New Delhi, October 23, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday countered the BJP’s allegations that the anti-Special Intensive Revision (SIR) protests were aimed at forcing “regime change”, citing the unity of opposition parties that led to the defeat of the Indira Gandhi-led government after the Emergency.
Speaking at an interactive session at the NDTV World Summit, Tharoor recalled how the opposition had united across ideological lines to challenge the government that imposed the Emergency.
“Modi does keep talking about the Emergency and how the Emergency was overthrown. How was it overthrown? Through an Opposition, where the RSS and the BJP were merging with socialists and leftists. They all united in order to defeat the government that had declared the Emergency. That’s recent Indian political history, just half a century ago,” Tharoor said.
He was referring to the defeat of the Congress government led by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by the united Janata Party in the 1977 general election.
Tharoor also rejected comparisons between political protests in India and violent demonstrations witnessed in France, stressing that peaceful protest was a democratic right, while violence was unacceptable.
“I think the line is very clearly drawn by our Constitution, by our laws. It is that peaceful protest is the democratic right of every Indian citizen; violence is not,” he said.
Tharoor asserted that neither he nor the Congress would support violent protests.
“What we’ve seen happening in France is not something that anybody in India’s political space would condone. I don’t, and I don’t think my party in any way would welcome violence,” he said.
Reiterating the Congress’s commitment to peaceful and organised demonstrations, Tharoor said alleged irregularities in the SIR process could be addressed if the government and the Election Commission were willing to be held accountable.
He argued that accountability could help restore confidence in the electoral system and ensure that citizens were not deprived of their constitutional right to vote.
“We (the Congress) believe in peaceful, organised, and disciplined protest. At the same time, we expect that if we can actually find the government, and the Election Commission as well, willing to be accountable for the deep irregularities (in) the SIR process in the last couple of years, then we believe there will once again be a clean system,” he said.
Tharoor distinguished between a change of government through elections and an attempt to bring about regime change outside the democratic process.
“The electoral rules will be restored, no Indian citizen will be deprived of their constitutional right to cast their vote and determine their own political choices, and in a free and fair election there will not be ‘regime change’; there will be government change,” he said.
He added that the Congress wanted political change to come through free and fair elections, arguing that voters should be able to assess the performance of the incumbent government and make their own choices.
The remarks come amid a political debate over the nature and objectives of protests against the SIR process. AISA National President Neha Bora had earlier praised Bangladesh’s Gen-Z movement, describing it as an inspiration for young people in India. Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan had also said that protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had turned into a “fight for regime change”.
Asked how the Congress could cooperate with Left groups while competing against them in Kerala and elsewhere, Tharoor pointed to the broader principle of opposition unity.
Referring to Bora, he said she had not campaigned against the Congress and praised the energy she had brought to the movement.
“These parties have their value, but Neha Bora wasn’t campaigning against us. I like her; she’s brought a lot of energy, colour, and life into the protest, the movement. It’s about the Congress party being a moderate party and about acceptance. It’s Opposition unity,” Tharoor said.
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