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Nadda calls INDIA bloc rally an 'anarchy model' as BJP ministers hit back at Ramlila Maidan protest
The Union Health Minister said the opposition gathering was a calculated conspiracy dressed up as democracy, and laid out a four-stage charge against Rahul Gandhi. An hour later Delhi minister Ashish Sood said the Congress wanted to push the country into chaos.
Key points
- J P Nadda called the opposition rally a calculated conspiracy to plunge India into anarchy.
- He set out a four-stage 'anarchy model' he said Rahul Gandhi was following.
- Delhi minister Ashish Sood said the Congress was rallying to push the country into chaos.
Union Health Minister J P Nadda called the INDIA bloc’s Ramlila Maidan rally an “anarchy model” on Sunday afternoon, accusing Rahul Gandhi and the Congress of serving a vested political agenda as opposition leaders gathered in central Delhi to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
“What is unfolding today at Ramlila Maidan is not an act of respect for democracy,” the former BJP president said, dismissing the gathering as a conspiracy. He called it “a calculated conspiracy to plunge the nation into anarchy” in the name of democracy, and “a foolish, orchestrated drama staged by those who have been defeated and repeatedly rejected by the people”.
A charge in four stages
Addressing Rahul Gandhi directly, Nadda said he wanted “to explain to the nation today what your model of politics entails”. He then set out four stages as he saw them: “the first stage is spreading lies and rumours”, “the second is inciting anarchy and chaos on the streets”, “the third is damaging the nation’s economy” and “the fourth is attempting to destabilise an elected government at the behest of foreign powers”.
On the economy, he said the rally was hurting small shopkeepers and vendors who depend on the Dhanteras, Diwali and Chhath Puja season. The Chamber of Trade and Industry had asked Sonia Gandhi to put the event off until after Diwali.
Nadda also returned to the BJP’s main line of attack of the day, the date. “November 1 stands as the most infamous and darkest stain in India’s democratic history,” he said. “On this very day, goons nurtured by the Congress party massacred our innocent Sikh brethren.” He said the Gandhi family had never offered a sincere apology to the Sikh community for the 1984 riots.
Delhi minister joins in
The attack widened after 2 pm. Delhi minister Ashish Sood said the Congress was holding the rally to push the country into chaos, and pointed to 1984 as an example of disorder engineered by a government. He said his side would hold rallies of its own to make young people aware, and criticised Rahul Gandhi for showing pictures of unrest in France, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
The opposition has called the rally “Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao” and says the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls has struck genuine voters off the lists. Leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav and Farooq Abdullah marched to the ground from Minto Road. Delhi Police have told the organisers to wrap up by 5 pm.