New Delhi: The BJP on Sunday launched a sharp attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi following the INDIA bloc’s rally against alleged electoral irregularities, dismissing the protest as a “chaotic, unruly spectacle” and accusing the Opposition of spreading misinformation.
Addressing a press conference, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said Prime Minister Narendra Modi would remain in office as long as Gandhi continued to manufacture “non-issues” and attempt to create anarchy. He also rejected Gandhi’s claim that the 2024 Lok Sabha election was “illegal”, arguing that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had assumed office only in 2025.
Patra questioned why Gandhi had not challenged the 2024 election results through legal channels if he believed they were illegitimate. He further dismissed the Congress’s “vote chori” allegations as a “bundle of lies” and claimed the rally fell considerably short of the Congress’s projection of 10 lakh participants. He also described the crowd visuals as “trick photography”.
Taking aim at Gandhi’s description of the rally as “Shiv ki Baraat”, Patra called it an unruly spectacle and accused the Congress of disrupting business during the festive season. He also criticised Gandhi’s remarks against Modi and questioned his repeated references to the “mohabbat ki dukaan”.
In a separate reaction, Rashtriya Lok Morcha president Upendra Kushwaha dismissed the Opposition’s allegations of electoral irregularities as baseless. He said parties were free to hold protests but should focus on public issues rather than, as he alleged, misleading people or undermining democratic institutions.
The BJP also sought to highlight an alleged rift within the Gandhi family. Patra claimed Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was not given an opportunity to speak at either the Congress’s symbolic mock Parliament on Saturday or the INDIA bloc rally on Sunday, suggesting Rahul Gandhi feared being overshadowed by his sister.
BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari similarly alleged that separate Rahul and Priyanka camps were emerging within the Congress and accused the Leader of Opposition of pushing his sister into the background.
These claims were made by BJP leaders, who cited Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s absence from the speakers’ list at the two events as evidence of an internal power struggle.