BJP says Rahul’s account of INDIA bloc meeting with President ‘politically motivated’

In this picture released on October 9, 2026, President Droupadi Murmu meets the INDIA Alliance delegation comprising Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, LoP Rahul Gandhi, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule and others. Photo: Flyer via PTI Photo

The Bharatiya Janata Party has accused the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, of misrepresenting what happened when leaders of the opposition bloc, the Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), met President Droupadi Murmu on Friday night to level allegations of “election chori (stealing)”.

Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi alleged that Mr Gandhi had distorted what happened in his statement after the meeting. “The President of India is not just an individual but an institution,” Trivedi said, adding that Mr Gandhi’s version of events after the INDIA bloc meeting with the President was “more politically motivated than factual”.

Mr Gandhi said after the meeting that he was “shocked and surprised” that the President neither “denied” nor “disputed” the opposition’s allegations of vote-stealing. “She accepted our statement and asked us to bring proof, which we are happy to provide,” he said.

Against the backdrop of the poll results for five Assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat, which came on Friday (Oct 9, 2026), Mr Trivedi asked if the Congress had checked the voter list or if its election and enumeration agents had found any irregularities in the process. “First the Congress said the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were hacked; then it claimed the Special Intensive Review (SIR) was disqualifying voters. Both cannot be true. The Congress has 45 days to appeal the results; will they do so in light of their allegations?” he asked.

He said Mr Gandhi’s statements and demands regarding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s conduct and “misrepresentation” of what happened in the meeting with President Murmu made him “dangerous” to democracy in India.

The INDIA bloc is protesting the SIR exercise this week and demanding Mr Kumar’s resignation over allegations of vote-stealing.

Published – 10 Oct 2026 0:15 AM IST