He alleged too that with these new Bills now, the government is trying to divert the people in Bihar who are demonstrating their dissatisfaction, the people who are rallying around Rahul [Gandhi] and Tejashwi [Yadav] to understand what is actually going on, coming to their meetings — for the INDIA bloc leaders are traversing the state on their Voter Adhikar Yatra to publicise the vagaries of the SIR and the ‘Vote chori’ that the Opposition alleges has already taken place in other states like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa and Rajasthan.

“After all, you [the Government of India] know this law cannot actually be passed,” he reiterated, as proof the Bills are but a diversionary tactic.

Speaking of the recent press conference by the chief election commissioner — “and you know what you are doing through your CEC,” he admonished the Modi government — Sibal noted his “pathetic” refusal to answer questions, a level of arrogance such as “has never been seen in the history of this country” from any election commissioner.

“It is because of the arrogance of the power at the Centre that he [the CEC] exudes that arrogance. It percolates down…” said the Raja Sabha MP.

“I want to put this request to you,” said Sibal, addressing the Centre. “The Constitution is for all of us — for you, for us, for every one of us. So don’t do this, don’t destroy what it took hundreds of years of struggle by the people of India to build — which it took to free us from the yoke of colonialism.

“After hundreds of years of struggle, we were able to give our people this Constitution. Don’t let termites loose in it like this.” 

“Don’t destroy that [Constitution] through actions like this which no reasonable person in government will ever take — unless his mind is focused on destroying democracy itself.“

The full address is hosted on his channel ‘Dil se with Kapil Sibal’ here.