Lucknow/Bareilly, Nov 3 Accusing the Congress and the INDIA bloc of conspiring to divide the country, Union ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and J P Nadda on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on the opposition over its criticism of the Election Commission and allegations of vote theft.
The two ministers were in Uttar Pradesh to participate in the BJP’s ‘Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao’ (Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy) marches held in Lucknow and Bareilly.
Addressing a gathering in Lucknow ahead of the march, Chouhan, who later led the procession, praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, saying their leadership had brought significant changes to the country and the state.
“Modi and Yogi have done something truly extraordinary and historic in Uttar Pradesh. Under his leadership, the country is continuously moving forward, and this is what is troubling our INDIA bloc colleagues. They are constantly thinking about how to defeat the PM and the NDA,” he said.
Taking a swipe at the Congress, Chouhan said the party had lost its political influence in several states and alleged that its allies would also suffer politically by associating with it.
He accused the Congress and the INDIA bloc of attempting to transform democracy into a system dominated by violence and disorder as they were unable to defeat the BJP and the NDA through electoral politics.
“When they could not defeat us among the people, they started trying other methods. The Congress and the entire INDIA bloc want to turn democracy into ‘goonda tantra’. They want to turn politics into ‘rakta neeti’ (politics of bloodshed), democracy into ‘loot tantra’ and the democratic system into ‘peeda tantra’ (a system of suffering),” he said.
Chouhan further alleged that the opposition was conspiring to divide the country, drawing parallels with the partition-related developments of 1905 and 1947.
“The first conspiracy to divide the country was carried out by Lord Curzon in 1905. The second was carried out by Mohammad Ali Jinnah in 1947. But today, Rahul Gandhi and the INDIA bloc are attempting a third conspiracy to divide the country and push it into the fire of anarchy,” he alleged.
Accusing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of promoting an anti-India narrative, Chouhan alleged that foreign forces were encouraging such campaigns.
Defending the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the Union minister questioned the opposition’s allegations of vote theft, saying the exercise was necessary to remove the names of deceased persons, duplicate entries and voters who had shifted from their registered addresses.
He also accused the opposition of attempting to secure electoral gains through the inclusion of illegal immigrants in voter lists.
“Those who are not citizens of our country, whether they have come from Bangladesh or elsewhere, should they be allowed to remain here? Should infiltrators not be sent out of the country?” he asked.
Taking a dig at Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Chouhan alleged that facilities were being misused to arrange identity documents for illegal immigrants.
“Akhilesh Yadav, you are running factories for getting Aadhaar cards made. Come on, join in. Is this country a guest house where anyone can come and stay? We love our country. The BJP and the NDA love this country, but the INDIA bloc, I would say, is in love with infiltrators,” he alleged.
He further claimed that illegal immigrants were being helped to get their names included in voter lists to influence elections.
In Bareilly, Union Health and Family Welfare Minister J P Nadda accused the opposition of spreading confusion by repeatedly questioning the ECI and blaming electronic voting machines (EVMs) for electoral defeats.
“The opposition’s only function is to spread confusion. The opposition consistently raises questions about the Election Commission and, after losing elections, blames its defeat on EVMs,” he said.
Nadda accused the opposition of adopting double standards on democracy and targeted Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, over his remarks on democratic rights.
He said Gandhi was invoking democracy today, while the country had witnessed the Emergency under a Congress government.
During the Emergency, the voices of those who spoke for democratic rights were not even heard, Nadda said, adding that he had gone to jail several times during the Congress rule.
Rashtriya Lok Dal chief and Union Minister Jayant Chaudhary, who was also in Bareilly, accused the opposition of being disconnected from the problems and needs of farmers.
He said leaders of the Samajwadi Party and the Congress had never engaged with farmers to raise their concerns.
Chaudhary said the opposition was opposing ethanol but had failed to speak about ensuring remunerative prices for sugarcane farmers.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, also in Bareilly, highlighted the state’s development, good governance and law and order, while launching a sharp attack on opposition parties.
He said Uttar Pradesh had become free from riots under the BJP government and that law and order and transparent governance had emerged as hallmarks of the administration.
Maurya alleged that opposition parties, particularly the SP, were engaged solely in the appeasement of the Muslim community and pursued a politics of negativity.
He asserted that the people of Uttar Pradesh had completely rejected ‘mafia-raj’ and hooliganism, and claimed that the opposition would be completely wiped out in the upcoming elections.
Maurya urged BJP workers and office-bearers to take the government’s welfare policies and achievements to every household.
According to UP BJP general secretary and campaign in-charge Dilip Patel, the party will hold a ‘padyatra’ in Gorakhpur on November 4 under the leadership of its national president Nitin Nabin, CM Adityanath and UP BJP president Pankaj Chaudhary.
The march is being organised with the resolve to protect democracy and eradicate anarchy, Patel said.
On the same day, the BJP will also hold ‘padyatras’ in Prayagraj, led by Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, and in Kanpur, led by Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak.
On November 5, the BJP will undertake a ‘padyatra’ in Ghaziabad under the leadership of Adityanath to expose what it described as the opposition’s anti-national politics, dangerous agenda for regime change and sinister designs to destabilise the country, Patel had said in a statement on November 2.
Meanwhile, Nabin will undertake a two-day organisational visit to Gorakhpur from November 4, during which he will lead a march under the party’s ‘Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao’ campaign and hold a series of meetings with party leaders and workers.
Nabin will arrive in Gorakhpur on Wednesday and lead the march at noon, starting from Maharana Pratap Inter College and concluding at the Mata Kali Temple near the Sardar Patel statue, according to a party statement.
Following the march, he will interact with prominent members of society at Annexe Bhawan in Taramandal and hold a meeting with the party’s public representatives.
He will also attend a meeting of the Uttar Pradesh BJP Core Committee later in the evening.
The visit comes as the BJP steps up its organisational activities in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
(PTI News)
