New Delhi, 15 Jan

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's remarks that "we are now fighting the BJP, the RSS and the Indian state itself" triggered a row on Wednesday with the BJP claiming that the Congress' "ugly truth" has been exposed by its own leader and that his statement was straight out of "George Soros' playbook".

Addressing party leaders after the inauguration of the Congress' new headquarters at 9A, Kotla Road here, Gandhi said, "Do not think that we are fighting a fair fight. There is no fairness in this. If you believe that we are fighting a political organisation called the BJP, that we are fighting a political organisation called the RSS, you have not understood what is going on.

"The BJP and the RSS have captured every single institution of our country. We are now fighting the BJP, the RSS and the Indian state itself," he said.

BJP president J P Nadda claimed that the Congress' "ugly truth" has been exposed by its own leader.

Nadda alleged on X that it is not a secret that Gandhi and his ecosystem have close links with urban Naxals and the deep state who want to "defame, demean and discredit" India.

He said Gandhi's repeated actions have also strengthened this belief.

Everything he has done or said has been in the direction of breaking India and dividing our society, Nadda said.

"Hidden no more, Congress' ugly truth now stands exposed by their own leader," Nadda said.

"I 'compliment' Mr. Rahul Gandhi for saying clearly what the nation knows- that he is fighting the Indian state!" he said.

The BJP president charged that the Congress has a history of encouraging forces that want to weaken India.

"Their greed for power meant compromising the nation's integrity and betraying the trust of the people," Nadda said, adding, people of India are wise, and they have decided they will always reject Gandhi and his rotten ideology.

Tagging a video clip of Gandhi's remarks, Union minister and senior BJP leader Nirmala Sitharaman said, "The LoP, who was sworn in by taking oath on the Constitution, is now saying, 'We are now fighting the BJP, the RSS and the Indian State itself.' So, @INCIndia and @RahulGandhi, what for are you carrying a copy of the Constitution in your hand?"

Sharing a video clip of Gandhi's remarks, BJP IT department head Amit Malviya said, "Rahul Gandhi has now declared an open war against the Indian State itself. This is straight out of George Soros’s playbook."

In his remarks, Gandhi said, "I clearly stated that something went wrong in the Maharashtra elections. We are uncomfortable with the way the Election Commission operates. The sudden appearance of almost one crore new voters between the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections in Maharashtra is problematic".

Gandhi said the Election Commission has to provide a voters' list with names and addresses of those who voted in the Vidhan Sabha election.

However, the commission has refused to provide this information, he said.

"Why would the Election Commission refuse to make the voters' list transparent? What purpose does it serve by not providing us with the list, and why are they withholding it? It is the Election Commission's duty to provide transparency, and it is their sacred responsibility to explain why this has happened," he said.

"This is something that every Congressman and every opposition member must keep in mind. There is a serious problem with our election system, and it is the Election Commission's duty to be transparent," he said.