The government has managed and handled the proposed protest at Jantar Mantar quite well. The preventive and preemptive measures the government took, by deploying an adequate number of security personnel and also restricting undue movement, paid off well. There was no repeat of July 18 and there was no violence of any sort. Yes, there were a lot of difficulties faced by the people in the national capital, owing to restrictions, particularly the suspension of metro services in most parts of the city; this was still the smallest price to pay for peace.
The cost of giving in to pressure
Prime Minister Narendra Modi must have realized now that by making Dharmendra Pradhan to resign, he committed a huge blunder. That amounted to succumbing and surrendering to the bullying of some people who have constituted themselves into the ‘Cockroach Janata Party’. Just because the ‘party’ managed to gather a few thousand people that day and it led to violence, it should not have made the Prime Minister sack his Education Minister when there was nothing against him. The allegations which were made without any evidence did not even remotely point towards him. Yet the Prime Minister chose the easy way out and sacked and sacrificed the minister. The ‘Cockroach Party’ and its leaders tasted blood.
Congress and AAP Join Forces, Even as They Compete for Opposition Space
The ‘Cockroach Party’ was not alone in its protest. It was being supported, subtly and not so subtly, by the entire opposition, primarily the Aam Aadmi Party and, to a great extent, by the Congress as well. The Congress despite knowing that Cockroach Party is the AAP proxy, the party (Congress) found a chance to build extra pressure on the Modi government. Otherwise, the Congress is not comfortable with the space that the Cockroach Party is occupying. Both claim and share the opposition space. This means shrinking space for the Congress.
Opposition Seeks CEC’s Removal Amid Allegations of Authoritarian Conduct
The Cockroach Party, after having tasted the blood with the resignation of Pradhan, jumped on the Congress’ bandwagon of seeking removal of the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Like in Pradhan’s case where there was no evidence, the opposition has no evidence against the CEC either. The Congress is playing up some differences within the commission among the Election Commissioners and trying to present it as an authoritarian way of working of the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar.
Election Errors Do Not Prove a Systemic Collapse or CEC Bias
Kumar may not be flawless. Managing a humongous election like the Indian General Elections or the state elections is not a small task. Everything is prone to error in any process. So is the conduct of elections. But to suggest and interpret one or a few errors as a complete collapse of the electoral system and attribute it to the willful designs of the CEC to help the ruling party is far from truth and logic.
Opposition’s “Vote Chori” Charges Face a Demand for Evidence
The opposition parties and their leaders, Rahul Gandhi in particular, are conveniently accusing the CEC of committing “vote-theft”, vote-chori, but have never provided any evidence or proof as to how it (the vote theft) was committed. The opposition parties were duly confronted by the President Draupadi Murmu when a delegation of MPs met her and sought removal of the CEC Kumar and she asked them to provide evidence. There is actually none.
Timeline Undercuts Claims of CEC’s Role in Modi’s 2024 Victory
Even the opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, know very well that there cannot be any evidence when there was no “vote-theft”. Gyanesh Kumar took over as the CEC in February 2025, while Modi was reelected the Prime Minister for a third term in May 2024. In fact, he barely made it, falling short of the majority figure of 272 by 32 seats. It is for the first time in his three terms that he is heading a coalition government which is dependent on alliance partners for survival.
‘Vote Chori’ Claims Put the Election Commission’s Credibility in the Crosshairs
The opposition by raising the bogey of the “vote-theft,” wants to discredit the institution of the Election Commission of India, which can hardly influence the overall outcome of the elections, not at least in a way Rahul Gandhi and some opposition parties are accusing it of. In the age of “rapid and unrestrained social media”, it is not very difficult to build up a narrative. Not that the narrative gets accepted universally, but it creates the desired impact. People frame opinions depending on which side they are.
Election Commission Attacks Offer Rahul Gandhi a Ready-Made Alibi for Defeat
By repeatedly trying to malign the credibility of the Election Commission, the opposition parties, at least, manage to impress upon their supporters that actually they are not losing; it is the Election Commission that conspires and colludes with the BJP to get them defeated. Rahul Gandhi ends up as the biggest beneficiary of this game of narrative. Having lost three back-to-back General Elections, besides several state assembly elections and with no guarantee of winning in the immediate future either, he has managed to construct a permanent alibi that the Congress is not actually losing; it is only because the Election Commission is biased. Not only does he manage to retain his hold over the party, it also provides an occasion and a reason for other opposition groups to jump into the already prevailing narrative and reap the dividends. The Cockroach Party did the same thing. While Congress was demanding Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, it (Cockroach Party) staged a protest that turned violent. After Pradhan resigned, it claimed the credit.
Cockroach Party Seeks Credit as Government Acts to Prevent Violence
Now again, with Rahul Gandhi having been campaigning against the CEC for over a year, the Cockroach Party once again tried to jump in and mark its presence so that in case of any consequences, it can once again claim the credit. Good that the government this time nipped the violence in the bud.
Congress’s Support for Protesters Masks Its Rivalry with the Cockroach Party
Rahul Gandhi’s public posturing of supporting the “student protestors” notwithstanding, he and his party would be the happiest over the crackdown. After all, the Cockroach Party would have grabbed the opposition space, over which the Congress claims the first right and rightly so, being the principal opposition party.
Government’s Crackdown Leaves Congress’s Opposition Space Unchallenged
Since the government did not let the Cockroach Party to grab that space, Congress must be relieved and also grateful towards it (the government). Right now, the Cockroach Party’s competition is with Congress and not the government for occupying the opposition space.
(Views expressed are personal.)