‘Orchestrated drama’: BJP slams INDIA bloc’s rally against CEC Gyanesh Kumar

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday branded the Opposition INDIA bloc’s rally at Ramlila Maidan a “calculated conspiracy” to push the country into anarchy, and countered it with “padyatras” and press conferences across the country.

Party leaders also dismissed the turnout, saying large parts of the ground were empty, with Union minister JP Nadda accusing Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi of choosing the anniversary of the 1984 anti-Sikh violence for its show of strength.

INDIA bloc leaders and people during the 'Vote Bachao Desh Bachao' protest rally. (Arvind Yadav/ HT Photo)‘Calculated conspiracy for anarchy’Leading the attack, Nadda said, “What is unfolding today at Ramlila Maidan is not an act of respect for democracy; rather, it is a calculated conspiracy to plunge the nation into anarchy, in the name of democracy.

This is a foolish, orchestrated drama staged by those who have been defeated and repeatedly rejected by the people.” Targeting Gandhi, the Union minister said the rally had four objectives: “First, to rub salt into the wounds of our Sikh brothers; second, to orchestrate riots and chaos in Delhi in order to topple a democratically elected government; third, to rob the shopkeepers and traders of Delhi of their earnings during the festive season; and fourth, to bring disrepute to the nation.” Nadda also set out what he called the Congress model of politics.

“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,” he said.

The Congress has not responded to these charges. The rally was held against the backdrop of the opposition’s campaign against the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Meanwhile, the date added to the charged mood as November 1 marks the day in 1984 when anti-Sikh violence spread across Delhi after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

The BJP said it urged the Congress to defer the rally by a day or two. BJP MP Sambit Patra said Union home minister Amit Shah raised the issue on both Saturday and Sunday. “This kind of insensitivity only Rahul Gandhi can show,” Patra said at a press conference in New Delhi.

He said about 5,000 Sikhs were killed and alleged that voter lists were used to mark Sikh homes. The figure and the allegation are his own, and the Congress was not available for comment on them. Taking a granular approach, Patra said the party watched the rally from morning and found it “a complete waste of time”, then played a video on a screen to dispute the Opposition’s claim that the rally was attended by a massive crowd.

He said Ramlila Maidan spans roughly 10 to 12 acres. By his estimate, about 15% is taken by the stage and the enclosure in front of it, and a further 40% was screened off by a tent that he called a “view cutter” and left empty.

“Twenty-eight thousand chairs were laid out in the remaining space,” Patra said. He said the video, shot around 3.30 to 4 pm, showed 5,000 to 7,000 of them vacant. “Where were the 10 lakh people? Show us. This is trick photography,” he said.

No independent estimate of the Ramlila Maidan turnout was available at the time of print, and the Congress has not yet answered the BJP’s specific claims on crowd size. Patra linked the rally to the SIR debate. “The calculation of the SIR is exactly the same,” he said, arguing that the opposition’s cry of “vote cut” rests on inflated arithmetic.

“The day you sit in the chair and fill Form 6, you too will be counted as a voter,” he said. Patra said Kumar took charge only in 2025. “If the 2024 election was illegal, then are all of your own MPs also illegal?” he asked, and challenged the Congress to show one petition in any court challenging the 2024 result.

On PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti’s remark that the Centre is trying to turn the whole country into Jammu and Kashmir, Patra said she scored a self goal. “The people have already given their message,” he said. On Mamata Banerjee’s “kafir” jibe at BJP leaders, he said, “This fight is to protect infiltrators,” and added that “only an Indian citizen will be an Indian voter.” Also Read I '40% of Ramlila Maidan vacant': BJP mocks Rahul Gandhi over 10-lakh turnout claim On the alliance, Patra said the INDIA bloc is a coalition of many flags with one stick.

“Flags are many, stick is one. In the end the flags will go and only the stick will remain,” he said, predicting a fight over ticket distribution in Uttar Pradesh. On Modi, he said, “He has the blessings of 140 crore Indians.

He is not going anywhere.” The party took its message to the streets as well, holding the ‘Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao’ footmarch in several states. Union ministers Bhupendra Yadav and Piyush Goyal and Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma were among the senior BJP leaders held the march in states including Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh.

BJP national president Nitin Nabin framed the rally as the “last resort of repeated electoral losers”. “We defeated Congress in Delhi and Haryana. We defeated Akhilesh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh. We defeated RJD in Bihar. We defeated Trinamool Congress in West Bengal,” he said.

“Today, all these defeated people want to spread anarchy in the country out of their frustration and despair.” He cast the rally as a coalition of those who lost at the ballot box rather than a movement of the people. Nabin was speaking at one of the padyatras in Rohtak of Haryana.

He said that instead of seeking atonement and offering an apology for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, the Congress has come out to protest on the anniversary of the killings in Delhi. In democracy, people’s mandate is supreme, said Nabin.

“When they get this people’s mandate in Himachal, when they win in Karnataka, then they say democracy has won, but when they lose in Haryana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West...