Bengaluru stands as one against ‘murder of democracy’ in Delhi

Bengaluru

Bengaluru entered its third consecutive day of protest as citizens gathered in large numbers at Freedom Park in solidarity with the Cockroach Janta Party protest, a day after demonstrators marching towards Parliament in Delhi were stopped and baton-charged by police on Monday. Although it was a weekday and Bengaluru was grappling with peak-hour traffic, Gen Z youth and citizens from diverse professional backgrounds showed up at Freedom Park to express their disappointment over what they described as the state’s suppression of peaceful dissent.

Protesters argued that the right to dissent is fundamental to a healthy democracy. “It is high time that we start practising democracy. When someone tries to take it away or suppress it, we need to practise it even harder because that is the only way we can keep it alive”, said Samyak, one of the protesters. Referring to the police action during the Sansad March in Delhi, he said the lathi-charge was “more of a massacre than a crackdown” and called it the “cold-blooded murder of democracy” in the capital of the world’s largest democracy.

“That’s the irony”, he remarked. Activist Vinay Sreenivasa said he believes public anger against the ‘Modi Government’ is increasingly spilling onto the streets. “People have been angry for far too long, but they have been afraid to speak up for many reasons. You can only suppress anger for so long before it erupts. Now it has spilled onto the streets. People feel their future is being compromised, and they no longer want to remain silent. They want to fight for their future”, he said.

He further alleged that while the children of all BJP leaders are studying abroad, the children of ordinary citizens are left to bear the consequences of systemic failures. “I think people are finally coming out to demand accountability and tell the government: either run the country or resign”, he added. Several parents were also present at the protest, standing in solidarity with the NEET demonstrators and voicing concerns about the future of their children and students across the country.

A cop at the protest site (who requested anonymity), acknowledged the protesters’ concerns while emphasising the need to maintain public order. “I understand the frustration of the people, but there is also law and order that needs to be followed. We will do our duty, you are doing your duty, and they will do theirs”, the officer told News Trail. Advocate Jagadesh told News Trail that the decision by youth protesters during the Delhi Sansad March to record events on their mobile phones and share them online played an important role in documenting the protest unbiased. “By capturing events as they unfolded and circulating them online, they were able to present factual moments from the protest without manipulation”, he said.