Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan described protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar as a fight for regime change, calling it a democratic right. The BJP accused opposition leaders and activists of threatening democracy, intensifying the political debate over protests and arrests.
Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan on Thursday described the ongoing protests against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar as a “fight for regime change”, asserting that seeking a change of government through democratic means was a constitutional right. His remarks came after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused the Congress and opposition leaders of attempting to undermine Indian democracy.
Addressing a press conference alongside Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) chief Abhijeet Dipke, Bhushan defended calls for political change and questioned the BJP’s criticism of those demanding it. He argued that the BJP itself had repeatedly protested for regime change when the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government was in power.
“There will definitely be a regime change. We all want a regime change. Is there anything wrong with that?” Bhushan said, maintaining that citizens had the democratic right to seek a change in government.
He further referred to constitutional protections concerning freedom of expression and public dissent. According to Bhushan, expressing disaffection towards a government does not automatically constitute a criminal offence unless it involves incitement to violence or public disorder. He invoked the Supreme Court’s observations concerning the colonial-era sedition law while defending peaceful political opposition.
“Now this is really a fight for regime change,” Bhushan said, reiterating his position that democratic protest and demands for political change should not be treated as inherently unlawful.
The controversy intensified after the BJP accused Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi of attempting to “destroy Indian democracy” and facilitate regime change. The party’s criticism followed remarks by All India Students’ Association (AISA) president Neha Bora, who reportedly described Bangladesh’s Gen-Z movement as an inspiration for young people in India.
BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari alleged that Rahul Gandhi and opposition supporters were seeking to bring about regime change rather than engage in conventional political resistance. The BJP has framed the statements by opposition-linked activists as evidence of a broader attempt to destabilise the government.
Meanwhile, CJP chief Abhijeet Dipke criticised the Centre over its response to protests against CEC Gyanesh Kumar. He alleged that student organisation members, opposition leaders and other demonstrators had been detained to protect the Chief Election Commissioner. These claims formed part of the opposition-linked criticism of the government’s handling of the demonstrations.
The CJP also announced plans for a gathering titled the ‘Tiranga Assembly’ at Central Park in New Delhi’s Connaught Place at 5 pm on Friday. The party appealed to people to participate by waving the national flag, describing the proposed gathering as a protest against the arrests of its co-conveners, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka.
The proposed event drew criticism from BJP leader Gaurav Bhatia, who accused the CJP and its supporters of attempting to create an atmosphere of anarchy. He argued that their statements had exposed what he described as their objective of regime change and questioned their credentials to speak about the national flag and patriotism.
Bhatia said such efforts would not succeed and criticised those calling for political change while questioning their commitment to the country.
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The exchange highlights the growing political confrontation surrounding the protests against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, with opposition-linked activists defending demonstrations as an exercise of democratic rights and the BJP alleging attempts to destabilise the political system.
As the dispute continues, the competing claims over protest rights, arrests, constitutional freedoms and the meaning of regime change have added another dimension to the political debate in the national capital. The planned Tiranga Assembly is expected to draw further attention to the controversy and the wider tensions between the ruling party and its critics.
