‘Make Rahul Gandhi a mock PM’: BJP slams INDIA bloc over mock Parliament

BJP National Spokesperson and MP Dr. Sambit Patra. File | Photo Credit: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday (October 31, 2026) accused the Congress and its allies of ridiculing democratic institutions by staging a mock Parliament session, and said that Opposition parties had repeatedly disrupted proceedings in the real Parliament.

At a press conference, BJP MP Sambit Patra referred to the structure resembling the old Parliament building erected for the mock Parliament session and said: “They want to retain everything from the old British-era structure... They should seat Rahul Gandhi ji as the mock Prime Minister in that very old structure. We have absolutely no objection."

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He was referring to the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance’s (INDIA) mock Parliament session held at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s New Delhi residence for a symbolic "public impeachment" of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of irregularities in the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the conduct of elections.

‘No vote stolen’

Responding to the Opposition’s “vote chori” charge, Mr. Patra said: “If your 38 lakh BLAs (booth-level agents) had been doing their work properly, you would not have needed to hold this mock Parliament today.”

On the allegation that voting rights of 13 crore people were “stolen”, he said if that had been the case, the affected people would have taken to the streets. “The reality is that not a single person’s vote has been stolen,” he said. He pointed out that SIR had been conducted 10 times during Congress rule and accused the party of double standards.

Explaining the figure, Mr. Patra claimed that about 12 crore voters had permanently shifted, and of them, about 6 crore had already filled in Form 6 to be included in the voter list. Notices had been sent to the remaining individuals and the process was underway, he said, adding that those marked absent were also being included. About 2.8 crore names were deleted on account of their death and nearly 1 crore duplicate entries were also removed, he said.

He alleged that during the Trinamool Congress rule in West Bengal, its workers would cast “bogus votes in the names of deceased people”, but SIR has stopped the practice. “When bogus votes can no longer be cast, the frustration we are witnessing today is natural,” Mr. Patra said.

Rejecting the charge that Form 6 had been amended, he said only a declaration was added and that the Supreme Court judgment dated May 27, 2026, addressed the matter clearly. He also said the Election Commission of India (ECI) had clarified that decisions on SIR were taken unanimously. Further, there was no disagreement regarding ECINET, the ECI’s digital platform, he said.

The 2023 law

The BJP leader rejected the accusation that the BJP brought in a 2023 law to grant immunity to Election Commissioners, arguing that constitutional protection already existed and the law only laid down the procedure. He cited a Telangana lower court order in July 2023 for the registration of a case against the Chief Election Commissioner and others. The directive was set aside by the High Court.

“However, at that time, it was felt that due to political pressure, even constitutional authorities who enjoy protection under the Constitution could be subjected to cases without any consideration,” he said.

Earlier, BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi said the World Bank’s 2025 report acknowledged India’s success in reducing poverty under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. According to the report, between 2011 and 2023, extreme poverty declined from 27.6% to just 2.6%.

He said that while the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government was committed to eradicating poverty and improving people’s standard of living, the Congress and Mr. Gandhi were “attempting to create anarchy in the country”.

Published - October 31, 2026 09:35 pm IST