States » SouthPosted at: Oct 12 2026 8:31PM


BJP targets Rahul Gandhi over viral collar-pulling video

Bengaluru, Oct 12 (UNI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday came under sharp criticism from the BJP after videos circulating on social media purportedly showed him elbowing a fellow protester and pulling Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar by the collar during a march towards the Supreme Court.
In one of the videos shared by the BJP's Delhi unit, Gandhi appeared to elbow a young man walking beside him as the Congress leader moved through a crowded procession. In another clip from the same march, Gandhi appeared to pull Shivakumar by the collar as the Karnataka chief minister walked alongside him. Shivakumar appeared to move backwards before disappearing from Gandhi's immediate vicinity as the procession continued.
The BJP seized on the footage to question Gandhi's treatment of his own party workers and colleagues, seeking to turn the incident into a broader political argument over his leadership and public image.
"One who doesn't belong to their workers, what will become of the public?" the BJP's Delhi unit said in a social media post accompanying the video.
The clips drew criticism from BJP supporters and other social media users, who questioned the Congress leader's conduct towards a fellow protester and a sitting chief minister. However, the full context of the interactions could not be established from the circulating footage alone.
The controversy unfolded during a Congress-led march towards the Supreme Court against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the Election Commission of India and the Narendra Modi government. The protest was intended to highlight the Opposition's allegations concerning electoral irregularities and its objections to aspects of the electoral process.
The Congress has raised concerns over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleged vote theft and issues relating to the inclusion of names in voter lists through Form 6. The protesters also sought to highlight concerns over the detention and alleged treatment of civil society leaders and demonstrators by law enforcement authorities.
Gandhi was seen leading the procession alongside Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other party leaders, with hundreds of workers accompanying them towards the apex court. The crowded setting formed the backdrop to the interactions captured in the videos.
The BJP's response sought to shift the political focus from the stated objectives of the march to Gandhi's conduct during the procession. By highlighting the clips, the party questioned whether the Congress leader's treatment of those walking alongside him was consistent with his public emphasis on democratic accountability and the rights of ordinary citizens.
The appearance of Shivakumar in one of the videos gave the controversy an additional Karnataka dimension. As chief minister and a senior Congress leader, his presence alongside Gandhi made the footage politically significant for the state's ruling party. However, the video alone does not establish whether the interaction reflected anything beyond the movement of leaders through a tightly packed crowd, and no political disagreement between the two leaders can be inferred from it.
The episode also illustrates how footage from political demonstrations can become a parallel battleground, with rival parties using short video clips to advance competing narratives. While the Congress-led march sought to draw attention to electoral concerns, the BJP used the circulating footage to raise questions about the conduct of its principal political opponent.
The specific allegations concerning the two interactions had not been independently established from the available clips. No response from Gandhi or Shivakumar to the incidents was available in the material reviewed for this report.
UNI BDN
Tags: #BJP targets Rahul Gandhi over viral collar-pulling video
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