) Shah, ‘We are not your workers. Please stop making us do this.’ The army will stop saying, ‘No, we can’t do this.’ They are also human beings, they are also citizens of this country, he said.
He claimed international human rights organisations would strongly criticise the actions against protesters.
Raj said farmers have announced that they would join the agitation in support of the youth, predicting a larger protest than the one held at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.
Let us see. It’s going to be a bigger fight, a bigger protest than what you saw in Jantar Mantar, he added.
