Protest Rights Row: Rijiju Uses Sibal Video To Counter Opposition On Anarchy & Mock Impeachment

India Today

A political confrontation has broken out over the right to demonstrate after the Opposition claimed an undeclared emergency exists in the country and that they are being barred from protesting. Countering the narrative, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju circulated an archival 2011 video of Kapil Sibal, then Union Law Minister, stating that while citizens have a right to protest, there is no constitutional or fundamental right to protest at a venue of one's choice or block roads. The development comes amidst scrutiny over whether the Opposition is creating disruption through misinformation, alongside questions over their planned mock parliament and public impeachment proceedings.

Transcript

00:00So the opposition has also repeatedly claimed there's undeclared emergency in the country

00:05and they're not being allowed to protest.

00:07Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiran Rajiju has now put out a video

00:11taking the battle into the opposition camp.

00:14Kiran Rajiju shared a 2011 statement of Kapil Sibol, then Union Law Minister,

00:19who had argued that protests, the protesters have a right,

00:23but they can't just protest anywhere, wherever they want.

00:26They cannot just go blocking roads because the rights of those who want to carry out their job

00:31also have to be protected.

00:34So Kiran Rajiju now is using Kapil Sibol's words to challenge the opposition's position today,

00:40asking their leaders to listen to their own political guru and their legal guru.

00:46Listen in.

00:48Right to protest to hai.

00:51Lekin kahaan aap protest karo ge, ye koji samvidanik hak nahi hai.

00:55The right to protest does not meet the right to protest at a place of your choice.

01:03There is no right to protest at a place of your choice.

01:07Aagir aap toho kesaab mein traffic ke middle mein saadak ban karwa dung ga,

01:12mein traffic nahi chalne dung ga.

01:15There is no fundamental right.

01:17There is no constitutional.

01:18Jho apne kaam paach pe jana chahate hain.

01:20Aagir wahaan 20,000 lok ekatha ho gai,

01:23to kaise koji traffic chalega,

01:24koji kaam kaach pe jana chahata hai,

01:26koji bimaar hai.

01:28Ye tehah sarokar nahi kerti, ye tehah commissioners of police kerti hain.

01:33So is there merit in the claim that the opposition is trying to spread anarchy

01:37or afratra-free through misinformation to discredit the government?

01:41What does the opposition hope to achieve through a mock parliament and mock impeachment

01:44or a public impeachment as the congress puts it?

01:47And will they take up the home minister's challenge to debate it on the floor of the house?

01:50What does the opposition hope to achieve?

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