- 41 minutes ago
Congress and BJP clashed over slogans at Bharat Summit 2026, debating electoral issues and Rahul Gandhi's international remarks.
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00:00Joining me on the broadcast this evening to, in fact, take this question up would be Congress National Spokesperson,
00:07Rajesh Kalapa, and BJP National Spokesperson, Tuhin Sinha.
00:12I welcome you both, gentlemen, and a very good evening to both of you.
00:16I'll come to you first, Rajesh.
00:18How are you looking at these comments that have been made by Rahul Gandhi about, you know, voting out fascists
00:27and fascism everywhere across the world?
00:30But more importantly, giving a platform to a foreign dignitary to come out and attack a person who is occupying
00:38a constitutional post in the country?
00:40And on the whole, we see democracy in India being attacked by a foreign dignitary at the end of the
00:47day.
00:48I'm surprised, Shreya, that you're asking me this question, because Mr. Giacomo didn't refer to Mr. Modi.
00:56He didn't speak about Prime Minister Modi.
00:59He merely said, vote chod, gaddi chod.
01:02And this is a war cry against criminals who steal franchises everywhere, you know, across the world.
01:11So what's the big issue about his coming and saying it here?
01:17Of course, we say, but he certainly is not interested in the India story.
01:21He is speaking of it in his own context.
01:23And I think the world also should understand that as far as a person who is robbing a people's electorate
01:31ought not to be retained on his seat even for a single moment.
01:35I think who is going to disagree with that?
01:38Is the BJP spokesperson going to disagree with that, that a person who steals a vote deserves to remain in
01:44power?
01:45Is the BJP spokesperson going to speak in his favor?
01:48Let him say that the vote chod should retain power.
01:53A person who has stolen the mandate should retain power.
01:56Let him say it.
01:57Let him unequivocally state today that it's correct that a person who is able to steal the vote should retain
02:04power.
02:05Who in the world can say that a vote thief ought to remain in power?
02:11In any part of the world.
02:13Forget about India.
02:14In any part of the world.
02:15I think the reference here, Rajesh, is simply with the usage of that entire phrase.
02:20It's a phrase that the opposition has been using in the last couple of weeks or months for now about
02:27the SIR protest.
02:29Within the SIR protest, it came up.
02:31And it's the usage of that very phrase which is what's being referenced to.
02:35And Rajesh, you've made your opening comments.
02:37Let me take this to Tuhin.
02:39Tuhin, do you think there's a space that's been perhaps created, which is why today the Congress even feels a
02:46need that a foreign dignitary needs to come in and raise this issue at a platform that they call the
02:51Bharat Summit 2026?
02:54Well, good evening, Shreya.
02:55Good evening, everybody.
02:57You know, first of all, a very happy Chhat Pooja and happy Janjatiya Gaurav Divas.
03:02Janjatiya Gaurav Divas, especially, you know, a day which Congress party has never respected.
03:06Now, coming to, you know, Bharat Summit, essentially from the comments coming from, you know, the ecosystem of Congress party.
03:17It, I think, which the Congress party, you know, is actually employing, but is hiding is humiliate Bharat Summit.
03:26I mean, that's what all the speakers seem to be doing.
03:28But I'm particularly appalled by the remarks of the shady Italian proxy who says, Vote Chhor, Gaddi Chhor, we all
03:35know who has used that slogan in India, Rahul Gandhi.
03:39So the bigger question is, does Rahul Gandhi derive his slogans?
03:43Does he derive his toolkit from unknown and shady foreign entities?
03:48And that puts all of his mysterious foreign visits under the scanner once again.
03:54Now, coming back to the cliched rhetoric of the Congress party, you know, my friend, Brijesh, is such a, you
04:00know, renowned lawyer.
04:02He should understand that when the matter is subjudice, you cannot call somebody, Vote Chhor, certainly not in front of
04:09foreign delegates.
04:10This dignity you should have learned from Indira Gandhi.
04:12Unfortunately, Rahul Gandhi has brought Congress party to such a low that you don't even understand that when the judiciary
04:19is yet to, you know, is hearing out that case, you cannot entertain such slogans, such nevarious slogans in front
04:28of foreign delegates.
04:29And what is, by the way, new in it?
04:31When Rahul Gandhi goes abroad, he says the same thing.
04:34Democracy is in danger.
04:35Come and save it.
04:36But he has never been able to prove it.
04:38He, in front of Nicholas Burns, he virtually pleads.
04:41Why is U.S. silent?
04:43Right.
04:44Thuin, I'll get, I'll get into that part of the debate.
04:46The previous instances where Rahul Gandhi has ended up making certain comments which is looked at similarly.
04:54But Thuin, are you convinced with what Brijesh has just said in his open comments that, you know, there was
05:01nobody named in the Italian politician's address?
05:05Do you think that's convincing enough?
05:06My simple point is, my simple point is, who has been using that slogan?
05:11In India, only one person, Rahul Gandhi.
05:14So the fact that this Italian proxy now uses it in the Bharat summit and Rahul Gandhi is seen celebrating
05:20and laughing and, you know, gallivanting.
05:23It only shows that Rahul Gandhi derives his foreign slogans, his slogans have a foreign imprint.
05:31And that is, that becomes all the more important now for Rahul Gandhi to explain who all he meets when
05:36he goes abroad.
05:37You know, we have seen the kind, the lack of respect that he has for Melanie, the Italian prime minister.
05:43The way Rahul Gandhi and Sandeep Dixit were mocking her from stage.
05:48Why?
05:48Because Melanie is pro-India.
05:50But the moment, you know, Donald Trump or anybody makes a statement which is detrimental to India, Rahul Gandhi is
05:57seen celebrating and lapping it up.
05:59But, I mean, as a leader of opposition, he should behave in a little more dignified manner that would do
06:04a lot of justice to his position.
06:07And, Tuin, taking from your answer, let me pose this to Rajesh.
06:10Rajesh, one thing is clear, and one cannot deny, the Congress in the last couple of months' time itself, there
06:17have been several such instances which have pointed towards attacks being mounted at the prime minister.
06:24And I'm talking about the Congress here.
06:25I'm not talking about what Filibek has said yesterday.
06:28As Tuin mentioned himself, the Congress has come out to make that mockery of the prime minister's interactions or, for
06:35that matter, the relation India shares with Italy, given the prime minister and the Italian prime minister's bon homie.
06:43So, when you get to mock that and then come out to say that, no, but if we have an
06:49Italian delegate in one of our programs raising such slogans, then, I mean, it's not an attack on democracy, there's
06:57no attack on the BJP here, there's no attack on anybody here, but it's just a mere comment that's being
07:02made.
07:03Isn't that a bit hypocritical?
07:06See, there is a saying in Hindi, which I'm not very familiar with, but I've lived in Delhi for some
07:12time.
07:13Which is, Chor Ki Gaadi Mein Tinka, right?
07:17So, why does the BJP assume that everything is about Modi?
07:21I mean, Mr. Modi may mean a hell of a lot to BJP spokespersons and BJP, you know, person supporters
07:29across the board, but ultimately he's not India, right?
07:34And at some point in time, somebody said this.
07:37He's definitely representing India in the foreign community, in the international platform.
07:42We can't differentiate that.
07:44Yeah, there was somebody who said that Indira is India and India is Indira, and we suffered on account of
07:50that.
07:50If you also believe that Mr. Modi is India, then surely you're also going to suffer this delusion that you
07:59suffer from.
08:00But the point is this, that ultimately, this is the short and long of the entire thing, that there are
08:10serious allegations regarding the SIR process.
08:14And Mr. Rahul Gandhi has spoken about it.
08:17He has said that he has spoken specifically about Maharashtra.
08:22He has said how we won a large number of seats in parliament and suddenly 70 lakh votes were added.
08:29And then all of those 70 lakh people suddenly decided to vote for the BJP and its supporters.
08:35Now, this is the point that if elections are going to be contrived in this manner and you want to
08:44have victories in this manner, which is very specious, right?
08:50Then certainly you can't say, look, don't criticize me, don't abuse me, I'm cheating you, I'm robbing you, I'm robbing
08:59the electorate, I'm robbing votes.
09:01But you have no right to cheat me because you have no right to abuse me because I'm the prime
09:06minister of India and I'm elected and so on and so forth.
09:10So, one of the two is not correct. I think it's the BJP spokesperson today who has to decide which
09:17is not correct, whether stealing is not correct or facing abuse for stealing is not correct.
09:23I think that's a decision they'll have to make. And I think you also, because you seem to be in
09:27their support.
09:28No, no, I'm absolutely not in their support. My question to you is absolutely in tandem.
09:34No, no, sir, I'll have to say this. I'm sorry, but I'm not the spokesperson here. I'm only trying to
09:40understand it's a foreign platform, international platform.
09:42I can also understand after being on several debates.
09:45It is an international platform and why is it that the leader of opposition requires a foreign dignitary to come
09:52in and question the BJP here or for that matter, even what has happened with the SIR?
09:57Is there a lack of voices in the opposition? The opposition is free to oppose.
10:01Let me take that to Tuhin itself. Tuhin, that's the question that Brijesh has now posed to you with regards
10:06to which side does the BJP want to choose?
10:09Are they completely denying that there is nothing wrong with the SIR or is the fact that one just cannot
10:15come out to mount questions at the BJP at all?
10:19Shreya, the way, you know, Rahul Gandhi's subservience to shady foreign powers makes his own, you know, spokespersons uncomfortable is
10:28very much, was very much visible on your show.
10:30So, so Mr. Kalappa says that, you know, when vote choice is mentioned, how is it about Mr. Modi?
10:34But Rahul Gandhi, day in and day out, has been calling him an illegal prime minister.
10:39So either, you know, Mr. Kalappa should apologize for Rahul Gandhi's remarks, because if, you know, Rahul Gandhi calls the
10:46prime minister illegal prime minister, then he's an illegal LOP.
10:49Imagine, imagine the Congress party goes up from 44 seats in 2014 to 99 seats in 2024.
10:58The highest increase, you know, 2.25x, which no other party has seen and yet calls it vote choice.
11:05So logically, if you look at it, with all the negativity that they are spreading, it's only Congress party who,
11:11if at all, might have incurred in some kind of vote choice, which we are not aware of.
11:15The point is, even our voters, voters who have traditionally voted for us seem to be missing in many of
11:23the UP constituencies.
11:24But we take it in our stride.
11:26We have pulled up our BLA's.
11:28If your voters are missing, then join us, Mr. Zina.
11:32Join us, let's take the election commission off.
11:34Mr. Rajesh, I'll come back to you.
11:35I'll come back to you.
11:36You'll get an opportunity to answer that.
11:38How we have responded, how we have responded to the situation is with a lot of dignity.
11:43We have pulled up our BLA's.
11:44Our BLA's are working overtime to ensure that all the errors are removed.
11:49Everybody who's not there because of, you know, some missing document or whatever are taken care of.
11:55And that is how the opposition should behave.
11:57By the way, five weeks ago, Rahul Gandhi went and met the Honorable President of the country.
12:04He says Honorable President asked him for evidence.
12:08Why has Rahul Gandhi not gone back to her with evidence?
12:11Does he not respect the Honorable President of this country just because she comes from a tribal community?
12:17I think these are larger questions which the Congress Party should answer instead of, you know, just trying to beat
12:21around the bush.
12:22Rajesh, go ahead.
12:23You are making a point there.
12:24Please go ahead.
12:25Yeah, I was just saying that Mr. Sinha appears to have some serious concerns regarding the BJP's votes which are
12:32missing.
12:33Right.
12:33So what is the natural follow-up of that?
12:37Follow-up is that there are several political parties, right, which are against the Election Commission.
12:42We are up in arms against the Election Commission, which is the one political party which is speaking in favor
12:48of the Election Commission.
12:49It is the beneficiary of the Election Commission's in action.
12:53It is the beneficiary of this entire vote-shory which is being done by the Election Commission and which is
13:01being handled by two specific persons who are in power in the center.
13:05So, obviously, they don't want to speak out, but they say they are hurt.
13:09If they are hurt, then come and agitate.
13:11If you are not hurt, you will not agitate.
13:13You will be on the sidelines.
13:14You will be watching the fun.
13:15And that's what the BJP today is doing.
13:17Who is speaking for the Election Commission?
13:19Election Commission isn't speaking.
13:21It's the BJP which is speaking.
13:23Obviously, they are beneficiaries of this entire process.
13:27Tuin, go ahead.
13:28Mr. Kalappa, you know, you are a very senior person, but still I will give you a simple advice.
13:34See, three of your state units, Punjab, Kerala and Karnataka have wholeheartedly backed the SIR process.
13:42So, stop demonizing it where your presence is, you know, where you don't have a presence.
13:47Instead, try and get, try and hire BLAs.
13:50Try and hire BLAs, new BLAs if you don't have.
13:53Don't demonize institutions without evidence.
13:56Wait for the Supreme Court judgment.
13:59These are basics.
14:00Unfortunately, Rahul Gandhi's toxicity is such that even, you know, sensible people like you have to give in to that.
14:06I think that's the larger worry.
14:08Brijes, why do you say that's completely wrong?
14:10I mean, the Congress has not come out to say that their elections, at least the election results which have
14:14posed them and put them in victory in the states.
14:17Your party member came out to say a few days back that we have full faith in the SIR process
14:21that was done in Karnataka.
14:23The names that were deleted were all fine.
14:25This was just a few days back.
14:27It was Satish Jarkiyoli who said that.
14:29So, why would you say that there is, that what Tuween is mentioning is absolutely wrong?
14:33Please put forward your points.
14:34Satish Jarkiyoli specified, and you should also listen to the clarification he provided.
14:39He spoke about his own constituency.
14:41And he said, as far as my constituency is concerned, I have nothing to complain about.
14:47And this is what he said regarding his constituency, not about the state.
14:51Now, if you're going to say that his constituency, what applies to his constituency, applies to all 24 other constituencies.
14:58Even going by that.
14:59Going by that, Vijay.
15:01One minute, madam.
15:02One minute, madam.
15:02So, similarly, nobody from Punjab or wherever else Mr. Sina mentioned has ever said the SIR process is right.
15:10Nobody has said.
15:11Can you imagine in a state like Karnataka, of five crore voters, one crore voters have been cut?
15:18One crore.
15:21That's one fifth of the electorate has been finished off.
15:24And then you say with great impunity, no, no, it's all right.
15:28Everything is all right.
15:29Sab changa see.
15:30I don't know how people are going to buy this.
15:32But certainly, the man on the street is extremely angry.
15:36Otherwise, you don't get huge crowds at Ramleela.
15:38You don't have students begging for your blood.
15:41But please understand what the mood on the street is.
15:44If you don't understand the mood on the street, then people are going to show you what the mood is.
15:49Duin, I'll let you respond to that.
15:51But I have a question to you here.
15:52I will add on while you respond to what Brajesh has said.
15:56One thing is very clear that this entire SIR debate, yes, there has been an entire debate about it.
16:01There have been several allegations that's coming in.
16:04The Election Commission responding to it, at least perhaps conducting a press conference and responding to the concerns that's come
16:12up,
16:13that's been a question that's also been raised too many times since the very beginning of the debate.
16:16Why is that missing?
16:18Why has the EC not come out and addressed and brought in that trust back into the voters,
16:24which is why today we see perhaps certain comments of this kind being made by Rahul Gandhi in the first
16:30place?
16:31What do you have to say on that?
16:32No, see, Rahul Gandhi is a compulsive propagandist.
16:36So whether they conduct a press conference or whether they release a detailed and exhaustive press release,
16:43I think it solves the purpose, you know, so I don't think, you know, to fault them and say that
16:48just because they've not done the press conference,
16:50Rahul Gandhi is making these allegations, Rahul Gandhi would anyway spread propaganda.
16:54But they have put out a detailed press release twice to allay the concerns.
16:59They have been responding to Supreme Court, Honourable Supreme Court, most importantly, in a detailed effort filed on 26th October.
17:06Many of the queries have been adequately answered.
17:09So wait for the next hearing, which takes place in a day or two.
17:12Why is the Congress Party so desperate?
17:15Just now the Congress representative, Rajesh, she was mentioning, you know, no Congress leader from Kerala has praised SIR.
17:21I'm naming two of them.
17:22Whether, you know, I don't know whether he's not aware or he's pretending.
17:25Matthew Kuzal Nandan, Congress MLA from Muvatu Kuzal.
17:31On 6th May, immediately after his results, he says that because of SIR, a whole lot of illegal voters have
17:36been removed because of which we won.
17:38And another Kerala leader, Ramesh Chenithala, who's also the minister in Kerala, has similarly praised it.
17:46Today he says none of the Kerala, so he's disowning his own party members.
17:50You know, look at the reality of this Congress Party.
17:54You know, let me bring in some data point here because the debate initially is with regards to the fact,
18:00yes, it does trickle down to the SIR debate much later.
18:04But today we are speaking of what has been said at this very event by a certain politician who has
18:11come in from Italy.
18:13And it was applauded later by Rahul Gandhi and even the Chief Minister, Revan Threddy, who was present.
18:18And let me take our viewers a little through this data points.
18:21The problem here, Rajesh, is that this is not the first time this kind of remark comes in from Rahul
18:27Gandhi.
18:28And that is what's being pointed out.
18:30That is the question that's being raised.
18:32Berlin, Germany, December 2025, he'd come out to say wholesale capture of institutional framework with BJP using institutions to build
18:40political power.
18:42This is the comment he'd made.
18:43Boston, US, April 2025, this is last year itself.
18:46If election commission is compromised, system is rigged, something is wrong.
18:51Virginia, US, September 2024, Lok Sabha elections not free.
18:55BJP had unfair advantage.
18:56Virginia, US, September 2024, 6, denied right to wear turban, kada in India.
19:03RSS treats some states, languages and religions as inferior.
19:07Georgetown, US, September 2024, reservations will go only when India is fair.
19:12India is not fair.
19:14Dallas, US, September 2024, Prime Minister attacking Constitution of India.
19:18Attack on Constitution and attack on religious traditions.
19:21Georgetown, US, September 2024, again, elections in India not free, heavily controlled.
19:26Election commission did what they wanted, campaign rigged for Modi.
19:30London, United Kingdom, March 2023, opposition's mic silenced in the parliament.
19:36Brussels, Germany, September 2023, there is a full-scale assault on democratic institutions.
19:42Cambridge, UK, February 2023, Indian democracies under pressure, under attack.
19:47Parliament, free press, judiciary all constrained.
19:50San Francisco, US, May 2023, BJP is threatening people and misusing government agencies.
19:56Singapore, March 2018, freedom in India being challenged.
19:59Idea of plurality is being challenged.
20:02California, US, September 2017, idea of nonviolence is under attack in India.
20:07These are all from news reports.
20:09These are all from his addresses.
20:10Now, Bridget, the question that we are asking here is,
20:13this is not a single occurrence that we are talking about.
20:16This is a question on India and India's democratic system that's been posed by Mr. Rahul Gandhi time and again.
20:23He's in opposition and I repeat, his job is to oppose and he has absolute right to do that.
20:29But why attack India and its democracy time and again on an international platform?
20:36Are you asking me the question, Freya?
20:38Yes, yes, yes, yes, Rajesh.
20:39Yes, see, these issues have been raised and naturally, you see, since it's the Prime Minister of India who said,
20:47while he was in opposition, that India is a country that's so large that, you know,
20:52we can create international pressure and so on and so forth.
20:54And, you know, Mr. Rahul Gandhi is invited to various, you know, platforms and he has to speak.
21:01And what will he speak about?
21:02Will he speak about his personal issues?
21:04Will he say, I have a dog and I, you know, I have not married and so on and so
21:09on?
21:09What will he speak about?
21:10The alternative is not attacking India's democratic system, Rajesh.
21:15The alternative is not that.
21:17I'm sorry.
21:18Yeah, what else will he speak about?
21:19He will speak about India's democratic system.
21:21He will also speak about the fact that the media, over the last 12 years,
21:26has been asking Mr. Rahul Gandhi questions and not Mr. Modi questions.
21:30He will also speak about the fact that Mr. Modi has not addressed a single press conference,
21:34which the media has never bothered to raise for the last 12 years.
21:39He will raise all these issues.
21:40These are all issues which people in India and abroad want to know.
21:45He will want to know why a person who was sometimes some 100, 600, 700 richest in the world
21:52has today become the richest in the world.
21:54Right.
21:55People want to know all these questions, answers to these questions.
21:58Right, Rajesh.
21:59We are completely running out of time here.
22:02You're the one who raised the question.
22:03Yes.
22:04Why are you cutting me short?
22:05No, please.
22:05We're running out of time.
22:06Please.
22:07I have 10 more seconds for you.
22:08So you're the one who took 20 minutes to explain this entire thing that Mr. Rahul Gandhi
22:11had said?
22:12Did I say it?
22:13You're the one who said it.
22:14No, no.
22:14These are instances that have happened, sir, in the past.
22:16We can't deny that.
22:17Please go ahead.
22:18Make your point.
22:19I'm giving you 10 more seconds.
22:20That's exactly what I'm explaining, but you're cutting me short.
22:22Please go ahead.
22:22The point is this, Rhea, that these are all serious problems, including creation of a
22:28Godi media, including the fact that Godi media participants are, you know, pulverizing
22:34the opposition.
22:36We are now diverting into a completely different allegation.
22:40You're making a different allegation.
22:41And I'm very sorry, but I'll have to take Thuwin's last comments here.
22:46Thuwin, please.
22:47Thuwin, please come in.
22:49Shriya, if there is one show, one debate that you can refer to now in the coming years,
22:54if there is one show, allow me to speak.
22:57So, allow me to speak.
22:59Mr. Prijesh, let Thuwin finish, please.
23:01Shriya, if there is one, you know, debate which can be referred to in the years to come
23:06to, you know, basically demonstrate the intellectual bankruptcy of Congress Party, it will be this,
23:11your show today.
23:12Imagine the Congressperson asking what will Rahul Gandhi speak abroad, whether he will talk
23:16about his pets.
23:17I want to remind him that in March 2022, there was an octogenarian Indian journalist in London
23:24who very clearly told Rahul Gandhi that, you know, that journalist was in touch with Indira
23:30Gandhi also.
23:31And he reminded him that when Indira Gandhi, please go to the audience, you're being very
23:36unfair to the audience.
23:38Thuwin, Thuwin, I have 10 more seconds to wrap up the show.
23:41Gentlemen, I have 10 more seconds.
23:44Thuwin, please finish your point.
23:46Rajesh, I did give you a chance to speak.
23:48Thuwin, please wrap up.
23:50Yes, please, please go ahead.
23:51The journalist essentially reminded Rahul Gandhi that when Indira Gandhi had traveled to London
23:56in 1981, after her, in 1979, after her tenure in jail, and was asked about that, she very
24:04clearly said that I'm not going to talk anything ill about my country.
24:09And imagine here you have the Congress Party who is on a humiliate Bharat mission.
24:14Shame on this Congress Party.
24:16I don't agree with this.
24:19You've both made your points.
24:21And I'll have to, I'm completely out of time here.
24:24Thank you for joining us on India Today and giving us both your insights.
24:28Brijes Kalappa and Thuwin Sina, thank you for giving us your time.
24:32And viewers, that is the bigger debate that we're talking about today.
24:35Whether these comments made by the Italian politician was the right thing that Rahul Gandhi
24:41came out to applaud, or was this more of an oversight on his part?
24:47And we just heard out both sides of it.