- 27 minutes ago
BJP leader Smriti Irani criticised Rahul Gandhi over the Opposition’s protests against the Election Commission in Kerala, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, questioning the basis of its allegations. Calling Gandhi an “unelectable prince”, she accused him of seeking regime change outside the democratic process. Irani defended the voter verification exercise, citing the participation of Opposition agents and the legitimacy of electoral institutions. She alleged that Gandhi’s protests were political theatrics aimed at destabilising the government and maintained that a change of government must take place through elections.
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00:00Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has launched a multi-pronged offensive against the Narendra Modi government
00:05from protests on Sansad Marg, going to Akashwani Bhavan, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar
00:14to protests near Jantar Mantar to marching with thousands of followers and party leaders and cadre towards the Supreme Court
00:23protests virtually every day. Has this put the Narendra Modi government on the back foot?
00:28Joining me on this India First special broadcast is Smriti Irani, BJP General Secretary, former Union Minister, Senior Party Leader.
00:37Ma'am, welcome. Rahul Gandhi's strategy to corner the Narendra Modi government, demanding the resignation of CEC, protests every day.
00:46Has this put the Modi government on the back foot, ma'am?
00:48Why? Why would you presume that?
00:51I think if you turn the page of time, you will see that in 2025, Rahul Gandhi himself declared that
00:58his fight is no longer with the BJP,
01:00that he's fighting the Indian state.
01:03Now, if you go by that statement of his, what does the Indian state get denoted by?
01:08By our democratic framework, who ensures that our democracy is vibrant and we elect a government, an informed choice of
01:18the people of India,
01:20that is the Election Commission.
01:22So Rahul Gandhi has himself declared an attack on the Indian state, thereby his attack on the Election Commission of
01:27India should not surprise you.
01:29In fact, today, some of his supporters, some of the leaders that he's trying to bring under his wing,
01:37they have openly declared that their intention is not transparency, that their intention is pure and simple regime change.
01:46So the play of words on many channels may be differentiated, but their goal is very clear.
01:54Regime change in a democratic country, where through the voting process, the people of India elect those who will represent
02:03them in parliament and in government.
02:05So an unelectable prince, who hopes to be emperor one day, is now throwing a political tantrum and nothing else.
02:14So you call Rahul Gandhi's protest as political tantrum.
02:17So let's take this step by step.
02:18I don't call his protest a political tantrum.
02:21I said that a prince in waiting, who is hoping to be declared emperor, is throwing a political tantrum.
02:28And I'll tell you why I'm saying this.
02:31Leave aside what has been said about the EC.
02:36Leave aside observations of the Supreme Court.
02:38Leave aside what BJP is saying.
02:42Focus particularly on what Rahul Gandhi's interaction was recently with journalists.
02:47Where one journalist in a live press conference asked that the leader of opposition there has any proof with regards
02:56to his attack on the election commission.
02:58In Rahul Gandhi's own words he has said that he has absolutely no proof.
03:04So he is trying to hold a particular geography in the national capital hostage with absolutely no proof.
03:13Okay.
03:14I'll come to some of the allegations in a moment.
03:16But since you referred to those with Rahul Gandhi, there was a Tea Party.
03:19There were opposition leaders with him.
03:22There were civil society members.
03:23I want to draw your attention to what Prashant Bhushan, who is a senior advocate, words to the effect that
03:28yes, our aim is regime change.
03:31So the only way you can change a government in this country is through an election.
03:36You cannot take away the rights of 90 crore Indians in this country just because Prashant Bhushan woke up and
03:44said, I want a regime change.
03:45That will not happen.
03:47So if they're trying it through the democratic means...
03:50Are they?
03:51Is there anything to indicate...
03:53Is the beating up of Delhi police officials on the streets of Delhi a democratic way?
03:59Is abusing the Indian army during their demonstration a democratic way?
04:04Is abusing the Prime Minister of India a democratic way?
04:09Fight an election.
04:10That is a democratic way.
04:13But that's their allegation that there is no level playing field.
04:16How not?
04:16For example...
04:17How not?
04:17They allege that the election commission is compromised, 0.1, 0.2...
04:22How?
04:22No, explain to me how.
04:23So 13 crore voters disenfranchised through the SIR process.
04:28No, no, not at all.
04:28Absolutely false.
04:3190 crore voters, out of which 90% have been verified by the election commission.
04:36But for those who possibly may not have access to information, please go online, study.
04:44What is the process?
04:45The Booth-level officer goes house to house to verify every voter.
04:50But alongside the Booth-level officer is a Booth-level agent which is a representative of all political parties, which
04:58includes the Congress and those who are allies of the Congress party.
05:03Close to 20 lakh Booth-level agents have been a part of the SIR.
05:08Is Rahul Gandhi of the position that his own workers are lying?
05:15So out of the 13 crores that they have been espousing as a part of the draft electoral role, those
05:22are the people on whom certain issues have come to the fore.
05:26So 3 crore, 3 crore such names are people who are dead.
05:31Should dead people be a part of the electoral role of India?
05:35No, absolutely not.
05:36Now out of them, 6 crore people approximately have shifted, which means they may have a vote in A city,
05:44they may have moved to B city.
05:46Should they maintain in both cities?
05:48No.
05:49So that is a process which is underway.
05:51Correct?
05:52There are 1 crore people whose names are duplicates.
05:57Should duplicate names be a part of the electoral role?
06:01Only in one place and not two.
06:03Duplicacy should not be allowed, correct?
06:05Is that your position as the very senior journalist and editor?
06:08Absolutely.
06:09Now there are 3 crore people who are untraceable.
06:11And when I say this, this is 4 categories under which 13 crore people have been identified.
06:17Absent, shifted, dead and duplicate.
06:20So the 3 crore people who are untraceable, how are they untraceable?
06:23Well, the booth level officer is going again and again to that same address.
06:27And the person who is supposed to be there at that address cannot be traced right now.
06:32But again be mindful that the booth level agent, which includes representatives of the Congress party and those in the
06:40opposition,
06:41is a part of this entire process.
06:44So once an electoral role is finalized, the process of making yourself a voter does not stop.
06:51It is a continuous process.
06:54But those who are dead, those whose names are duplicate, those who are shifting places, I want to shift the
07:00word.
07:02My stand is, should dead people be a part of the electoral role?
07:06Have you ever heard the leader of opposition vehemently say that yes, dead people should be out of the electoral
07:13roles?
07:13Have you ever heard him?
07:15No?
07:16Have you ever heard him say that those who have duplicate names should not be a part of the electoral
07:21role?
07:22No?
07:22So now when the opposition says stop this process, bring transparency in this process, and then start again?
07:29Should a process which is identifying who has been dead, whose name is duplicated, who has shifted,
07:38when 90% of 90 crore voters have been verified already.
07:43And 20 lakh booth-level agents of political organizations, including the Congress, the left, all of them have been a
07:51part of the process.
07:52And what do you think that elections in this country happens without the intervention of political parties and political workers?
08:00During the electoral role verification process, revision process, representatives of all political organizations are a part of it.
08:09And if somebody feels that a name has not been included, that citizen or the booth-level agent can bring
08:17that to the notice of the EC, can help that citizen file a form.
08:22Additionally, when you go to polls, every voter, I'm sure, knows that at every polling booth, they are polling agents
08:30of all political organizations,
08:31which includes the Congress Party, which includes representatives of all political parties, including those who are part of the India
08:39Alliance.
08:40When counting is done, it is done in front of not only the political candidate, but also the counting agent
08:47of that political candidate,
08:48which includes those who are members of the Congress Party, those who are members of the India Alliance.
08:55So you're saying vote jury is just not possible in India?
08:57That is a phrase that is, I think, utilized by a leader of opposition who not only believes in political
09:05photobombing,
09:06but also headline chasing.
09:08I will attract your attention to Kerala.
09:12Kerala Congress leader says that because of SIR, there was transparency and we could win an election.
09:19Is the Kerala Congress leadership lying?
09:25Telangana.
09:25Kerala, Jharkhand, Himachal, whose government is it in those states?
09:34Tamil Nadu, whose government is in that state?
09:38Karnataka, whose government is in that state?
09:43So when the Congress Party and its leaders and its workers, along with political leaders, workers,
09:51of all opposition political parties, are part of not only the voter verification process,
09:59but also the polling process and also the counting process.
10:04And the citizens of India are watching.
10:06And the media is watching.
10:08And 90% of 90 crore voters have been verified.
10:12You think Rahul Gandhi's position holds water?
10:15So what is this agitation all about then in your appreciation?
10:19Regime change.
10:19Regime change.
10:20That's what his comrades have said today.
10:23Those he's trying to bring under his tutelage.
10:26They've openly said it.
10:27I don't have to re-identify it for you, repurpose it for you.
10:30They are not my words.
10:32So they want regime change without elections?
10:34Is your understanding?
10:35Haven't they just said it?
10:37Why would I have to reposition or rephrase it?
10:42So there's a student leader, AISA President Neha Bora.
10:47She was a part of the protest and that marched towards the Supreme Court of India.
10:51One of her videos is going viral.
10:53Why would you march to the Supreme Court?
10:56What does a normal Indian citizen do when you want a hearing at the court?
11:01What do you do?
11:02File a petition.
11:04Have you ever seen 8,000 people trying to approach the Supreme Court to file a petition?
11:11Physically trying to get into the Supreme Court of India?
11:14No.
11:16Now when you talk about the petition, who is the petitioner?
11:22Who is the petitioner?
11:24The Congress Party leaders.
11:25No, no, who?
11:27Namely?
11:28Raul Gandhi is a part of?
11:29Number one, yeah.
11:30Does the Congress Party has many celebrated lawyers in it?
11:34Yes.
11:36Are there flaws in the petition?
11:38Is it possible for an accomplished lawyer of the Congress Party to give a petition in the Supreme Court of
11:45India,
11:47where Rahul Gandhi is one of the petitioners,
11:49and have flaws in the petition?
11:55What is your reading?
11:57I don't have to read.
11:58I am stating a fact.
12:00You can do your own reflections.
12:05So, are you saying that these 8,000 people going towards the Supreme Court was pressure tactics?
12:12I can't speak for those 8,000 people.
12:14But what I can speak to is certain facts.
12:17One, and I have said this yesterday, that Mr. Gandhi is incapable of fighting an election alone on his own
12:26merit and strength
12:28from a constituency that has been held by his family for decades.
12:34Mr. Gandhi is incapable of leading a charge on the streets of India without calling out to other 14 political
12:42parties to help him.
12:45Those are facts.
12:46Can't deny it.
12:48But as leader of opposition, who is a part of the Indian parliamentary system,
12:52what is your expectation of such a leader?
12:56Should he say emphatically that dead people should not be a part of the electoral roll?
13:03Has he said it?
13:04No.
13:05When the leader of opposition speaks, should he speak with proof when he is talking about a constitutionally recognized institution?
13:14Your leader of opposition blatantly says, I have no proof.
13:20Is that a responsible political leader?
13:28So, explain this to me.
13:29They want to carry out protests.
13:32It's their democratic right.
13:33Yes.
13:34Now, their allegation is that the government is criminalizing dissent.
13:38How?
13:39By one, not permitting protests at a designated...
13:42Where is the government...
13:43No, no.
13:43Where is the government said no protests are allowed?
13:46At Jantar Mantar, for example.
13:47No, no, no.
13:48Where is the government said...
13:48Jantar Mantar has been a traditional protest spot.
13:51And who is notified it?
13:53Who notified it?
13:55The government in 1991 when boat club was shifted to Jantar Mantar.
13:59Boat club protests when you were shifted to Jantar Mantar.
14:00Now, when you designate a space which is central to the entire governance structure of our country,
14:07which is not only close to parliament, it is close to the Supreme Court of India.
14:11And when you gathered before this,
14:15you made an assurance that you will do a peaceful demonstration.
14:20What did the cohort ended up doing?
14:23It beat and assaulted 280 Delhi police officers.
14:29Can you tell me one statement made by Rahul Gandhi which says,
14:33nobody should have ever assaulted a police officer?
14:38Can you find me one statement?
14:40But they are saying the police in turn use brute force against protesters, including women protesters.
14:44Can you find me one statement of the leader of opposition who has emphatically said,
14:50a police officer should not be beaten.
14:56The leader of opposition you speak about,
14:58himself is seen physically mauling a female police officer.
15:04Correct?
15:07These are video evidences including your channel that has telecasted the same.
15:14Correct?
15:15Now, since I am talking about your channel,
15:18I myself yesterday saw that you have put out a video of a story that your channel did in 2025
15:24where Bangladeshi's,
15:28Kuspethi's were running,
15:32stating that I have voted in the local election,
15:37but now I will be caught.
15:40Has the leader of opposition ever brought up that video
15:45to say that yes, this is evidence of criminality
15:50which should be acted upon?
15:52Have you ever heard him say this?
15:53No, but then they do ask,
15:55give us the big picture.
15:57Which is what?
15:57How many Ghuspethias deported?
15:59Which is what?
15:59How many Ghuspethias have been deleted?
16:01And where can you ask that?
16:03Where can you ask that?
16:04The union home minister?
16:05Where else can you ask that?
16:11Where else can you ask that?
16:12The election commission.
16:15Are they asking that?
16:17No?
16:19They just want regime change.
16:22You've said so.
16:23This evening.
16:25They are not seeking transparency.
16:27They are not seeking answers.
16:29They just want regime change.
16:33What is your government's response to this?
16:35Pardon me.
16:36God bless.
16:36What is your government's response to this?
16:38Especially at a time when one of the student leaders or one of the younger leaders,
16:42a video has gone viral inspired by what happened in Bangladesh
16:46and that spurred them all to carry on this agitation.
16:50that they are very inspired by it.
16:52My apologies for sneezing since I am running a fever.
16:55But I think that this statement is best responded to officially by the government.
16:59I am of the opinion that if you are talking about foreign, if you are talking about a foreign entity,
17:08investigative agencies are better positioned to give you an emphatic answer.
17:12If you are looking at foreign governments, the MEA is better equipped to answer those questions.
17:17But I will say this.
17:19That we have had in the past Congress leaders going to countries like Pakistan
17:23and literally appealing that the Congress party should be helped
17:26so that they can topple the Modi government.
17:30Those statements are on record.
17:37Also, when you see 13, 14 opposition parties coming together
17:42and since, you know, you fought elections in Uttar Pradesh...
17:45And I fought all those parties together in the seat of Amitthi.
17:49Oh, yes, you did.
17:50Yes, I did.
17:51So, is that a big challenge?
17:54It was not just one Congress candidate.
17:55It was an assimilation of all opposition parties together in Amitthi.
18:00So, yes, your question was...
18:03And that is when I defeated the national president of the Congress party.
18:06And you were hailed as a giant slayer at that time.
18:09Yes, but victories and defeats are a part of your electoral journey.
18:13And your question is...
18:14This time, how big a challenge are these opposition leaders coming together?
18:19Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi together in Uttar Pradesh,
18:22especially after the 2024 results, ma'am.
18:24That the politically responsible behavior is to never dismiss
18:29any political leader of any political organization.
18:33But there are certain facts that need to come to the fore.
18:36The Congress party has lost nine consecutive assembly elections
18:40in the state of Uttar Pradesh since 1989.
18:42This is subject to your verification.
18:45Modi became prime minister in 2014.
18:47So, to what kind of incompetence does Rahul Gandhi think
18:51his entire party lost between 1989 and 2014?
18:58Is this the first time Akhilesh and Rahul are coming together?
19:01No.
19:02No.
19:032017, possibly, was the first time,
19:05again, subject to your verification,
19:07where Akhilesh Yadav fought...
19:08The assembly election, under his leadership,
19:11the Samadwadi party,
19:12fought that election.
19:14Did they lose?
19:16Yes.
19:17Were they together then?
19:19Did history repeat itself in 2022?
19:23Will history repeat itself in 2027?
19:25Absolutely.
19:26That's right.
19:27Absolutely.
19:27Yeah.
19:28How are you so sure?
19:29Like I said,
19:30nine consecutive losses in election.
19:34Rahul Gandhi can't fight his own election alone.
19:37And you are telling me a man
19:39who cannot fight his own election alone
19:41is going to make his entire party win on Uttar Pradesh.
19:44Ma'am, you are very confident.
19:45No, no.
19:46That's his prerogative.
19:48I'm sure a dream that Mr. Yadav can see.
19:50But these are the facts
19:52that are before me.
19:54It is not a statement of arrogance.
19:56It is a genuine statement of fact.
19:58And that's the question I'm actually coming to.
20:01You're very confident that BJP is winning Uttar Pradesh in 2027.
20:05Union Home Minister Amit Shah is very confident
20:07that the BJP is winning 2029
20:09or the NDA is winning 2029.
20:11The opposition says this indicates vote truly
20:15they're so confident that they're winning.
20:17How?
20:17How can there not be anti-incumency,
20:19for example, in the past?
20:20Rahul Gandhi said that.
20:21Because BJP is running a very good government.
20:24But did we lose in Karnataka, in Jharkhand,
20:27in Tamil Nadu, in Himachal?
20:29That is also a fact.
20:30So is he saying that his government in Himachal,
20:33in Karnataka right now should be dismissed?
20:37In Kerala, is Rahul Gandhi's position
20:40that the government in Kerala is illegal
20:42and hence the state government should be dismissed?
20:45Can Rahul Gandhi please confirm it?
20:48Is that his position?
20:51Ms. Zirani, you've answered all questions.
20:55No, I may want to add one with your permission.
20:57Ms. Savant, my request is this again.
21:02There are many statements provocatively made.
21:06One of them is about the Tiranga.
21:09One of them is about no right to protest.
21:12The government has designated spots to protest.
21:15The media can go to any and every spot to cover it.
21:19The media but did ask Rahul Gandhi,
21:23does he have proof?
21:25And Rahul Gandhi openly said there is no proof.
21:28And Rahul Gandhi's cohort today says
21:31they want regime change.
21:33We are a very informed citizen.
21:3890 crore voters know that the only democratic way
21:43of changing a government is through elections.
21:46And that is the intent of Rahul Gandhi and his cohort.
21:50That those who cannot win a democratically election
21:55that is taking place in our country
21:58want to create deliberate chaos
22:01so that they can play political victims.
22:05So they are creating chaos
22:06because they can't win elections democratically.
22:08But how will your government deal with the situation
22:10with CJP, ISA, Congress, NCP, SP, RJD, TMC,
22:17Shiv Sena, Uddhaf Thakri faction,
22:20all of them coming together?
22:21I can't speak for the government.
22:22They have an official spokesperson.
22:24Your party.
22:24But I can say this,
22:26that if you want to democratically engage yourself
22:29as a Kairagarta,
22:31you fight the election
22:32or you help your party candidate win the election.
22:36But the entire process of SIR
22:39has had
22:41the door-to-door verification process
22:44aided by the Booth-level agent
22:46which includes
22:47not only the Congress Party workers
22:49but also workers of all the political parties
22:54that now form the opposition of India.
22:56That every political party
22:58at every polling booth on election day
23:00has representatives
23:02and similarly representatives
23:04of every political party
23:06including those in the opposition
23:08are a part of the counting process.
23:11So instead of doing
23:13a political tantrum,
23:16Rahul Gandhi may very humbly so be best advised
23:19that work for the people,
23:22work for India
23:23instead of bismurching
23:26institutions
23:27that have been deemed with dignity
23:29by the constitution of India.
23:31For joining me here on India Today.
23:33Many thanks.