‘Agenda to set country on fire’: BJP retorts to opposition’s ‘regime change’ call | India News
The ruling BJP and opposition leaders on Saturday traded sharp remarks over the use of the phrase “regime change” during protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, with the Congress defending peaceful protests and the BJP accusing the Opposition of attempting to create political instability.Union minister and BJP leader Pralhad Joshi criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his support for student activist Neha Bora, who referred to the Gen Z movement in Bangladesh. Joshi asserted that India’s constitutional democracy could not be destabilised along the lines of Bangladesh, Pakistan or Nepal.Speaking to reporters, Joshi questioned the Congress’s association with those drawing inspiration from the Bangladesh uprising.“Unlike Pakistan, Bangladesh, or Nepal, this cannot happen in India. Neha Bora has said, ‘Bangladesh has inspired us.’ What does that mean? What happened in Bangladesh? First of all, an elected government was overthrown, and the sitting Prime Minister was forced to flee. Then, a huge number of minority Hindus are being killed. Do you want that model? And Rahul Gandhi is constantly associating with her? What are you expecting to happen in this country?” Joshi said.He also urged the Congress to strengthen its grassroots presence instead of blaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi for its electoral setbacks, citing the party’s record in several states.“If you want to fight elections, if you want to occupy the chair of either the Prime Minister or a Chief Minister, you have to work. Look, you haven’t won in Tamil Nadu for 49 years. Back then, the BJP’s presence was very meagre, yet even at that time, you lost. You have been losing Gujarat for the past 30 years… in Madhya Pradesh for 25 years. You are losing in Bihar. In Jharkhand, you are non-existent. And all that happened before our rise, before Modi came to power. So this is completely foolish logic,” he said.Joshi added that the low turnout at recent Opposition demonstrations showed that people had rejected its narrative.Rajnath Singh accuses Opposition of seeking ‘anarchy’The controversy intensified after defence minister Rajnath Singh on Friday accused the Congress and its allies of attempting to bring about a change of government along the lines of Bangladesh by using the energy of young people to spread “anarchy”.Addressing a press conference in Lucknow, Singh said democracy did not give anyone the licence to create disorder or undermine the credibility of constitutional institutions.“It appears that the Congress and its political allies, directly and through their supporting organisations, are trying to use the energy of the youth to fuel political confrontation and spread anarchy instead of channelling it towards constructive work and nation-building,” he said.“The youth of the country are being made pawns in the politics of anarchy,” Singh added, alleging that the Congress and its allies wanted a change of government on the lines of Bangladesh.Sibal, Chidambaram defend ‘regime change’ remarksRajya Sabha member Kapil Sibal hit back at Singh on Saturday, arguing that it was the people who wanted a change of government and that the current dispensation’s time in office was over.In a post on X, Sibal said, “Rajnath Singh: You allege that Congress wants ‘regime change’ the Bangladesh route. No. People want ‘regime change’.”“Protests with the slogan ‘India against corruption’ brought you power. Then: You embraced corruption; captured institutions; manipulated voters list. Time to go!” the Independent MP said.Senior Congress leader and former Union minister P Chidambaram also defended the phrase, saying the Opposition’s responsibility was to challenge the government politically, scrutinise it in Parliament and seek to replace it through elections.In a post on X, Chidambaram questioned the BJP’s reaction to the expression and said, “Why is the BJP apoplectic with feigned rage on the use of the phrase ‘regime change’?‘Regime change’ is normal in a democracy. The duty of the Opposition is to ‘oppose, expose and depose’ the government Which means: oppose in politics, expose in Parliament and depose through elections,” he wrote.The row began after senior advocate Prashant Bhushan described the ongoing agitation against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar as a “fight for regime change”, while Bora referred to the Gen Z movement in Bangladesh.The BJP interpreted the remarks as evidence of an attempt to remove the Narendra Modi government outside the electoral process. The Opposition rejected the allegation, maintaining that peaceful protests against an elected government and efforts to replace it through elections were legitimate democratic activities.Rajeev Chandrasekhar hits back at SibalBJP MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar also criticised Sibal over his remarks, rejecting allegations of vote manipulation and accusing the Opposition of spreading misinformation.In a post on X, Chandrasekhar said:“No one is going anywhere , just bcoz u want it @KapilSibal. No Anarchist peddling a regime change narrative will prevail. Not even with your enthusiastic support. No one bought your “Zero loss” theory some years ago. You know how that titanic sank or shd we replay that? No sane Indian buys your current silly propaganda of vote manipulation thats more consistent with your earlier Zero loss type fraud than any reality or truth. A well heeled Supreme Court lawyer shdnt delude himself into believing hes an arbiter of Democracy nor his dubious posse of Marxist Leninists.Voters in India are only ones who can decide who they will elect. Judiciary can determine Election petitions. Thats the way Democracy functions.
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The reason the govt u were in, was thrown out in 2014 is because VOTERS ie Citizens threw you out for your corruption. I didnt hear you huff and puff abt EVMs, Voter lists or other things you trot out now.Politics of Anarchy, Lies and Dividing people will never prevail over the collective resolve of a strong, developed India with equality of opportunity for all.So give it a rest. Save your energy for your advocacy. Not wild allegations and misinformation.”The exchange comes amid protests in the national capital over alleged irregularities in the electoral process and broader questions raised by Opposition leaders about the conduct of elections.While BJP leaders have accused the Opposition of using the protests to encourage unrest, Congress leaders have defended the right to protest and argued that governments can be changed through democratic means.
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