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“You call the Election Commission a thief, the government a thief. This will neither serve democracy nor the rise of the Congress party again. I especially want to tell Rahul Gandhi ji: Learn from Modi ji, from BJP karyakartas who continue to serve, not for their own sakes but selflessly. If you serve them, you will earn the trust of the people. Doing this drama will not help,” he said.

Asking the Congress to “stop peddling the narrative of anti-national forces”, Rijiju sought to underline that the party which ruled the country for 55 years, including two years of the Emergency, was now talking of democracy.

Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the Opposition leaders were “venting their frustration” over electoral defeats by levelling baseless allegations.

“Friends in the Opposition, the very system you are questioning is the one under which you won in Kerala. Was that victory illegitimate? You won in Karnataka. Was that victory illegitimate? You won in Himachal. Was that victory illegitimate? Opposition governments were formed in Punjab and Jharkhand. Were those victories illegitimate?” he said.

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“If you question constitutional institutions, you will commit the sin of plunging the country into the fires of anarchy. Do not commit the sin of plunging the nation into unrest and anarchy. The country and its people will never forgive you,” he said.

Lok Sabha MP and former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said Rahul Gandhi, Congress, and the Opposition alliance were attempting to create an atmosphere of “anarchy” in the country.

He said the Supreme Court had held the SIR to be legally valid yet the Congress was “insulting the voters of the country by blaming the Election Commission for its repeated electoral defeats”.

“Instead of accepting the people’s verdict, the Congress is trying to undermine democratic institutions and create confusion and disorder through unfounded accusations,” Prasad said.

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“The question is whether Rahul Gandhi, the Congress party, and the Opposition alliance want anarchy in the country. Opposition leaders have gathered in Delhi and surrounded a sensitive area of the national Capital. Opposition leaders are claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Mohan Bhagwat have Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar under their control. This is extremely irresponsible, and we strongly condemn it,” he said.

He said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had gone even further and said that all elections should be cancelled and conducted again through ballot papers which “reflects their real intention and desire”.

“Congress leaders cannot win fair elections and, therefore, they now want a return to booth capturing, stamping, and winning elections through pressure by pouring ink into ballot boxes. They want to prevent the poor, Dalits and marginalised sections from voting in villages. This is how the Congress used to win, whether in Bihar or Uttar Pradesh,” he said.

Addressing the media at the party headquarters, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said, “The Congress has been repeatedly trying to launch and re-launch Rahul Gandhi by any means necessary. When, despite numerous attempts, he failed to gain traction, the Congress and some of its allies decided that even if it meant resorting to anarchy and undermining the nation’s democracy, they would launch Rahul Gandhi politically at any cost.”