Addressing the India Summit 2026 in Hyderabad, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi made a scathing attack on the ruling BJP over Indian democracy and electoral system. He claimed that democracy in the country had ended in 2014 itself and it took almost a decade for the opposition to understand the political changes after that election.
Tezzbuzz Desk – Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, while addressing the India Summit 2026 held in Hyderabad on Saturday, raised many questions regarding Indian democracy and electoral system. Rahul Gandhi claimed that there is no democracy in India anymore and the country's democratic system had ended in 2014 itself. He said that it took a long time for the opposition to understand the changes that took place in Indian politics after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
2014 elections said to be a big change
Rahul Gandhi said that in 2014 the country saw a completely different kind of election. According to him, money was invested on a large scale in electoral politics and a new type of campaign was seen. He said that initially the opposition could not understand what changes were taking place in Indian politics.
Rahul Gandhi said that the opposition struggled to understand this change not just for one or two years but for almost a decade. He said that Congress and other opposition parties started studying the election results of different states so that the reasons for political changes could be understood.
Maharashtra elections were also mentioned
Giving the example of Maharashtra elections, Rahul Gandhi claimed that the opposition had got almost equal number of votes in the national and state elections, but the election results were quite different. He alleged that in the three months between the two elections, 70 lakh new voters were added to the voter list and according to him, all of them voted for BJP.
He said Congress examined data and election results from individual states and claimed to have found evidence to support its concerns. Rahul Gandhi said that based on the information he received, his conclusion is that India is no longer truly democratic.
Called BJP fascist
During the India Summit, Rahul Gandhi attacked the ruling party and also called it fascist. He said that in politics there are people who think they have the answer to every question, while the other kind of people ask questions, listen to others and are ready to admit their mistakes.
Rahul Gandhi said that the first category of people in politics are called fascists. He presented the current political environment as a fight between these two types of thinking.
Rahul Gandhi said that Congress fought for the independence of the country and during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, he realized two important weapons related to Mahatma Gandhi's politics. He described them as truth and non-violence.
He said that lies, hatred, violence and fear did not work, whereas political dialogue moved forward with love, truth, non-violence and the spirit of listening to people. Rahul Gandhi claimed that Congress faced difficult circumstances and now it is capable of defeating Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said that fear of Modi and Amit Shah can be seen on the streets.
Apology sought for not allowing foreign representatives to visit India
Rahul Gandhi also apologized to those foreign representatives and leaders attending the India Summit who were not allowed to come to India. He said that this is not the fault of Congress, but from this it can be estimated what kind of situation is being faced in the country.
Policy makers, political leaders, thinkers and representatives from countries of the Global South and Global North participated in the two-day India Summit, organized with the support of the Congress-led Telangana government. The objective of the program is to provide a platform for discussion on global cooperation, democracy, economic justice and other international issues.