‘Truth versus power’: At Delhi rally, Cong accuses Modi of eroding Constitution, undermining elections

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjuna Kharge on Sunday mounted a frontal attack on the ECI (Election Commission of India) and the BJP-led Union government at a rally held at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi, alleging large-scale manipulation of elections, institutional bias and a systematic attempt to weaken the Constitution.

Addressing a large gathering, Gandhi framed the current political moment as a fundamental struggle between truth and falsehood.

Drawing on religious and philosophical themes, he said India’s civilisational ethos — cutting across Hinduism and other faiths — places truth at the centre of public life, and accused the ruling establishment of abandoning this principle in favour of power.

“This fight in India today is between truth and untruth,” Gandhi said.

“The ideology of this country, the ideology of Hinduism and of every religion in the world, says that truth is paramount. But today, power is being made more important than truth,” he added.

Turning his criticism directly towards the ECI, Gandhi alleged that the constitutional body was functioning in tandem with the BJP government. He accused the poll panel of abandoning its role as an independent umpire and instead acting to benefit the ruling party.

“The Election Commission is working together with the BJP government,” he said, warning the commissioners not to forget their constitutional position. “You are the Election Commissioners of India. You are not the Election Commissioners of Narendra Modi.”

Gandhi further alleged that elections were being distorted through inducements and manipulation, claiming that voters were being bribed during election periods. He asserted that “vote theft” was taking place in plain sight and said the Congress had evidence to back its claims.

In an unusually direct intervention, Gandhi named serving Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar, Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr Vivek Joshi, accusing them of siding with the government in what he described as the broader battle between truth and falsehood.

Referring to recent changes in the law governing the appointment and protection of Election Commissioners, Gandhi said the Modi government had brought in legislation to shield the poll panel from accountability. He warned that such legal protections would not last indefinitely.

“This law has been made to protect you. We will change this law, and we will change it retroactively,” Gandhi said. “We will take action. You may have power today, but that does not matter. The people of this country understand truth and fight for truth.”

He also claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s political confidence was eroding, alleging that the ruling party knew its actions had been exposed.

“Look carefully at Modi ji’s face. His confidence has ended. He knows that vote theft has been caught,” Gandhi said, echoing remarks earlier made by Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi.

'Only Congress ideology can save India'

Congress president Mallikarjuna Kharge, who also addressed the rally, focused his attack on parliamentary functioning and the ideological direction of the BJP and RSS. He accused the Prime Minister of avoiding accountability by staying away from Parliament and not responding to questions raised by the Opposition.

“When Parliament is in session, Modi ji goes outside the country. He does not come to Parliament and does not answer our questions,” Kharge said. He alleged that neither Rahul Gandhi’s questions nor those raised by Priyanka Gandhi had received any replies from the government.

Kharge argued that the ideological foundations of the BJP were incompatible with India’s constitutional values. He said ideas associated with figures such as M.S. Golwalkar and texts like the Manusmriti could not safeguard the country’s unity or democratic framework.

“Only the ideology of the Congress party can save this country,” Kharge said, accusing the BJP of gradually attempting to undermine the Constitution.

He alleged that religion was being used as a political tool to keep the poor and marginalised in a state of subjugation. “In the name of Hindu religion and Hindutva, they want to keep the poor in slavery,” he said.

Emphasising the Congress party’s role in India’s freedom struggle, Kharge said the country’s Independence was secured through the sacrifices of Congress leaders and workers. “The freedom we got was given by the Congress. Modi did not give it,” he said, adding that current BJP leaders were not even born during the freedom movement.

The rally forms part of a broader Congress campaign accusing the BJP government of weakening democratic institutions, eroding constitutional safeguards and compromising the independence of bodies such as the Election Commission.

The party has indicated that electoral integrity and institutional accountability will remain central themes in its political mobilisation in the run-up to future elections.