Congress leader Rahul Gandhi sharpened his criticism of the BJP on Tuesday, accusing the party of seizing control over India’s key institutions in what he called a direct assault on democracy. He alleged that the BJP is proposing “elimination of the Constitution” that grants equality and vowed a system of opposition’s resistance that would remove the party from power at the Centre.
Speaking to an audience at Berlin’s Hertie School, Gandhi also alleged that the central government has turned investigative bodies into weapons. He pointed to a pattern where business leaders who fund the BJP face no scrutiny, while those backing opposition groups like Congress encounter threats.
“There is a wholesale capture of our institutional framework. Our intelligence agencies, ED and CBI, have been weaponised. ED and CBI have zero cases against the BJP, and most of the political cases are against the people who oppose them. If you are a businessman and try to support the Congress, you are threatened. BJP uses the institutional framework of India as a tool to build political power. Look at the money the BJP has and the Opposition has,” he declared.
Gandhi promised that Congress would build a “system of resistance” to push back against this grip on institutions. “There is an attack on the democratic system. We have to find ways to counter this. We will create a system of opposition resistance that will succeed. We are not fighting the BJP, but their capture of the Indian institutional structure,” he emphasised.
He addressed tensions within the INDIA bloc, where alliance partners compete in state and local polls. Yet Gandhi stressed their shared opposition to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s core ideology, describing these rivalries as mere “tactical contests.”
“All the parties of the INDIA alliance don’t agree with the basic ideology of RSS. We are united on that question, but we have tactical contests, and we will continue to have them. We are united in the Parliament, and we will contest the BJP on laws that we disagree with. It is a deeper battle than simply elections. We are fighting a battle for an alternate vision of India. BJP is proposing the elimination of the constitution and equality between states, languages, and religions,” Gandhi said.
‘We Think Modi’s Vision For India Will Fail’
Millions of Indians, he argued, reject the BJP and RSS vision of a uniform nation. They see India as a vibrant mosaic of languages, states, and ideas that demands dialogue, not domination by a single figure.
“There are millions of people in India who have a completely different vision of the country than the government of India and the RSS. This has existed throughout history. Are you going to be ruled by the whims of one person, or are you going to be ruled by a conversation? There are people who think we should have a strong leader, and all this discussion is a waste of time, and then the other side says that India is too complex and diverse, speaks multiple languages and has too many ideas for one person to decide its future. India should be a conversation between its states,” the Congress leader explained.
“A number of people in India support PM Modi. A lot of people do not agree with his ideology and the vision of India that he has. We think the vision will fail, and it has tremendous problems. It will create massive tensions in India and make the Indian people fight with each other. We will fight it. It is a clash between two visions in India,” he added.
Gandhi’s remarks echo his past claims, including allegations during a parliamentary debate on electoral reforms that the Election Commission of India falls under RSS influence as part of a broader institutional takeover.
He is currently on a five-day visit to Germany.
