BENGALURU, 2 AUG

State BJP President BY Vijayendra announced on Saturday that the party will protest against the Congress’s "anti-constitutional attitude" in the City on 5 August, the same day Rahul Gandhi leads a protest over alleged "votes theft". The BJP plans to demonstrate near the Gandhi Statue in Vidhana Soudha, after their request to hold the protest at the same venue was denied, citing law and order concerns and the Congress's ongoing protest at Freedom Park.

Gandhi's protest at Freedom Park is against alleged election "votes theft", which he claims is being orchestrated across India, including in Karnataka. Vijayendra criticised the Congress, stating, “They have lost faith in democracy and constitutional bodies,” and questioned how the party secured power in Karnataka and won three by-elections despite these claims.

He accused Gandhi of being unable to accept Narendra Modi’s leadership, asserting that Gandhi was “misguiding the people and insulting voters”. Vijayendra challenged Gandhi’s claim of possessing "an atom bomb" of evidence against the Election Commission, urging him to present proof to the ECI or challenge it in the Supreme Court.

Vijayendra also called for an apology from Gandhi for the 4 June stampede outside Chinnaswamy Stadium, which resulted in 11 deaths, blaming the incident on the "irresponsibility" of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar. He concluded by affirming that BJP MPs, MLAs, and MLCs will protest the Congress’s "anti-constitutional attitude" near the Gandhi Statue, defending democratic integrity.