Rahul Gandhi attacks govt on IDBI bank sale row; FM Sitharaman hits back

The BJP has accused the INDIA coalition of undermining Parliament and democracy following their symbolic impeachment of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The opposition alliance held the mock proceedings at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence, in preparation for their Sunday rally.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra criticized the Congress, stating that Rahul Gandhi lacks the necessary resources to succeed, and that holding a mock parliament or rallies would be futile. Patra urged the opposition to seat Gandhi in the treasury benches, dressed in a kurta-pyjama, while they chant "Prime Minister, Prime Minister" daily. Patra declared that the opposition can keep Gandhi as their mock Prime Minister indefinitely.

The BJP further accused the Congress of spreading falsehoods regarding alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the functioning of the Election Commission. Patra claimed that the Congress' allegations of "vote chori" (vote theft) were baseless, and that Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had gained his position through similar methods.

The BJP's attack on the opposition came as the World Bank released a report revealing that India's extreme poverty rate dropped dramatically from 27.1% in 2011 to 2.6% in 2023, lifting an estimated 496 million people out of poverty. BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi used the report to mock the opposition, noting that the World Bank's statistics have "mocked" their mock parliament.

He accused the Congress of spreading a sense of anarchy, and criticized Rahul Gandhi for his past comments about the Indian economy being "dead." Trivedi urged Congress and Gandhi to reflect on reality and distinguish between fiction and fact.