Cong LS MPs meet: Rahul Gandhi says govt narrative 'shredded' in Parliament

Congress MP and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Friday applauded the performance of his party’s MPs in the recent parliamentary debates on Vande Mataram and electoral reforms, asserting that the Opposition had effectively torn apart the government’s narrative on both subjects.

Gandhi convened a strategy session with Congress MPs from the Lower House, during which he listened to their assessments and gathered detailed feedback on the debates.

According to sources present, Gandhi remarked during the meeting that the government appeared “under pressure” in response to the Opposition’s line of questioning on the twin issues.

Later, speaking to journalists in the Parliament House complex, Gandhi said, "There was an acrimonious debate on Vande Mataram and SIR (Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls). I felt good because in both the debates, we shredded their narrative to pieces (dhajjiya uda di unki)."

He further alleged that Union home minister Amit Shah had been visibly unsettled during the exchange on the SIR process and had even resorted to using an offensive term inside the House.

"So he was mentally disturbed and under pressure and there is a reason for that — the whole structure is involved in vote chori (theft), the whole country knows it," Gandhi claimed, doubling down on his accusations of systematic electoral malpractice.

Lok Sabha deputy leader of Congress Gaurav Gogoi said the internal discussion also highlighted the party’s success in spotlighting everyday concerns troubling citizens — ranging from widespread IndiGo flight disruptions to hazardous air pollution levels and unresolved questions around the labour codes.

"It was also discussed how during the debate on 150 years of Vande Mataram, Mallikarjun Kharge Ji in the Rajya Sabha and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra ji in the Lok Sabha brought the truth before the people and blunted the intentions of politicising the issue," Gogoi told reporters afterwards.

On Gandhi’s persistent charge of vote chori, Gogoi added that "everyone saw how Rahul Gandhi ji challenged the home minister for a debate on the floor of the House on the issues raised by him in the press conferences on the basis of evidence. The home minister was rattled and also made some unparliamentary remarks".

Congress chief whip K. Suresh described the gathering as a standard review session convened each parliamentary term, during which Gandhi evaluates MPs’ interventions while also hearing their suggestions.

At the meeting, Congress MPs from the Lok Sabha stood in silence to honour former Union minister Shivraj Patil, who passed away earlier in the day in Latur.

Although the Vande Mataram debate has concluded in both Houses, deliberations on electoral reforms continue in the Rajya Sabha.

With PTI inputs