From Indira’s Ballot to Nehru’s Treaty: BJP Revives Old Congress Faultiness

Paromita Das

New Delhi, 21st August: Bharatiya politics thrives on memory—and selective reminders of history. On Wednesday, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey unleashed a blistering attack on the Congress party, accusing it of electoral malpractice and collusion with illegal voters. What made his criticism stand out was not just its intensity but the way it linked past controversies with present political battles, painting the Congress as a party weighed down by a history of manipulation.

In a sharp post on X (formerly Twitter), Dubey invoked the shadow of 1984, a year etched in Bharat’s collective memory with trauma and transition. He alleged that following the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on 31 October 1984, the hasty announcement of Lok Sabha elections just days later—on 13 November—was far from a fair exercise of democracy. “The fire of the funeral pyre had not even cooled down when elections were announced. Were these hasty elections?” Dubey questioned.

चुनाव आयोग- वोट डकैती और कांग्रेस
1. 31 अक्टूबर 1984 प्रधानमंत्री इंदिरा गांधी जी की हत्या, चिता की आग ठंडी भी नहीं हुई चुनाव आयोग ने 13 नवंबर 1984 को लोकसभा का चुनाव घोषित कर दिया,आनन-फ़ानन में चुनाव?
2. इंदिरा गॉंधी जी मृत्यु के बाद भी 1984,1989 में वोटर थीं
आज राहुल गांधी…

— Dr Nishikant Dubey (@nishikant_dubey) August 20, 2025

The most damning allegation was his claim that Indira Gandhi’s name remained on the voter rolls even after her death—not just in 1984 but even in the 1989 elections. For Dubey, this was evidence of a deeper malaise: a Congress system allegedly complicit in voter fraud and manipulation.

Rahul Gandhi in the Crosshairs

Dubey’s post did not stop at revisiting the past—it aimed squarely at the present. Taking a swipe at Rahul Gandhi, he wrote, “Today Rahul Gandhi is preaching to the public about democracy, while his own party has been complicit in vote robbery and manipulation.”

The BJP MP further accused the Congress of aligning with “Bangladeshi infiltrator Muslim voters”—a remark likely to inflame passions given the contentious debates over illegal immigration, demographic shifts, and voting rights in Bharat. The insinuation was clear: Congress, according to Dubey, has long relied on questionable tactics to shore up its vote bank, even if it meant undermining the sanctity of elections.

History Resurfaces: Nehru and the Indus Waters Treaty

Dubey’s remarks came just a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took his own historical swipe at the Congress. Citing parliamentary archives, Modi criticized former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s handling of the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan in 1960.

According to a News18 report based on those records, Nehru signed the treaty in Karachi on 19 September 1960 without any prior discussion in Parliament, despite the session having ended only days earlier on 9 September. When pressed about this lack of transparency in the House on 30 November, Nehru reportedly dismissed the criticism, saying: “Should I bring a truckful of papers to the Parliament?”

For Modi, this anecdote underscored a recurring pattern—Congress leaders sidelining democratic institutions and treating Parliament as a formality rather than a forum for accountability.

The Larger Narrative: Congress Under Siege

Taken together, the BJP’s offensive—Dubey’s allegations about 1984 and Modi’s critique of 1960—signals a deliberate strategy: frame Congress as historically negligent, manipulative, and undemocratic. This narrative plays well in the run-up to elections, where historical memory is often weaponized to shape contemporary political choices.

For the BJP, reminding voters of Congress’ “sins of the past” is a way of questioning its moral authority in the present. By linking Rahul Gandhi’s current speeches on democracy with alleged instances of electoral fraud under his grandmother’s leadership and political opacity under his great-grandfather, the BJP draws a straight line of inherited irresponsibility.

The Weaponization of History

There is no doubt that history has become one of the most potent weapons in modern Bharatiya politics. Each party cherry-picks events, reinterprets legacies, and revives old wounds to strengthen its case in the present.

Dubey’s allegations about voter fraud and Congress’ alleged alignment with illegal voters will likely resonate among BJP supporters, particularly in regions where illegal immigration is a sensitive issue. Similarly, Modi’s invocation of Nehru’s handling of the Indus Waters Treaty speaks to concerns about national sovereignty and parliamentary accountability.

But the danger lies in the selective framing of history. While scrutiny of past decisions is healthy for democracy, reducing complex events to political soundbites risks polarizing discourse further. The question is not only whether Congress erred in the past, but also whether revisiting these grievances helps strengthen democratic institutions today—or merely deepens partisan divides.

A Battle Between Memory and Morality

The latest attacks by Nishikant Dubey and Prime Minister Modi highlight how Bharatiya politics is as much about controlling the narrative of the past as it is about contesting the future. By reviving allegations of voter fraud in 1984 and questioning Nehru’s transparency in 1960, the BJP has made it clear that Congress’ historical baggage will remain a central theme in upcoming electoral battles.

For Congress, the challenge is twofold: defending its legacy while convincing voters it has evolved into a more transparent, accountable party. For the BJP, the opportunity lies in continually framing itself as the custodian of “true democracy,” free from the shadows of manipulation.

In the end, the debate is not only about Indira Gandhi, Indira’s funeral pyre, or Nehru’s truckful of papers—it is about how Bharat chooses to remember, reinterpret, and repurpose its past for the politics of today.