BJP spokesperson CR Kesavan on Sunday accused Rahul Gandhi of defaming India at the Bharat Summit 2026. He called the event a "Bharat Badnaam Summit" and demanded the Congress disclose links between foreign delegates and George Soros. Kesavan claimed Gandhi used the platform to attack Indian democracy with questionable international characters.
BJP national spokesperson CR Kesavan on Sunday accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of defaming India's democracy before an international audience at the Bharat Summit 2026 in Hyderabad, while demanding that the Congress disclose the backgrounds of foreign delegates and their alleged links to organisations funded by US billionaire George Soros. In a post on X, Kesavan described the Congress-backed event as a "Bharat Badnaam Summit", alleging that Gandhi and other Congress leaders had used the gathering to criticise India's democratic institutions. The Congress party sponsored Bharat summit was in reality Bharat Badnaam Summit -where Rahul Gandhi and his cronies badmouthed our nation and our democracy in the most foul manner.
Rahul Gandhi defamed India's democratic process in front of handpicked foreign delegates, many of them with very dubious credentials. Congress party should first publicly come clean on the background of many such delegates and their nexus with organisations linked to and funded anti-India-baiter, George Soros. Rahul Gandhi providing an international platform to questionable characters to attack Indian democracy cannot be looked at in isolation. It was Rahul Gandhi who had openly asked for foreign interference in India's internal affairs, stating, "It is not just an Indian battle." Rahul Gandhi and his eco system's sinister agenda to somehow destabilise Indian democracy with the aid of foreign powers will fail miserably and it will boomerang back very badly on the compromised Congress party. -- C.R.Kesavan (@crkesavan)
November 15, 2026 "The Congress party sponsored Bharat summit was in reality Bharat Badnaam Summit - where Rahul Gandhi and his cronies badmouthed our nation and our democracy in the most foul manner," he wrote. Kesavan questioned the credentials of several foreign delegates, alleging that some had links to Soros-funded organisations. He demanded that the Congress publicly disclose their backgrounds and any such associations. The BJP leader also cited Gandhi's earlier remark that "It is not just an Indian battle", accusing him of seeking foreign interference in India's internal affairs. Kesavan provided no names or documentary evidence supporting his allegations about the delegates in the statement.
What Rahul Gandhi said at Bharat Summit 2026 Kesavan's criticism followed Gandhi's address at the summit's valedictory session on Saturday, November 14, attended by Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and international delegates. Gandhi alleged that India's democratic institutions had been undermined since the BJP came to power in 2014, claiming that unprecedented amounts of money had entered the country's political system. He said the electoral landscape had changed significantly after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and claimed that "democracy was destroyed in India in 2014". The Congress leader also questioned electoral roll revisions, citing the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections.
He alleged that seven million voters had been added to the state's rolls within three months and that all of them had voted for the BJP. The Election Commission had previously disputed similar allegations. In a December 2024 response to the Congress, it reported 48.81 lakh additions and 8 lakh deletions between the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, resulting in a net increase of 40.81 lakh electors. The Commission maintained that the revisions followed established procedures, with political parties involved at various stages. Bandi Sanjay joins BJP criticism Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar also criticised the summit, calling it an "anti-India summit" and challenging Gandhi to provide evidence supporting his allegations about election funding and electoral irregularities.
Kumar defended the removal of deceased, duplicate and permanently relocated voters from electoral rolls, arguing that such revisions were necessary. The Bharat Summit, held on November 13-14, was organised with the Congress-led Telangana government. Congress leader Salman Khurshid had said the gathering would bring together around 1,000 delegates from 70 countries to discuss electoral integrity, cooperative federalism and the changing global order. The first edition was held in Hyderabad in April 2025 and adopted a 44-point Hyderabad Resolution addressing democracy, social justice and international cooperation.