New Delhi [India], October 19 (ANI): The Congress has strongly dismissed attempts to link ongoing opposition protests against the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise to the violent civil unrest sweeping France and other European nations, asserting that the opposition’s movement is strictly peaceful, constitutional, and centred on free and fair elections.
The sharp pushback from the Congress came after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged a coordinated conspiracy by “anti-India gangs” to orchestrate “regime change” in India similar to the recent turmoil in Bangladesh and France.
Speaking to reporters in Bhopal, Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan asserted that the “regime change” attempts will be foiled, as he claimed that the citizens trust the leadership of the government.
Chouhan said, “The youth of the nation have faith in the country’s leadership. The farmers of the nation have faith in the country’s leadership. The mothers and sisters of the nation have faith in the country’s leadership. The poor have faith in the country’s leadership. Modi ji resides in the hearts of millions and enjoys the trust of the people. He has elevated the nation’s honour and prestige on the global stage. Today, India stands tall on the world stage with self-respect…Consequently, the dreams of the ‘regime change’ gang collide with this very wall—the wall of the people’s trust—and are shattered time and again. The people of this country desire a better future for 1.4 billion Indians. They also have faith in the current leadership. That is why their dreams of ‘regime change’ are repeatedly reduced to dust”
Reacting to the ruling camp’s allegations, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor emphasised that analogies comparing India’s democratic protests to violent European riots were completely baseless.
Speaking to ANI, Tharoor said, “I think that India is not Bangladesh and India is not France. I don’t see these analogies as particularly relevant… We would never condone any of the violence, setting alight buses and police stations and so on, that has occurred in France. We only believe in peaceful protest; that’s the kind of protest that I have participated in, and that I believe the opposition in general supports.”
Rejecting the government’s narrative that the opposition is seeking extra-constitutional “regime change,” Tharoor stated that the agitation is focused squarely on safeguarding democratic integrity amid serious irregularities in the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
“As far as the larger issues are concerned, there’s no point distorting a phrase like ‘regime change’ and so on. What we are calling for is free and fair elections. What is troubling today is that large numbers of people have been cut from the electoral rolls as the result of a completely troublesome, irregular, and partially illegal process. This is why we are calling for all this to be undone. It’s a constitutional issue. It’s not an issue of trying to topple a regime or anything like that,” the Congress MP said.
Echoing similar sentiments, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Pawan Khera accused the ruling party of recycling a “dangerous trope” to communalise domestic discourse and discredit legitimate grievances regarding electoral integrity and education.
“Comparing India and Europe is comparing apples with oranges,” Khera said, stating that the narrative was an attempt to portray Europe as a cautionary tale to villainise Indian minorities.
“They are again recycling a tired, dangerous trope: caricaturing Muslims as inherently violent, militant, barbaric and uncivilised, and reducing protests in Europe to a ‘Muslim problem’. The insinuation is unmistakable: India, too, must beware of its own ‘Muslim problem’. This is not just about portraying Europe as a cautionary tale. We have seen this very playbook, this very toolkit deployed in India often,” he added.
He further stated, “Even during recent protests in Delhi, individuals affiliated with the Sangh were seen posing as Muslims, attempting to provoke communal discord and resorting to violence. The objectives? To discredit peaceful, legitimate movements for education, electoral integrity, transparency and justice by branding them part of ‘Abdul’s’ so-called “anti-India agenda” and to villainise Indian Muslims. But here is the fundamental distinction this narrative deliberately obscures: in Europe, the protesters are the rioters. In India, it is the State and state-sponsored non-state actors – the Sangh brigade. Modi-Shah’s police have repeatedly used brute force against peaceful protesters, and so have right-wing ‘activists’ posing as police.”
The “regime change” controversy further deepened following an investigative report by Fox News Digital, which alleged that a wider web of 50 far-left, socialist, and labour organisations were mobilising and amplifying France’s student protest movement. The report claimed the network extended internationally to countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Greece, Brazil and India, referencing the ‘Indian Alliance Paris’— a France-based organisation of students, researchers and professionals, which allegedly promoted the French demonstrations on social media and drew parallels with student protests in India.
France has been rocked by nationwide demonstrations over living expenses, state budgets, and public utilities, which escalated into violent clashes, arson, and widespread looting of luxury retail outlets in cities like Paris and Bordeaux. The French Ministry of the Interior estimated that approximately 5,50,000 individuals participated in the rallies countrywide, whereas the CGT labour union estimated the total at 8,00,000.
The political row erupted after senior advocate Prashant Bhushan described the ongoing agitation against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar as a “fight for regime change”. All India Students’ Association (AISA) president Neha Bora also referred to the Gen Z-led movement in Bangladesh.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had accused the Congress and its allies of using youth-led protests in Delhi to spread “anarchy” and seek a Bangladesh-style change of government.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju accused opposition figures and external actors of attempting to foment violent street protests in India similar to those seen in Bangladesh and Paris.
“The violent incident that occurred in Bangladesh and the riots, arson, and looting that took place in France—a similar conspiracy was hatched for India as well,” Rijiju alleged. “Anti-India gangs and some politicians had colluded to incite the youth and spread violence on our streets. But those who devised this dangerous conspiracy forgot that India is neither Bangladesh nor France. Regime change in India is absolutely possible—but only through elections, not through Soros.” (ANI)
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