At CWC meeting, Rahul says Modi told him, ‘When we go, you will come’

AICC President and Rajya Sabha LoP Mallikarjun Kharge and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting at Indira Bhawan in New Delhi on Tuesday. | Photo credit: ANI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi told him in a closed-door meeting with Rahul Gandhi as Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha that the Congress would return to power once the Bharatiya Janata Party was out of power, Gandhi told his colleagues at a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Tuesday.

Mr Gandhi, who spoke for 20 to 25 minutes at the CWC meeting, focused on the principle of resistance within the party and asked his colleagues to remain confident, sources said.

Referring to the meeting of the selection committee with the prime minister and the home minister for the constitutional post, Mr Gandhi said that when he questioned Mr Modi about fielding a candidate he opposed as the leader of the opposition, the prime minister said he was acting in the manner adopted by previous prime ministers, including Indira Gandhi, sources told The Hindu. Mr Gandhi then reminded him that she had lost the following election, the sources said.

“You don’t believe me, but the Prime Minister and the Home Minister told me in a (closed) meeting, ‘When we go, you will come’… So you should believe me,” Mr Gandhi told his CWC colleagues with a smile.

Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal declined to comment when asked about Mr Gandhi’s remarks. “Whatever Rahul Gandhi discusses it will be in the CWC room,” Mr. Venugopal told a press conference.

‘Voice Stolen’

Mr Gandhi also said that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar would have to step down and said the Congress would “fight till the end”.

Campaigning against the alleged “vote chori” (vote theft), Mr Gandhi said that when the campaign began, only 20% of people believed in the issue, but more than 80% now agreed with it. He called on the party to draw more attention to the issue.

Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh said Mr Gandhi told the meeting that the latest “revelation” was the result of a sustained campaign by the Congress on alleged vote rigging.

“Rahul ji spoke of both virodhu (opposition) and pratirodhu (resistance). We will be opposed inside Parliament and protest outside on the streets,” Mr Ramesh said.

Proposals for closed-door meetings focused on mass mobilization, with proposals for rallies and campaigns around slogans such as “Chalo Delhi, Vote Bachao” (March to Delhi, save your vote). Several suggestions were made for the way forward.

Party leader Abhishek Singhvi suggested that the youth and students could take the lead in mobilizing people, referring to the role of the Cockroach Janta Party in the protests against the question paper leak. However, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Anand Sharma suggested that the Congress should invite everyone, including political movements and parties, to join the campaign.

Manish Tewari proposed to mobilize all Congressmen and stage a dharna in Delhi until Mr. Gyanesh Kumar resigns as Chief Election Commissioner and Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is cancelled. He cited the example of Punjab farmers forcing the government to withdraw three farm bills.

When Shashi Tharoor suggested that the party might hold a mass dharna on October 2 on Gandhi Jayanti, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that Mr. Tharoor should be present at such a program rather than just writing an article in a newspaper.

Kerala Chief Minister VD Satheesan briefed the meeting about Mr. Gyanesh Kumar’s record as a bureaucrat in the Kerala cadre and the questionable decisions he took during his tenure, sources said.

On Nitish Kumar

Digvijaya Singh, who advocated the restoration of ballot papers in the election, was countered by the party leadership when he argued that the Congress should have been able to retain Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar.

Leader Sonia Gandhi said Mr Kumar had “betrayed” the opposition bloc and it was good he left early.

Published – 29 Sep 2026 17:46 IST