'Govt should have held talks with the protesters': Ambedkar extends support to CJP protest

Mumbai: Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi (VBA) chief and Dr B.R. Ambedkar's grandson Prakash Ambedkar on Saturday extended support to the Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) agitation against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, while criticising the Centre and administration's efforts to restrain it.

Speaking to IANS, Ambedkar said: "The government is totally scared...it should have held talks with the protesters, but instead of that, the government has started a kind of suppression by cancelling trains, shutting down Metros, stopping those wanting to take part in the protest and even checking the vehicles of the common public."

"So this is in a way, an Emergency-kind of a situation," he remarked.

Noting that the younger generation is leading the agitation, the VBA chief said: "The government has not learnt its lesson."

"Youngsters had taken part in large numbers during the 2012 agitation also, which was led by Anna Hazare, and till date they have not allowed Congress to return to power," he added.

In an indirect reference to the BJP, he said: "I believe those who had benefited from that (protest) should have learnt a lesson. Today also the protesters are the younger generation who are not fighting for power, but are agitating for change, for responsibility."

"In such a scenario if you go against them, the BJP and the RSS will meet the same fate as the Congress," Ambedkar stated.

He further said that the anti-NEET paper leak agitation at Jantar Mantar was successful because the common people had participated in it.

"This time, too, it will be successful because of the participation of the common man," he asserted.

Criticising the Congress, Ambedkar said: "The Congress still has time to mend its ways. Time for 'one man rule' is now over. Just like they missed the bus in 2012 for failing get the pulse of the younger generation and have remained out of power for so many years, this time too, the youngster generation will drift away from them as well if the party (Congress) fails to understand and walk along with the youngsters."

Meanwhile, CJP leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained by the police from Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi while on their way to Jantar Mantar to stage a protest, demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar's resignation over alleged irregularities in the conduct of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

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