The BJP launched a strong counter-attack on the INDIA bloc's protest march to the Election Commission over electoral roll revision. Party leaders accused Rahul Gandhi of orchestrating "daily drama" and "street anarchy" against constitutional bodies.
From calling the Opposition’s protest against the Election Commission a “daily drama” to accusing it of promoting “street anarchy”, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday mounted an all-out counter to the INDIA bloc’s march to the poll pane, with several leaders targeting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his criticism of constitutional institutions.
Speaking to reporters, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju accused Rahul Gandhi and the Congress of repeatedly targeting the Election Commission and the Supreme Court after failing to secure electoral mandates.
The BJP’s response came after INDIA bloc MPs marched towards the Election Commission headquarters in Delhi to protest the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and seek answers from Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. After being stopped by barricades, Opposition leaders staged a sit-in at Akashvani Bhawan. Rahul Gandhi said the Opposition would continue its protest and sought a meeting with the Election Commissioners. Several Congress leaders and workers were subsequently detained by the Delhi Police.
Rijiju Accuses Congress of 'Daily Drama'
Rijiju accused Rahul Gandhi and his associates of orchestrating what he termed “daily drama” against constitutional institutions, saying such conduct would neither strengthen democracy nor help Congress regain public support. “The time has come to put an end to the daily drama orchestrated by the Congress party - specifically Rahul Gandhi and his associates - who constantly attack institutions like the Election Commission and the Supreme Court. This drama has been ongoing since 2014; how long will it continue?” Rijiju said.
He alleged that Congress attacks the Election Commission when it loses elections and subsequently questions the Supreme Court when its decisions go against the party. Urging Gandhi to learn from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP workers, Rijiju said the Congress should focus on public service rather than “theatrics”.
Rijiju also accused the Congress of echoing narratives promoted by what he described as “anti-India forces” and said the party should not undermine constitutional institutions. He said India was moving towards becoming a developed nation and asserted that “simply being born into a certain family” would no longer guarantee the Prime Minister’s post. “Why stage dramas by attacking the Election Commission, the Supreme Court, and constitutional institutions? This charade will not work,” Rijiju said, adding that Congress needed to focus on service and not rely only on social media narratives.
Leaders Slam 'False Narratives' and 'Anarchy'
BJP National Spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari separately targeted Rahul Gandhi over an AI-generated video that had circulated on social media and allegedly showed a Delhi Police officer attempting to sexually harass a woman journalist. Bhandari said the Delhi Police had subsequently established that the video was fake and created using AI. “Rahul Gandhi had made a post... alleging that an officer of the Delhi Police had attempted to sexually harass a female journalist. The Delhi Police held a press conference... and the video that was spread was a fake video,” Bhandari said.
He alleged that the Congress ecosystem amplified the video and attempted to build a false narrative around it. Bhandari said the episode was part of what he described as a wider pattern of using “false narratives” to create unrest and target institutions.
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan attacked Congress over its objections to electoral-roll revision and defended the need for an accurate voter list. “Why does the Congress have such an affinity for fake votes? Do they know that Congress's politics can only survive if fake votes exist?” Chouhan asked, alleging that the party was trying to protect bogus voters.
Calling a clean voter list the “soul of democracy”, Chouhan said the Congress loses its composure whenever voter-list purification takes place. He also questioned the Opposition's allegations of “vote theft”, saying: “If you win, democracy is fine, and the voter list is in order. If you lose, it’s theft.”
Chouhan further accused Opposition leaders of becoming frustrated after electoral defeats and resorting to threats. He said political parties should work among the people rather than blame constitutional institutions after losing elections. “Threats will not work,” Chouhan said, adding that if Prime Minister Narendra Modi “resides in the hearts of the people”, neither he nor the BJP or NDA could be removed through threats.
BJP National Spokesperson Sambit Patra also accused the Congress and INDIA bloc of attempting to create “anarchy” and weaken constitutional institutions to advance Rahul Gandhi’s political prospects. Patra alleged that Gandhi had misled the public over Form 6 following Supreme Court proceedings. He said the court had not declared Form 6 illegal and cited the Election Commission’s clarification that there had been no change to the form. Patra also said the ECI had clarified that its decision on SIR in Bihar was unanimous.
BJP National Spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi questioned Congress over its alleged position on absent, shifted, dead and duplicate voters. He asked whom the party intended to benefit by allowing such voters to remain on electoral rolls without verification. Trivedi also pointed to earlier statements by Rahul Gandhi and other senior Congress leaders regarding voter duplication, asking whether the party was correct then or was correct now in opposing the verification process.
BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad accused Rahul Gandhi of trying to “spread anarchy” and disrespect constitutional institutions. He defended the SIR exercise and questioned the Opposition's demand for a return to ballot papers. Prasad also argued that the Opposition was disrespecting the people's mandate by seeking cancellation of elections in which voters had already chosen their representatives. He questioned whether names of deceased persons should remain on electoral rolls. “Rahul Gandhi is an anarchist; he is irresponsible. The people of this country will never elect you given this conduct of yours; rest assured of that,” Prasad said.
State BJP Leaders Echo Counter-Attack
Kerala BJP President Rajeev Chandrasekhar accused Congress and its allies of using what he described as a “standard toolkit” of creating narratives and mobilising crowds. “There is a standard toolkit now in the Congress party... [to] create a narrative and use that narrative to bring mobs and crowds onto the Jantar Mantar or wherever into the public,” Chandrasekhar said.
Questioning Rahul Gandhi's earlier remarks about an emergency, he asked why the Congress leader was “so keen to create chaos and anarchy” in the country. Chandrasekhar said disputes involving the CEC should be settled through the court system and not through street protests. “Mobs cannot take over adjudication of disputes and grievances in a democracy,” he said.
BJP MP Ashok Bajpai also accused the Opposition of weakening democratic institutions through its protest against the Election Commission. “It is unfortunate the way Rahul Gandhi, his party, and all opposition parties are working to dismantle democracy,” Bajpai said, alleging that the atmosphere created by targeting constitutional institutions served to weaken democracy. Bajpai said the Election Commission had established a global reputation and accused Opposition parties of attempting to mislead the public after repeated electoral defeats.
In Rajasthan, BJP president Madan Rathore defended the SIR exercise and accused those opposing it of creating a false perception about the Election Commission. “Those opposing the SIR are taking the wrong path and trying to create a false perception about the Election Commission in the country,” Rathore said. He stressed that only citizens should have the right to vote and said decisions relating to Forms 6 and 7 were the responsibility of the Election Commission and electoral authorities. “My point is that we should decide who gets to be a voter in this country,” Rathore said.
Rathore also raised allegations concerning Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's voter and citizenship status, saying she became a voter before becoming an Indian citizen and arguing that this would not have happened had SIR been implemented at the time.
In Telangana, BJP State President Ramchander Rao defended the procedures involving Forms 6 and 7 and said the Election Registration Officer had the authority to accept or reject applications after conducting the required inquiry. “Either Form 6 or Form 7, there is no discrepancy. The Supreme Court has made it very clear. The Congress party is misleading people about the Supreme Court judgment and misleading the public,” Rao said. He accused Congress of portraying the process as voter deletion while alleging that the party was seeking to retain bogus voters on electoral rolls.
Tamil Nadu BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan also questioned the Opposition's decision to protest, saying bogus votes, deceased voters and people who had changed addresses had been removed from the electoral rolls. She argued that those unable to secure the people's mandate were agitating against the electoral process. “Why are they demanding others to resign?” she asked, while also cautioning Tamil actor-politician Vijay's TVK against aligning with Congress. Soundararajan alleged that Congress had previously “backstabbed” the DMK and warned that TVK could also face similar treatment.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the Delhi protest was an attempt to create a perception that institutions established by the Constitution were ineffective. He alleged that “extremely radical left-wing elements” were seeking to replace democracy and described the programme as an attempt to reject the Constitution. Fadnavis also rejected allegations made by the Mumbai Congress against the police as “completely false”, saying the Mumbai Police were professional and did not stop anyone.
Background of the Controversy
The BJP's counter came as Rahul Gandhi continued to defend the Opposition's protest. Earlier, Gandhi said INDIA bloc MPs wanted to meet the Election Commissioners and ask questions about the SIR exercise. “300 opposition MPs were removed from there, so I came here and sat. We just want to meet Gyanesh Kumar and the other election commissioners... We just want to ask questions, but they don’t want to answer,” Gandhi said.
The controversy centres on the SIR exercise and competing claims over electoral-roll revision, including the use of Forms 6 and 7. An Indian Express report claimed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised 14 objections during the SIR exercise, while the Election Commission has maintained that its decisions were unanimous. Opposition leaders have also questioned changes to Form 6, while the Supreme Court said it had not approved any modified version of the form being used for enrolment of new voters during the SIR exercise. (ANI)
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