Won’t let India become Bangladesh’: Dharmendra Pradhan slams Rahul Gandhi in Faridabad

Faridabad. Senior BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday accused the Congress of trying to take power through street pressure after failing at the ballot box. He said the BJP would never let mob rule override the people’s verdict.

“We will not let India become Bangladesh,” Pradhan told a ‘Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao’ (Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy) padyatra in Faridabad. In a democracy, he said, governments are formed by the people’s mandate. “Any idea of grabbing power through pressure, bullying and anarchy cannot be accepted.”

The BJP march took place on the same day the INDIA bloc held its rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan against alleged “vote chori” and the revision of electoral rolls.

Union Minister of State for Cooperation Krishan Pal Gurjar organised the march. It started at BK Chowk in Badkhal and ended at Hardware Chowk in NIT. Pradhan, MP and former Union education minister, was the chief guest. Gurugram MP and Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Rao Inderjit Singh also took part. Workers carried the Tricolour and party flags and raised patriotic slogans along the route.

Pradhan quit as Union education minister in July after weeks of student protests over the NEET paper leak.

‘Sour grapes’

Pradhan said the Congress loses elections and then attacks the Election Commission, the judiciary and Parliament instead of going back to voters to find out where it went wrong. “The people own this country. It will run on their decision,” he said.

He used the “sour grapes” proverb to target Rahul Gandhi. Pradhan said Gandhi has wanted to become Prime Minister for 20 years, and blames institutions when voters do not back him. “This country will run on the mandate of its people, not on Rahul Gandhi’s wishes,” he said.

He said Gandhi’s family ruled for decades after Independence, and the Congress again had power from 2004 to 2014. He alleged the party used that time for corruption, nepotism and deals that hurt national interest. Voters, he said, sent the Congress to the Opposition benches in 2014, 2019 and 2024. “This country is no family’s fiefdom.”

Pradhan said the BJP has accepted defeats too. He cited the Lok Sabha results in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana and Haryana, where voters did not favour the party. “In a democracy, you celebrate a win and you must also have the courage to accept a loss,” he said. The Congress’s trouble, he added, starts only when people trust Narendra Modi.

Three questions on the voter list

Defending the revision of electoral rolls, Pradhan said the exercise is not new and was carried out under Congress governments too. He asked why the same process becomes “collusion with the BJP” when the Election Commission does it now.

He then put three questions to the crowd. Should foreigners, Rohingya and Bangladeshis be on India’s voter list? Should a dead person’s name stay on the rolls? Should one person be registered at three different places?

Dead voters, duplicate entries and voters who have moved must be removed, he said. Eligible citizens who are left out can apply through Form 6 with any of 11 listed documents.

Pradhan said every party can appoint booth-level agents (BLA-2) and take part in the revision. He asked why Congress agents stayed away and did not raise objections in time. “You don’t meet the people, you don’t post agents at booths, and then you blame the Election Commission. That is running away from responsibility,” he said.

He also accused the Congress of family rule and money power in ticket distribution, and of ignoring its own workers. “Blaming the Election Commission for your weak organisation and your distance from the people will not change the truth,” he said.

On appointments to the Election Commission, Pradhan said the selection panel, headed by the Prime Minister, includes the Leader of the Opposition. Yet the Congress keeps questioning the commission’s fairness.

Referring to remarks made about Modi and his parents, he accused the Congress leadership of personal attacks and the politics of fear. “The road to power runs through people’s trust, not through anarchy and terror,” he said.

‘Angad’s foot’

Pradhan recalled that leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee had accepted defeat with grace. The BJP, he said, grew from two Lok Sabha seats to a third straight term “not by anyone’s favour” but with the blessings of mothers, farmers and young people.

He called the BJP “Angad ka pair”, a reference to Angad’s foot in the Ramayana that no warrior in Ravan’s court could move. That strength, he said, comes from party workers. Pointing to the workers who attended as “loktantra rakshak” (defenders of democracy), he said they were the BJP’s real power.

He accused the Opposition of avoiding debate in Parliament and creating a ruckus outside. The Monsoon session was lost to disruption though the government was ready to discuss every issue, he said.

Pradhan asked workers to carry the campaign beyond districts and assembly segments to every household. “Those who cannot accept India’s progress are turning to the mob,” he said. “This programme is only a beginning.”

Gurjar, Rao Inderjit join attack

Rao Inderjit Singh said the people’s mandate is supreme and every party must respect it. “The country stands with Prime Minister Modi today,” he said. He asked the Opposition to follow democratic norms instead of spreading anarchy in the name of protest, and said voters would not let anyone block India’s progress.

Gurjar accused the Congress of spreading lies among young people and creating distrust in constitutional bodies. “Those who talk of vote theft should look at their own record. It is undemocratic and stained,” he said. “Their own faces are blackened, and they are busy wiping the mirror.”

“They carry the Constitution and the Tricolour in their hands, but neither is in their hearts,” Gurjar said. He said the “regime change” talk had exposed the Opposition’s real intent. “They want to seize power through anarchy, not democracy. This country will run on the Constitution.”

The Faridabad march is part of the BJP’s nationwide counter-campaign. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is set to join a padyatra in Karnal on November 5.

Those present included state general secretary Gopal Sharma, state vice-president Deepak Mangla, Haryana Industries and Environment Minister Rao Narbir Singh, Food Minister Rajesh Nagar, Sports Minister Gaurav Gautam, and Faridabad Mayor Praveen Batra Joshi.