Kharge Demands Ballot Papers, Slams RSS-BJP at Patna Rally

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge used a Patna event to launch a sharp attack on the RSS, the BJP and the Election Commission, but the programme was overshadowed by a disturbance that broke out during his speech.

The event marked the 139th birth anniversary of Dr. Shri Krishna Singh, Bihar's first Chief Minister. While Kharge was speaking about the Union government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a man in the audience objected to the comments and said that Modi would not go anywhere. Kharge hit back with a remark that drew strong reactions, leading to a commotion in the hall. Congress workers then caught the man and assaulted him.

The incident comes days after Kharge's controversial remarks about the Prime Minister during the Tamil Nadu election campaign in April 2026. At that time, the BJP approached the Election Commission and sought an apology, which Kharge did not offer.

On the Prime Minister's remarks about the coming decades, Kharge said no one could say who would survive or remain for the next 30 years. He claimed such statements were meant to confuse the public and linked them to the functioning of electronic voting machines and the appointment of officials in election bodies.

Kharge described the protests against the Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls as a second battle for independence. He called for the SIR process to be stopped at once and urged that all future elections be conducted using ballot papers. He also demanded that all assembly elections held in the past two years be annulled.

He argued that citizens have a right to transparency and accountability from the Election Commission. Restoring public trust, he said, requires ballot-based voting, protection of democracy and the counting of every vote.

Kharge also responded to a letter from the Chamber of Trade and Industry to Rahul Gandhi about the INDIA bloc rally to be held in Delhi on November 1. He said the party had received an appeal from traders and would look for a solution within a day or two, while stressing that the party's work was meant for the people and that the issue of vote theft was serious.