BJP Slams Rahul Gandhi Over President Meet

The Cliff News | 10 October 2026

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Sambit Patra on Saturday sharply criticized Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of attempting to draw President Droupadi Murmu into a "political street fight." Patra's remarks followed a meeting where an Opposition delegation, led by Gandhi, presented a memorandum to the President concerning alleged electoral irregularities and the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner.

Patra specifically questioned why the Opposition delegation, including Rahul Gandhi, did not submit any evidence of supposed electoral irregularities to the President during their meeting on Friday. He asserted that Gandhi had misrepresented the interaction and that the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha lacked understanding of basic presidential protocol.

Allegations of Protocol Breach

“An incompetent leader tried to drag the President into a political street fight. Rahul Gandhi does not even understand basic protocol. It is basic protocol that the President accepts a memorandum, but he turned it into a drama,” Patra stated.

He further pressed the Opposition's stance, asking why leaders had not presented evidence to the President if they had been alleging electoral irregularities for nearly a year. Patra queried the purpose of the visit if evidence was not brought forth at the time of submission.

Misrepresentation of Presidential Response

The BJP spokesperson also alleged that Gandhi had misrepresented the President's response to the Opposition's concerns. “After coming out, this incompetent leader says that the President agreed with him,” Patra remarked, adding that he believes Gandhi was not responsible enough for high office.

The confrontation comes a day after a 10-member INDIA bloc delegation, spearheaded by Congress and Gandhi, met President Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The delegation submitted a memorandum detailing four demands, including the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Opposition's Account of the Meeting

Following the meeting, Rahul Gandhi expressed his shock, stating that the President did not deny the Opposition's allegations of "vote chori" (vote theft). He claimed that President Murmu had sought proof of the alleged electoral irregularities.

“I just sat in quite an unbelievable meeting with the President of India. We presented our memorandum to her outlining PM Modi and HM Amit Shah’s gross subversion of India’s electoral system and seeking CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. I was shocked that the President did not deny Vote Chori,” Gandhi wrote on the social media platform X.

Gandhi also indicated that he informed the President that evidence of alleged electoral manipulation was widely known. He asserted that elections had been "stolen" in various states.