Pradeep Bhandari shared videos of Bora’s remarks on X, describing her as Rahul Gandhi’s “poster girl”.

NEW DELHI: The BJP and Congress traded barbs on Thursday after the ruling party slammed All India Students’ Association (AISA) leader Neha Bora for saying Bangladesh’s Gen Z movement had “showed us the way”.The BJP accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the opposition of seeking regime change in India, while the Congress hit back, accusing the ruling party of invoking democracy to suppress the voices of young protesters.BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari shared videos of Bora’s remarks on X, describing her as Rahul Gandhi’s “poster girl” and alleging that her comments exposed the opposition’s intentions.“Neha Bora, Rahul Gandhi’s poster girl says-‘Bangladesh showed us the way’ for Revolution!” Bhandari posted on X.“This is Open Admission of Regime Change! Rahul Gandhi& Co are a threat to Indian Democracy!” he added.In another post, Bhandari claimed that Bora’s remarks showed that Gandhi’s opposition to the government was not merely political. He alleged that the Congress leader and his allies wanted to replicate the change of government witnessed in Bangladesh.In the video shared by Bhandari, Bora can be heard saying, “We know the GenZ movement first started in Bangladesh and I congratulate you for showing us the way, for showing us an extending solidarity to young people of this country.”Bora made the remarks in a video message to the sixth national conference of Bangladesh’s Socialist Students Front on Wednesday. She expressed solidarity with the student organisation and said young people in India were drawing inspiration from youth-led movements in Bangladesh.Responding to the controversy, Congress leader Rashid Alvi accused the BJP of invoking democracy while the opposition was fighting to protect it.“The BJP is invoking the very democracy that we are fighting to save. The entire nation is fighting this battle. Why is the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar being demanded? Because he has murdered India’s democracy…”“The Bharatiya Janata Party cannot suppress this voice of the youth by invoking the name of democracy… A protest should be peaceful. We do not, and have never, supported anyone taking the law into their own hands. Any change in government in India will take place through democratic means.” the Congress leader added.The political exchange comes amid continuing protests in Delhi demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.Bora, the national president of AISA, has emerged as one of the prominent faces of the protests. She was detained on October 10 during demonstrations linked to a protest call by the Abhijeet Dipke-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).The planned demonstration at Jantar Mantar was curtailed by extensive security arrangements and police action. Thousands of personnel were deployed across the national capital, while more than 7,000 protesters were detained on October 10, according to figures reported at the time.The demand for Gyanesh’s resignation has also brought opposition parties onto the streets. The INDIA bloc, led by the Congress, has stepped up its campaign against the Election Commission over the SIR exercise.Opposition parties have questioned the poll body’s handling of electoral-roll revisions and raised concerns about alleged irregularities. The Election Commission has denied wrongdoing and defended the revision exercise.

Bangladesh was plunged into turmoil on August 5, 2024, when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted after weeks of escalating protests. What began as a student-led movement against government job quotas soon grew into nationwide protest. As protesters defied a nationwide curfew and marched towards her residence, Hasina resigned and fled the country.