Supporters at Ramlila Maidan during Delhi Chalo INDIA Rally in New Delhi on November 01, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap
Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda on Sunday (November 1, 2026) termed the Opposition INDIA bloc rally calling for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar a “foolish drama”, and accused the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi of “rubbing salt into the wounds of Sikhs” by holding the protest in Delhi on the anniversary of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
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The protest was part of a conspiracy to surrender democracy to anarchy and disorder, and would prove to be the final “nail in the coffin” of the Congress’s “political downfall”, Mr. Nadda claimed.
“Removing the democratically elected government by conspiring to spread riots and anarchy in Delhi, adversely impacting the earnings of shopkeepers and traders in Delhi during the festive season and defaming the country are other objectives of the rally,” Mr. Nadda told media persons.
“The day of November 1 is the ugliest and darkest blot on India’s democratic history. On this very day, goons patronised by the Congress massacred our innocent Sikh brothers. Thousands and lakhs of Sikh families became homeless overnight,” he said, in an apparent reference to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots following the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
“This is a foolish and designed drama of people who have been defeated and repeatedly rejected by the public. The public understands this very well,” he said.
The Opposition alliance is holding the ‘Chalo Dilli’ protest in the national capital as part of its campaign against alleged electoral irregularities, and demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The Congress and Mr. Gandhi “cannot hide the dark history of November 1. You cannot escape answering for the tears of Delhi’s traders”, the former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president said.
Thousands of people had been killed in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, but the Gandhi family had not apologised to the Sikh community to this day for “their great sin”, Mr. Nadda said.
“And look at Congress’s insensitivity and Rahul Gandhi’s petty mindset. On this dark day today, when the country should have remembered those martyrs and victims, Rahul Gandhi is standing at Ramlila Maidan polishing his politics. Rahul Gandhi has rubbed salt into the wounds of the Sikhs,” Mr. Nadda alleged.
The Congress leader’s “model of politics” involved “lying and spreading rumours” in its first stage, creating anarchy and unrest as the second, harming the economy in the third, and destabilising the elected government of the country at the behest of foreign powers as the fourth stage, Mr. Nadda claimed.
“It is the festive season. It is Dhanteras, Diwali, Chhath Puja. Throughout the year, our small traders, street vendors, shopkeepers wait for it for some earnings during these festivals. But Rahul Gandhi does not care about the stoves burning in traders’ homes. He only wants to ignite the fire of his politics,” he added.
“Due to previous protests, Delhi’s traders have already suffered a loss of nearly ₹3,000 crore. And due to today’s political spectacle, according to an estimate, our shopkeepers are likely to suffer a hit of more than ₹10,000 crore. Rahul Gandhi’s stubbornness has completely shut down their business today,” Mr. Nadda said.
Published – November 01, 2026 01:42 pm IST
