After hosting a high tea for INDIA bloc leaders, Opposition MPs, student organisations and civil society representatives at his Jattvibeehri Bagh Road residence on Tuesday, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi vowed to sustain the agitation against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, declaring that “no matter what happens, political resistance will continue and it will triumph”.Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the CEC of undermining democratic institutions, Rahul said the Opposition would continue its fight until democracy was restored and those responsible were brought to justice.Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Rahul asserted that the Opposition was united and that there were no parallel protests, but a single movement driven by a common vision of democracy in India.“The Constitution has been torn. We are fighting to restore democracy,” he said, adding that Jantar Mantar had been one of the places where citizens could express democratic dissent, but the government had decided that it could no longer be used for that purpose.’Net is closing around them’“We are going to challenge that idea. The people who have done this — Mr Modi, who is the main architect; Amit Shah, who is the implementer; Gyanesh Kumar; and others — need to understand that the net is closing around them,” he said.“It is not going to be so simple that you can destroy the Indian Constitution and get away with it,” Rahul said, thanking the people of Delhi and others across the country who had stood with the Opposition.“This is not about us. This is about the people of India. We are going to fight to the end to restore democracy, and it is our commitment to you that those responsible — Mr Modi, Mr Shah, Gyanesh Kumar and others — will be brought to justice,” he added.Reiterating his resolve to sustain the agitation, Rahul said the Opposition was prepared for a prolonged struggle.“Yesterday (Monday), I used the word perseverance at the press conference. Our team is not going to stop. Whether it takes six months, a year or two years, we will keep going until we reach our goal. We will all continue to fight together,” he said.Expressing his respect for the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice of India and the judicial system, Rahul said the judiciary had a role to play and that the Opposition hoped it would discharge its responsibility.“We are political people and, no matter what happens, political resistance will continue and it will triumph,” he said.Kharge, Tejashwi, Raja rally behind campaign against CECCongress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the Opposition was preparing to expose what he described as the Modi government’s plan to facilitate “vote chori”.RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav accused Gyanesh Kumar of acting at the behest of Modi and Shah and crushing democracy. Describing the CEC as a “puppet”, he said the Opposition would respond to the alleged actions and that those responsible would face consequences.“The decision to denotify Jantar Mantar reflects their fear,” he said.CPI leader D Raja said senior INDIA bloc leaders had discussed the prevailing political situation and the way forward for the agitation demanding the CEC’s resignation. He said anger against the Election Commission was widespread and that restrictions on public spaces would not deter the Opposition.“Delhi is our city, but there are barricades everywhere. They say it is because of protests. Yes, protests will take place, and you cannot suppress them,” he said.Strongly condemning the denotification of Jantar Mantar as a protest venue, Raja said the Opposition would fight to reclaim the space. He asserted that people had a right to protest and needed places to exercise that right.NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule said the INDIA bloc stood firmly united and would continue its agitation. She accused the government of mistakenly believing that it could crush a people’s movement.Activist Prashant Bhushan said an agitation against alleged vote theft and Gyanesh Kumar had been underway in Delhi since October 2. He alleged that restrictions had been imposed on metro services, shops and railway services, and that paramilitary forces had been deployed to contain the protests.Arguing that peaceful protest was a constitutional right, Bhushan said the Opposition and civil society had come together and predicted that workers’ and farmers’ organisations would also join the movement.CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby alleged that Gyanesh Kumar, whose responsibility was to function impartially, was working for the ruling party. He said the struggle would continue.TMC MP Sagarika Ghose said concerns over the conduct of the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls had brought the Opposition together. She said the agitation would continue until the CEC resigned and criminal cases were registered against election officials found to be involved in wrongdoing.Ghose alleged that the SIR exercise was designed to delete voters and manipulate electoral outcomes. She demanded that the process be halted and that officials, including Seema Sharma, be investigated.Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut accused Gyanesh Kumar of criminalising the system and called him a “mafia”. He alleged that the Modi-Shah government had kept the country in a climate of fear for 10 years but was now resorting to force because it was itself afraid.Opposition, student groups coming together is significant: Neha BoraStudent representative Neha Bora said the coming together of Opposition parties and student organisations was significant, arguing that an attack on voting rights amounted to an attack on democracy.“When we say ‘we, the people versus the BJP’, we are talking about one enemy of the Constitution, and its name is the BJP,” she said, asserting that students would continue to oppose what they saw as an assault on voting rights.Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Kharge, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal, Bhupesh Baghel, Sachin Pilot and other senior leaders attended the high tea. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar were also present.Among the MPs and other political leaders present were RJD MP Manoj Jha; Congress MPs Karti P Chidambaram, Shashi Tharoor, Deepender Hooda and Gaurav Gogoi; CPI(M) MP John Brittas; Samajwadi Party MPs Pushpendra Saroj and Awadhesh Prasad; TMC MP Sagarika Ghose; and Supriya Sule.The gathering also included Samajwadi Party leader Mohibbullah Nadvi, activist Yogendra Yadav, JMM leader Mahua Manjhi, Kerala leader Ramesh Chennithala and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi leader Thol Thirumavalavan, among others.The Opposition’s central demand remains the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar over allegations concerning electoral roll revisions and the conduct of the Election Commission.