Rahul Gandhi Accuses BJP of ‘Wholesale Attack on Democracy’ During Colombia Visit

Rahul Gandhi Accuses BJP of ‘Wholesale Attack on Democracy’ During Colombia Visit

RMN News Report Highlights:

💥 The leader of opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP-led central government of a “wholesale attack on Indian democracy” during an interaction at EIA University in Colombia.

💰 Gandhi alleged a “huge level of corruption at the centralised level” involving a few businesses with a “direct relationship with the Prime Minister”.

📢 BJP leaders slammed Gandhi’s overseas remarks, labeling him the “Leader of Propaganda” (LoP) for denigrating Indian democracy on foreign soil.

⚠️ As the LoP, Rahul Gandhi must escalate his campaign to save democracy in India to such a level that the Modi regime is compelled to imprison him. Otherwise, his rhetoric in India and abroad is viewed as “all drama to keep him busy and amused,” having no real impact on Modi, who “will keep winning elections at will”.

By Rakesh Raman
New Delhi | October 3, 2025

NEW DELHI/COLOMBIA: Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has sparked a major political storm by accusing the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of mounting a “wholesale attack on Indian democracy” during a recent interaction at EIA University in Colombia. Gandhi made this declaration while on a four-day South America tour.

The Core of Gandhi’s Accusation: Democracy Under Attack

Addressing students during the interaction, Rahul Gandhi emphasized that India’s vast diversity—featuring multiple religions, traditions, and languages—requires democratic space. He defined India as a “conversation between all its people and different traditions”. Gandhi argued that the democratic system is the “best method for creating that space,” which is currently facing a “wholesale attack on the democratic system in India”.

Contrasting India’s political system with China’s, Gandhi stressed that India cannot “suppress people and run authoritarian system” because “Our design just will not accept that”. He acknowledged that the challenge for India is developing manufacturing like China, but critically, doing so “within a democratic setup”.

Criticism of Economic Policies and Ideology

Gandhi specifically targeted the Modi government’s major economic policies. He asserted that both demonetisation and GST were designed to “destroy small and medium businesses” and “harm medium and small businesses”. These policies, he claimed, have allowed “very large monopolies to control a big section of our economy”.

He further alleged that in India, there is a “huge level of corruption at the centralised level,” where three or four businesses are “taking over the whole economy” due to a “direct relationship with Prime Minister (Modi)”.

The LoP also criticized the ideological underpinnings of the ruling BJP, stating that “cowardice was at heart of RSS-BJP ideology”. He cited two examples to support this claim:

1. Foreign Minister S Jaishankar’s statement regarding China: “China is much more powerful than us. How can I pick a fight with them?”.
2. Hindu ideologue VD Savarkar’s writings, where Savarkar described beating up a Muslim man with a few friends, and feeling happy about it. Gandhi characterized this action (five people beating a single individual) as cowardice and reflective of the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the parent outfit of BJP) ideology “to beat weak people”.

The BJP immediately launched on October 2, 2025 a scathing counter-attack, labeling Gandhi a “Leader of Propaganda” (LoP) for allegedly denigrating Indian democracy on a foreign platform.

Context of Electoral Manipulation and Opposition Timidity

Gandhi’s high-profile claims about the attack on democracy coincide with serious allegations concerning electoral integrity in India. Since the Lok Sabha election of 2014, the Modi regime and his party are accused of winning most elections through the “selective manipulation of electronic voting machines (EVMs)” and other frauds, including bribes and fake voter lists. Research suggests that the Modi regime may have even set up mass technology contact centers in autocratic nations abroad for electronic tampering in Indian elections.

This alleged electoral manipulation is detailed in the research report, “Unveiling the Smokescreen of Indian Democracy: Fabricated Factors Masking Electoral Manipulation”. According to the report, Modi and the BJP stir up anti-Pakistan and anti-Muslim sentiment to create a “smokescreen” of religious hatred, masking widespread electoral manipulation, EVM fraud, and “dirty tricks”.

Opposition leaders and activists have responded by branding PM Modi a “Vote Chor” (Vote Thief). This led to a campaign by opposition MPs in New Delhi in August 2025, accusing the PM of vote theft in successive elections. These serious allegations formed the basis for a worldwide Call to Filmmakers to produce a political thriller titled “The Smokescreen”.

Despite these serious claims, critics observe that opposition groups, including political parties, civil society, students, and journalists, are often “timid and terrified” of challenging Modi’s hostile and violent behavior. The main opposition party, Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi, is described as “very weak,” allowing Modi’s electoral manipulation to reportedly go unchallenged.

Instead of sustained street protests, opposition leaders including Rahul Gandhi often resort to “cheap tweets, constitution book in hand, repulsive couplets, poems, and ugly abuses in TV shows” to oppose Modi and BJP. Students, suffering from unemployment and misery, also “hardly go to streets to protest and demand jobs as they are timid and terrified”.

Some critics suggest that Rahul Gandhi, as LoP, must escalate his campaign to save democracy to a level that compels the Modi regime to imprison him. Otherwise, his repeated rhetoric, both in India and abroad, is viewed as “all drama to keep him busy and amused,” having no real impact on Modi, who “will keep winning elections at will”.