‘Opposition’s duty is to oppose, expose, depose’: Congress defends ‘regime change’ remark

NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader and former Union minister P Chidambaram on Saturday defended the use of the phrase “regime change” in a democracy, amid a political row over remarks by student activist Neha Bora and senior advocate Prashant Bhushan during protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.In a post on X, Chidambaram questioned the BJP's reaction to the phrase and said the Opposition's duty was to “oppose, expose and depose” the government.“Why is the BJP apoplectic with feigned rage on the use of the phrase 'regime change'? 'Regime change' is normal in a democracy. The duty of the Opposition is to 'oppose, expose and depose' the government Which means: oppose in politics, expose in Parliament and depose through elections,” he wrote.The controversy erupted after Bhushan described the ongoing agitation against Gyanesh Kumar as a “fight for regime change”, while Bora referred to the Gen Z movement in Bangladesh.The BJP interpreted the remarks as evidence of an attempt to remove the Narendra Modi government outside the electoral process, an allegation rejected by the Opposition. The Congress has maintained that peaceful protests against an elected government and efforts to replace it through elections are legitimate democratic activities.The BJP, however, has argued that references to Bangladesh and the language used by some protest organisers point to a broader attempt to create political unrest.Several BJP leaders criticised the opposition over the remarks, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, party president Nitin Nabin, Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Pankaj Chaudhary, Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. BJP spokespersons Pradeep Bhandari and Sambit Patra also joined the criticism.The row has unfolded amid protests against Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of irregularities in the electoral process.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.