'Insult To Bharat': BJP Accuses Rahul Gandhi Of Insulting National Anthem At 'Vote Chori' Briefing

Last Updated:September 18, 2025, 13:22 IST

At the press conference, Gandhi alleged that voters were deleted en masse from the Grand Old Party’s strongholds in Karnataka during the 2023 assembly election

Rahul Gandhi (PTI Image)

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday accused Rahul Gandhi of insulting the national anthem at the Congress leader’s briefing where he alleged that voters were deleted en masse from the Grand Old Party’s strongholds in Karnataka during the 2023 assembly election.

Pradeep Bhandari, national spokesperson of the BJP, said only half of the national anthem was played on stage and he termed it an “insult to Bharat".

BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla too put out a video, saying insulting the nation’s symbols had become synonymous with Gandhi’s identity. “In Gandhi’s power-point presentation, the national anthem played from the middle. He insults the national flag, constitutional institutions, Supreme Court, Election Commission. Now, he is insulting the national anthem too. It is Gandhi’s policy to fight against the Indian State. Gandhi and his party oppose not just PM Modi, but also India’s symbols and institutions. Why does he carry such hate against them?"

This is not the first time the BJP has accused Gandhi of insulting the national anthem. Earlier, shared a video of the Congress leader from the party’s ‘Samvidhan Suraksha Sammelan’ event in Patna, the party had claimed that he did not stand straight during the anthem and give it the respect it deserves.

In the video, that went viral on social media, Gandhi could be seen waving and greeting the party workers as the anthem played. However, later he is seen standing straight and also gesturing to the audience to follow protocol.

The Press Conference

On Thursday, Gandhi accused Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar of protecting ‘vote chors’ and those who have destroyed democracy, and cited data from the Aland assembly constituency to claim that the votes of Congress supporters were being systematically deleted ahead of elections.

He claimed that 6,018 applications were filed impersonating voters, and this filing was done automatically using mobile numbers from outside Karnataka. He added that the deletions were being done using software.

The Election Commission, however, termed the allegations “incorrect and baseless", stressing that votes cannot be deleted online.

Addressing the controversy over alleged deletions in Karnataka’s Aland Assembly constituency, the ECI pointed out that it was the Commission itself that had flagged anomalies last year. “In 2023, certain unsuccessful attempts were made for the deletion of electors in the Aland Assembly Constituency and a First Information Report (FIR) was filed by the authority of ECI itself to investigate the matter," an official statement read.

Earlier, the Election Commission sources had termed as “unfortunate" Rahul Gandhi’s remarks directly targeting Kumar, stressing that he took charge only six months ago and cannot be held responsible for alleged irregularities reported last year.

News politics 'Insult To Bharat': BJP Accuses Rahul Gandhi Of Insulting Anthem At 'Vote Chori' Briefing

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