Politicians across the Opposition spectrum were present at the release of the English and Hindi translations of Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut's book about his prison experiences, published in Marathi last year.
At the event in the Constitution Club, Raut said: "This is why we are kept in jail, so that we break. So that we become helpless... So that we surrender. So that we grovel at your feet. But none of us backed down. We didn’t surrender. And like Kapil Sibal, our followers have always fought for us."
On stage were AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Sanjay Singh and Trinamool's Saket Gokhale who had also been to jail but were not convicted. Senior advocate Sibal, Trinamool Rajya Sabha leader Derek O'Brien and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh were also present.
"Today, after many days, we have seen Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha.... He has started to fear coming to the Lok Sabha. He has started to fear the people.... Because of whom we had to suffer, one day, we will send you there (jail) too," Raut added.
The Opposition leaders called for unity in fighting polls, reforming the electoral system and taking legal recourse to curb the alleged misuse of the executive.
"The real question is, why has the system become like this today? If the courts don't protect the Constitution, it will definitely happen. In India, arrests happen first and evidence comes later. This is not the case in the world," Sibal said.
