New Delhi, Oct 13 (IANS) Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday that the way Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and members of the Opposition “misbehaved” with a female journalist during the INDIA bloc march a day before, the conduct would “never be forgiven” by the people of the country.

Addressing a press conference, Goyal said: “Yesterday’s disgraceful behaviour by Rahul Gandhi and his colleagues towards a woman journalist was unacceptable. She was three months pregnant and therefore was repeatedly telling them to be careful. However, she was pushed around and thrown to the ground, and eventually had to be hospitalised. What was her only fault? She was covering their protest and asking a few questions.”

“I do not believe the 1.4 billion people of this country will ever forgive such behaviour. I do not believe that even a single journalist, male or female, could ever forgive this conduct,” he added.

Meanwhile, Goyal referred to Rahul Gandhi’s previous allegations against former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, saying: “They (Congress leaders) abuse Mamata Banerjee and contest elections against her, accusing her of opening the doors for the BJP to win the recently held West Bengal polls through her alleged wrongdoings and malpractices.”

“After both of them (Congress and Mamata-All India Trinamool Congress) lost elections (in West Bengal), they shamelessly took a U-turn and started blaming Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and Election Commission since both of them are now searching for a reason for their defeat. Both Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee should show some spine and stick to one story rather than constantly changing narratives,” he remarked.

The Union Minister spoke about the protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the SIR of electoral rolls, emphasising that the Supreme Court had upheld the constitutional validity of Bihar’s SIR in May 2026.

“While proceedings regarding Form-6 are ongoing in court, if they (Congress) truly respect the Constitution, why take to the streets? The judicial process is already underway. The court is examining whether Form-6 is appropriate, and if any corrections are needed, it will direct them. The court has already held that the SIR is constitutionally valid. So, why are they (Congress) taking to the streets and trying to create anarchy?” Goyal said.

“Why are they (Congress) trying to provoke people? When constitutional avenues and methods are available to you, but you refuse to follow or respect them, you demonstrate that you are an anarchist and believe in the path of anarchy. I think Rahul Gandhi and the Congress are insulting the Constitution and showing anarchy on the streets,” he remarked.

Goyal said that if Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party really have any evidence of “vote chori”, then why was it not submitted to the court or to the Election Commission?

“This is such height of stupidity that they (Congress) can’t even file a petition properly despite (Congress) giving Rajya Sabha seats to such big lawyers. There were 14 defects in the petition (filed) in the Supreme Court…I believe the Congress is itself responsible for its failure. The party has a dark future under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi,” he remarked while referring to the petition filed by opposition leaders in the Supreme Court alleging irregularities in SIR.

Goyal added: “The person (Rahul Gandhi) who believes in anarchy and does his politics based on lies, the party’s leaders who can’t even file a petition properly…what future will such a party and its leader give to the country!”

–IANS

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