BJP accuses Congress of seeking ‘regime change’ over Neha Bora’s Bangladesh remarks

BJP accused Congress and Rahul Gandhi of trying to undermine Indian democracy and pursue a "regime change" agenda after AISA president Neha Bora praised Bangladesh's Gen-Z movement as an inspiration for youth movements in India.

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday accused the Congress and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi of attempting to “destroy Indian democracy” and facilitate a “regime change”, following remarks by All India Students’ Association (AISA) President Neha Bora praising Bangladesh’s Gen-Z movement, which she claimed, served as “inspiration” for young people in India.

The BJP’s reaction came after Bora, speaking at an event on Wednesday, praised Bangladesh’s Gen-Z movement and said it had inspired young people in India to stand up for democracy and voting rights.

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“Revolutionary greetings to the Socialist Students Front on your sixth National Conference. We present you our red salute. And we know that the Gen-Z movement that we are seeing everywhere in this country first started in Bangladesh. And congratulations to you for showing us the way,” Bora said.

The AISA leader also spoke about young people in India participating in and leading movements to defend democratic principles and voting rights, drawing parallels between the struggles of students in India and those in the neighbouring country.

Reacting to her remarks, BJP National Spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari alleged that Rahul Gandhi and the Congress ecosystem were not interested in pursuing political resistance through democratic means but were instead attempting to bring about a change of regime.

“Rahul Gandhi and the entire ecosystem do not want to engage in political resistance; they want to bring about regime change,” Bhandari said.

Notably, Rahul Gandhi had backed Bora during the student protests earlier this year.

“Neha Bora, who is the poster girl of Rahul Gandhi’s entire protest movement, stated in an interview that she is inspired by the Gen-Z movement in Bangladesh, and they want to do the exact same thing in India as what happened in Bangladesh. This proves that Rahul Gandhi’s intention is not political resistance; his intention is to destroy the Constitution and the democracy of India,” Bhandari said.

Bhandari also referred to remarks allegedly made by advocate Prashant Bhushan, claiming that they indicated a wider effort to undermine India’s democratic system.

“Prashant Bhushan had also said that there should be a revolution in which blood will flow. This proves that the entire Congress ecosystem’s only focus is to destroy Indian democracy and bring about regime change like Bangladesh. Rahul Gandhi and the Congress ecosystem are dangerous for Indian democracy, and everyone who believes in the Indian Constitution should oppose Rahul Gandhi and his ecosystem,” Bhandari said.

Bora has emerged as a prominent face in the ongoing protests against the Election Commission of India (ECI) over allegations of ‘vote theft’. The Opposition has raised concerns over the electoral process and alleged irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls.

Rahul Gandhi has been leading the INDIA bloc’s campaign on the issue, with Opposition parties demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Neha Bora was also invited for a tea meeting hosted by the LoP Rahul Gandhi, attended by INDIA bloc leaders, activists and members of civil society earlier this week.The gathering was part of the Opposition’s efforts to coordinate its campaign against the ECI and strengthen its collective stand on the allegations surrounding the electoral roll revision exercise.

The BJP, however, accused the Congress of politicising the matter and attempting to discredit democratic institutions.