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New Delhi: India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and his allies of attempting to create “anarchy” in India similar to the 2024 uprising in Bangladesh, alleging that their ultimate goal is to seize power at the Centre through a change of government.
BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari made the allegations at a press conference at the party’s headquarters in New Delhi on Thursday.
The remarks came a day after Neha Bora, all-India president of the All India Students’ Association (AISA), said in a video message that ongoing protests against various Indian government policies had drawn inspiration from Bangladesh’s 2024 student-led movement. The message was released ahead of the sixth national conference of the Socialist Students’ Front.
In the video, Neha said Bangladeshi students had fought for democracy and voting rights, while young people in India were also protesting over various issues. She drew parallels between the experiences of young protesters in the two countries.
Since October 2, the youth organisation Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) has led protests in Delhi demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the scrapping of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The Congress, India’s main opposition party, and its INDIA alliance have backed the movement. Congress and alliance leaders have also held a march in Delhi demanding Kumar’s resignation, with Neha Bora seen participating in the procession.
Police have faced allegations of widespread detentions and excessive use of force during the protests.
Speaking to news agency PTI on Thursday, Bhandari said Neha’s reported remarks about drawing inspiration from Bangladesh reflected Rahul Gandhi’s own political outlook.
He alleged that Gandhi and his allies wanted to create a Bangladesh-style Gen Z movement in India to bring about a change of government. Bhandari described the march as an attempt to create disorder rather than a democratic protest.
He further accused the Congress of seeking to undermine India’s democratic institutions and alleged that Gandhi was attempting to bring his family back to power through such actions.
Bhandari also cited Neha Bora’s participation in a recent protest march led by Gandhi as evidence of what he called a Congress conspiracy.
The Congress and Neha Bora had not issued an immediate response to the allegations.
