M Chuba Ao
(Former BJP national vice president)
In some ways, I was waiting with patience to write this article. I had followed the developments in some European countries especially France and Italy. The protest there had turned violent and the similar situations were reported from other countries as well. Essentially, reports in a section of American media said that the protest in India by opposition parties and also in France and other countries were “sponsored”.
The report, titled “Global ChaosInc Grows to 101 Groups”, flagged the France-based group Indian Alliance Paris (IAP) for “connecting French and Indian protest messaging” and notes that it is “partnered with the People’s Forum in Manhattan”.
According to investigation by senior editors, as many as 101 organizations across nine countries have formed a “red-green protest ecosystem”.
This – as understood easily – refers to communist (red) groups and Jehadi elements (green), that are coordinating, organizing, or amplifying demonstrations across Europe within an expanding protest ecosystem. What was disturbing as per my humble understanding is that the Jihadi and Left alliance has left France “burning” and created “problems” in Italy.
Now that Nov 1 Ramlila protest rally by Congress and other opposition parties is over; I offer my compliments to the Congress leadership. As a BJP man; I do not agree to what they spoke and tried to raise at the rally in Delhi. But as someone having faith in democracy; like millions of BJP karyakartas; I believe they have every right to protest. Our issue is with those who want to trigger anarchy in our country. That is not acceptable.
Hence, many congratulations to Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders for conducting themselves as “political leaders”. There is a big difference between anarchy and protest. In Europe – protest turned chaotic and there was anarchy in the streets. Many feared something like that can happen in India also. In fact, the July protest in JantarMantar and that led to resignation of our friend Dharmendra Pradhan almost turned violent. Any objective analysis would make us conclude that the protest rally should be held in the manner it was done on Nov 1 by the opposition parties.
The July protest and the manner young students and others were behaving cursing and abusing national leaders is certainly uncalled for and is unacceptable. On one two particular days – they tried to trigger problems in Delhi by confronting police. Yet the credit goes to Delhi police and the Union Home Ministry for handling things with patience. Did some forces including in foreign countries tried the experiment of Bangladesh and Nepal?
If they tried; they have failed and for this the central government, the Home ministry and Delhi police ought to be given credit.
Massive protests swept Europe for days as part of demonstrations driven by the cost of living and deficient public services. Germany, France, Spain and Italy are among the nations where demonstrations were being held following a recent wave of Gen Z-led marches across the continent. French officials said they deployed 70,000 police following some of the worst rioting in decades.
The violence erupted in several cities across France after student protests about the state of education evolved into wider demonstrations.
In India, the Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed that the right to peaceful protest is a fundamental right under Article 19, though it is subject to reasonable restrictions in the interest of public order. We in India do not mind protest; provided it is kept decent and non-violent. Research by scholars like Erica Chenoweth shows that non-violent civil resistance movements have historically been far more successful than violent campaigns, often requiring active participation from at least 3.5% of a population to trigger major political or social change.
Now we may talk about the issues flagged by Opposition parties on Nov 1 and even prior to that. In more ways than one; they are contradicting themselves. Sometime they say Gyanesh Kumar as CEC helped Narendra Modi become Prime Minister. This is a joke because Gyanesh Kumar became CEC only in 2025 and Modi first became Prime Minister and was re-elected in 2019 and 2014.
On the number of voters ‘dropped’ – the opposition parties keep quoting the figure of 13 crore. I have explained this earlier and let me repeat here–This figure actually "refers" to entries placed in four draft-stage categories during the electoral-roll revision.
-- 2.8 crore names deleted — are Dead
-- 3 crore voters — are officially untraceable or missing.
And 6.3 crore voters — are permanently shifted and one crore — Multiple Enrolment.These four categories are collectively referred to as ASDD -- Absent, Shifted, Dead, and Duplicate electors.
Those who are debating these issues and even making allegations against Election Commission are not appreciating the fact that the 'electoral-roll process' does not mean final list. There are stages involving -- claims, objections, verification and finalisation.
Let me not repeat the same argument again and again. There will be more occasions to highlight these facts.
As a politician with multiple decades behind; I have a very high opinion of Indian media – both at the state, regional and national levels.
But I wonder; can I say the same thing about the western media.
These overseas media outlets are almost back with vengeance. There are reasons for that. First as the Gujarat chief minister and later as India's Prime Minister since 2014, respected Modi has proved the prophets of doom wrong. He delivered in all sectors of governance. The western media might have thought even as Modi succeeded as the Gujarat chief minister; he would fail at the national level.
Their frustration is palpable.
But Indian public understand politics better than anyone else. The Indian election system is very robust. Stalwarts like Indira Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee have lost elections. Our party’s number in Lok Sabha dropped in 2024 from 303 to 240. Yet, Rahul Gandhi questions the legitimacy of the polls. He is Leader of the Opposition due to our election system only. We, the BJP, have won polls in West Bengal and other states – but the Congress too have won key states like Kerala this year and they are in power in a few others.
(M Chuba Ao is former BJP national vice president. Views are personal)
