Congress says only elections can bring regime change after minister alleges Bangladesh‑style plot

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh alleged on October 16 that the Congress party and its allies are trying to engineer a Bangladesh‑style regime change in India by stirring “anarchy through street protests.” Congress immediately rejected the claim, stating that any change of government must come through the ballot box and that seeking such change is not wrong. Communication chief Jairam Ramesh posted on X that former President Pranab Mukherjee often said the opposition’s role is to “oppose, expose and depose” in a democracy. Pawan Khera, head of Congress’s publicity wing, said the party does not look to Bangladesh or Nepal as models and highlighted its “vote chor, gaddi chhorh” campaign aimed at defeating the ruling government. He questioned Rajnath Singh’s remarks, likening his behavior to a detective’s search, and reminded that regime change in India has always been peaceful and electoral. Khera also aired a 2013 video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, then Gujarat chief minister, urging “restless” Indians to remove the Congress government. He warned that the BJP, uncomfortable with democratic transitions, might try to amend the Constitution to criminalise agitations, noting the party’s past support for lawyer Prashant Bhushan’s 2012‑13 protests. Khera further accused the RSS of embedding its influence across universities, the Election Commission and the bureaucracy, describing it as a “regime” the Congress intends to change.

Context

India’s political history features regular changes of power through elections, a pattern the Congress cites to counter accusations of seeking extra‑constitutional upheaval.