NEW DELHI: Former Rajya Sabha member and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi on Tuesday disagreed with her party colleague Sanjay Raut for suggesting that India should learn a lesson from the student-led protests in Albania, which turned violent and targeted democratic institutions.Raut had claimed that people in Albania had set the country's Supreme Court ablaze for allegedly helping “corrupt prime ministers”.“The people of Albania have burned down the Supreme Court. The people were enraged because the Supreme Court was helping corrupt prime ministers. The protesting public has also attacked Parliament and government offices, as well as the ministers' homes,” Raut said in a post on X.“All countries should learn a lesson from these events.
Especially India,” he added.Chaturvedi, however, condemned the remarks, saying India did not need to learn from any other country. She also warned against people taking the law into their own hands and destabilising institutions.“India does not need to learn from any other country. Albania is a small nation that endured years under a communist dictatorship; the idea that people should take the law into their own hands, disrupt order, and destabilise institutions, whether it be the Supreme Court or Parliament, is entirely unacceptable,” Chaturvedi said.
“Those who suggest that we should draw inspiration from the protests in Bangladesh to pursue a regime change: this is deeply regrettable, as those protests were not merely led by students; they were eventually co-opted by an Islamist movement, which led to attacks on minorities, including Hindu minorities. Such violent regime change has no place in any democracy, and we should not look to examples like Albania, Paris, or other such instances for guidance,” she added.BJP also slammed Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut for his remarks.In a post in Marathi on X, Raut on Monday shared a 13-second video clip of a purported incident of arson in Albania, saying all countries should take a lesson from these events, "especially" India. The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader referred to India with an emoji of its national flag, instead of naming the country in his post.Reacting sharply to Raut's remark, BJP spokesperson Sidharth Yadav said, "The opposition leaders sometimes speak of bringing about a 'regime change' in India.
At times, they suggest that Bangladesh has shown us the way.""And now, Sanjay Raut's remark that India should learn from Albania, where the Supreme Court was set on fire amidst widespread anarchy on the streets," he said in a video message, adding, "The opposition leaders in India seek to push the nation's democracy toward anarchy; nothing could be more unfortunate than this."
This comes amid widespread protests in Albania, with demonstrators demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama.Protesters have targeted government buildings and set fires at several locations, including parts of the Supreme Court.Led by students, the demonstrations have been fuelled by public anger over alleged corruption, unemployment and poor education standards.Police said 388 people had been charged with criminal offences linked to the protests. Several police officers and demonstrators have also been injured.