New Delhi, Oct 16 The BJP on Friday launched an all-out attack on the opposition parties over senior advocate Prashant Bhushan’s “regime change” remark, with party president Nitin Nabin alleging that the use of the term clearly exposed their “nefarious agenda” of destabilising the country in cahoots with foreign powers.
In a post on X in Hindi, Nabin alleged that the opposition’s fight is not for electoral reforms, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls or the future of the country’s youth, but to spread anarchy and “seize power” at any cost.
“The use of terms like ‘regime change’ has clearly exposed the true agenda of the opposition before the country. This nefarious attempt to destabilise India in collusion with foreign powers is part of the agenda of urban naxals,” Nabin said in the post.
He said that in a democracy, the path to power passes through the mandate of the people, not through chaos.
“India’s patriotic people and the Bharatiya Janata Party will never allow any attempt to weaken the country’s democratic system to succeed,” he added.
Addressing a press conference with Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke and leaders and activists of student organisations here on Thursday, Bhushan said spreading “disaffection” against a government is not a crime in a democracy, and that the struggle is now “really for a regime change”.
“The government alleges that the opposition wants a regime change… We are currently fighting to ensure that elections are conducted properly. But if this kind of brutality continues, there will certainly be a regime change,” he said.
Several BJP leaders, including Union minister Pralhad Joshi, reacted sharply to Bhushan’s remark and called upon people not to “fall for manufactured outrage”.
“The external script that fractured Libya, Nepal and Bangladesh is attempting to disrupt our country’s peace. This is a highly calculated ‘regime change’ project where public anger is routinely weaponised to spark chaos and stall India’s growth story,” Joshi said in a post on X.
“Do not let the puppet masters use our citizens as pawns. Stand firm with stability and national progress over politically engineered sabotage,” the senior BJP leader added.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma posted a video clip of Bhushan’s press conference and wrote on X, “Identify these faces.”
“Their gameplan is clear. Anti-national forces who cannot win the people’s mandate are now on the streets to effectively engineer a regime change operation,” he said, adding, “Their only mission is to overthrow the government by anarchist means and grab power by hook or crook.”
Sarma asserted that Indian democracy is robust and it runs on the will of the people which, he said, is “firmly” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government.
“Together, the people of Bharat will fight these forces and give them a “strong answer to their anti-national plans”, the Assam chief minister added.
Taking to X, former Union minister Anurag Thakur said “regime change” is the standard term used by foreign elements to “topple” elected governments in their own interest by manufacturing unrest and tension “to the scale of a full-fledged civil war”.
“Do not fall for manufactured outrage,” the BJP leader said in an apparent outreach to the people.
“All the pawns and political tools are just the fancy faces, real strings are being pulled by their masters,” Thakur added.
BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said the country’s youth should “understand” how a movement, which started a few months ago seeking reforms in the examination system and entrance exams, has “now openly revealed itself to be part of a conspiracy to dismantle and harm the nation’s economy”.
He said protests were held at Connaught Place on Friday even though they could have an adverse impact on businesses during this festive season.
“These are part of large-scale international conspiracies and collusion. A clear example of this is how your emotions were exploited over a single issue,” the BJP Rajya Sabha MP claimed.
“I would like to urge all the youth of the country, including teenagers and those participating in the protests or are otherwise involved, to tread with great caution. Do not let yourselves become pawns for anyone,” Trivedi told reporters here.
(PTI News)
