NEW DELHI: Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan has openly said that the protest against the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) is now a fight for regime change. His remark came on Thursday, even as the BJP kept attacking the protesters and accusing them of wanting to topple the government.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday evening, Bhushan was joined by AISA’s Neha Bora and CJP’s Abhijeet Dipke. “Yes, we want regime change,” he said.
What Bhushan said
Bhushan argued that spreading “disaffection” against a government is not a crime in a democracy. According to him, the protesters are at present trying to make sure elections are held properly. But he warned that if the “brutality” continues, a change of government will certainly follow.
He also turned the question back on the BJP. “What is wrong with that? BJP led several movements for regime change,” he said. “Now they are saying there is a conspiracy for regime change.”
Calling the government “dictatorial”, Bhushan said it was crushing democracy. He added that the harder the authorities try to suppress protests, the more people will come out on the streets.
Rajnath Singh hits back
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh responded on Friday morning in Lucknow. He said Bhushan’s comments had made the protesters’ “agenda clear”.
Singh accused the Opposition of trying to create anarchy. “They have sought to turn the nation’s youth into pawns in a politics of chaos,” he said. He claimed the groups wanted a “regime change” like the one seen in Bangladesh.
He also said that one protester had openly said at a press conference that they drew inspiration from Bangladesh, while another had “brazenly” called for toppling the government. “This makes it clear their sole agenda,” Singh said.
Singh also warned Congress leader Rahul Gandhi against “spreading chaos”. “Democracy is not a license to spread chaos, undermine the credibility of constitutional institutions, or obstruct India’s development journey,” he said.
BJP’s attack on Rahul Gandhi
The BJP also targeted Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition, who has been leading the anti-CEC protests. Party spokesperson CR Kesavan told NDTV that Bhushan had spoken about bloodshed and Neha Bora about Bangladesh. According to him, this shows that the SIR (Special Intensive Revision) process was only a “smokescreen” for Gandhi. He alleged that the real aim was to derail Indian democracy and seize power in an undemocratic way.
The Neha Bora video row
The row had started on Thursday, when the BJP shared a 39-second video clip of Neha Bora. In it, she described the Bangladesh protests as an “inspiration”. She said the Gen Z movement now seen across the country first began in Bangladesh, and thanked the people there for “showing us the way”.
BJP spokesperson Pradip Bhandari said the clip proved the protesters’ “real intentions”. He alleged that Rahul Gandhi and his team did not want just political resistance, but regime change. According to him, they wanted to repeat in India what happened in Bangladesh.
What next?
The two sides are now sharply divided. The protesters say they are defending fair elections and the right to dissent. The BJP says they are trying to create chaos and take power through the streets. With both sides refusing to back down, the political heat is likely to rise in the coming days.
