‘India Is Not a Banana Republic’: Ravi Shankar Prasad Says Country Will Be Governed by Parliament, Not Streets

BJP MP and former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday criticised opposition parties over their protests in the national capital, asserting that India was “not a banana republic” and that the country would be governed through Parliament rather than street demonstrations.

His remarks came after several opposition leaders, including former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Aam Aadmi Party convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and leaders of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), were detained while attempting to join a protest at Jantar Mantar against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The Delhi Police had denied permission for the demonstration.

Addressing a press conference, Prasad said India had never bowed under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and would not do so in the future.

Referring to developments over the preceding days, he said Indian democracy had resisted what he described as attempts to create disorder. He also pointed to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance’s victories in by-elections in Assam, West Bengal and Puducherry on Friday, arguing that the electoral results had come amid protests in Delhi and other parts of the country.

“The BJP wishes to particularly highlight that this stellar performance in Bengal, Assam and Puducherry occurred while a movement for anarchy was underway in Delhi and other parts of the country,” he said.

BJP accuses Opposition of politicising street protests

Prasad maintained that the Union government was not opposed to protests, acknowledging that demonstrations were part of a democratic system. However, he accused opposition parties of using street protests as a political weapon following electoral defeats.

He also took aim at the opposition INDIA bloc, alleging that its constituent parties were competing with one another rather than presenting a united front.

Referring to the sequence of opposition leaders joining the demonstrations, Prasad criticised Rahul Gandhi, the CJP, Kejriwal, Banerjee and leaders of the CPI and CPI(M). He described their actions as an attempt to gain political mileage through protests.

The BJP leader alleged that the demonstrations had inconvenienced residents of Delhi over the preceding three to four days.

Prasad claims democracy has resisted attempts to create disorder

Prasad said he was proud of the people of India for what he described as their rejection of the Opposition’s alleged attempt to create instability.

He argued that democratic institutions had prevailed over what he called the Opposition’s efforts to encourage disorder, reiterating that political disputes should be addressed within the country’s parliamentary and constitutional framework.

The opposition leaders had sought to protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at Jantar Mantar, but the Delhi Police denied permission for the demonstration and detained several participants when they attempted to proceed.