‘If Indira Gandhi were alive today, she would have banned BJP’: Ashok Gehlot

Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has sparked a major political controversy after accusing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of communal politics. The senior Congress leader stated that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi would have banned the saffron party if she were alive today.

While speaking at an event organised by the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Welfare Society Rajasthan in Jaipur over the weekend, Gehlot said with “full responsibility” that the atmosphere in the country today is “extremely dangerous”.

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“If the country has to be saved, if the nation’s democracy has to be saved, then I must say that the dangerous atmosphere prevailing in the country today is unlike anything I have seen in my 50 years of political life…. I am saying with full responsibility that the atmosphere today is extremely dangerous. If the country still does not wake up, then the people of this country themselves will suffer the consequences later. Our younger generation will have no future left, and the situation will become extremely serious,” he added.

Remembering Indira Gandhi, Gehlot said that the former Prime Minister “laid down her life, but did not allow Khalistan to be created.”

“Rajiv Gandhi was martyred because he wanted to establish peace across the entire subcontinent, including Sri Lanka. He gave his life, but kept the country united and intact,” he added.

He further accused the BJP of “weakening the country” and claimed that the party was “deliberately carrying out religious polarisation.”

He said, “Those whose thinking is simply to provoke Hindutva supporters and rule, if a towering leader like Indira Gandhi were alive today, she would have imposed a ban on a party like the BJP. Will you run a party solely on the agenda of Hindutva? Do you want to do politics only in the name of Hindus?”

Gehlot said that there used to be a time in Indian politics when “even merely invoking religion during an election was prohibited”.

“And look at the present times, when even the role of the Election Commission is being questioned. Today, people are being openly incited in the name of religion across the country. Now neither does anyone speak about this misuse of religion, nor is anyone approaching the courts over it. Everyone has seen that the country’s system and thinking have changed. The country is now moving along this path,” he said.

If a leader like Indira Gandhi were alive today, she would have banned a party like the BJP:

If the country has to be saved, if the nation’s democracy has to be saved, then I must say that the dangerous atmosphere prevailing in the country today is unlike anything I have seen in… pic.twitter.com/RGAoQAeO7L

— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) June 14, 2026

BJP slams Ashok Gehlot

Reacting sharply to the senior Congress leader’s remarks, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala said in a video shared on X that Gehlot’s statement only shows the hatred that Congress has for Hindus and Hindutva.

Ashok Gehlot attacks Hindu, Hindutva; says Indira Gandhi would have banned BJP

This is the emergency and intolerant mindset towards Hindutva & Hindus

Hindutva has been defined as a “way of life” by SC but congress which has become Muslim League Congress wants a ban on political… pic.twitter.com/Z14iBZzUlo

— Shehzad Jai Hind (Chowkidar as per INC ecosystem) (@Shehzad_Ind) June 15, 2026

“The Congress party hates Hindus and Hindutva. Yet another evidence of that has come out in the form of a statement from Ashok Gehlot,” the BJP leader said.

Further, he stated that it shows the “Emergency mindset and the hatred that Congress has towards Hindus. It’s the Indian National Caliphate party. It’s not Indian National Congress anymore. It has become the Muslim League Maoist Congress. Therefore, they say the first right of resources is for Muslims. They say the Congress needs Muslims.”