New Delhi, October 13: Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said the INDIA bloc’s protest against alleged electoral irregularities was aimed at restoring democracy in the country, accusing the government of undermining democratic institutions and constitutional values.

Addressing leaders of the INDIA bloc, opposition MPs and student organisations after a high tea meeting at his residence, Gandhi said the opposition was united in its fight to restore democratic governance.

“There is no parallel protest; there is one singular protest, and the protest has one mission: the restoration of democracy in India. Democracy has been destroyed, the Election Commission is destroyed, the Constitution is torn up and thrown away. We are fighting together to restore democratic rule in this country,” he said.

Gandhi also criticised the government’s reported decision to restrict the use of Jantar Mantar as a venue for protests, asserting that citizens must retain the right to express dissent and raise their voices against the government.

“One method of democracy was Jantar Mantar, but now the government has decided that Jantar Mantar can no longer be used to express democratic feeling, and we are going to challenge that idea. It cannot be so simple for the government to decide that the Indian people will not fight for their voice,” he said.

Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Gandhi alleged that they were responsible for undermining the Constitution and democratic institutions.

“The people who have done this: Modi, the main architect; Amit Shah, the implementer; and Gyanesh Kumar. They need to understand that the net is closing around them. It is not going to be so simple that you can destroy the Indian Constitution and get away with it,” he said.

Meanwhile, Kerala Minister Ramesh Chennithala said the Congress and the INDIA bloc would continue their campaign against the Election Commission, alleging that Kumar had damaged the electoral process.

“We will continue with the fight because Gyanesh Kumar has completely ruined the election process. The INDIA alliance and the Congress party will fight to the last. One thing is very clear: everybody is united, and we will fight against the misdeeds of the Central Government and especially Gyanesh Kumar,” Chennithala said.

Chennithala also alleged that a file concerning Kumar’s purported misconduct and corruption during his tenure as Kerala’s Public Works Department (PWD) secretary around two decades ago was being examined by the state government.

“I received an application regarding the misconduct and corrupt activities of Gyanesh Kumar 20 years back when he was a PWD secretary in Kerala. We are going into the details of the file. In the file, it is very clear that he is involved in various corrupt activities,” he alleged.

He further said the Kerala government had decided to examine the matter and would take a view after reviewing the details. According to Chennithala, the file was already with the Director and the state’s Anti-Corruption Bureau.

“Now, the Kerala government has decided to unearth all these things, and in the coming days, after going into the details, we will take a strong view on these corrupt activities of Gyanesh Kumar,” he added.

The allegations made by Gandhi and Chennithala come amid the opposition’s ongoing campaign over alleged electoral irregularities and its demand for accountability from the Election Commission.