Photo: Collected
A recent statement by Neha Bora, president of the All India Students’ Association (AISA), is being widely discussed on social media. The sixth central conference of the Socialist Students’ Front, a left-wing party in Bangladesh, was held on 6 October, after which Neha sent a video message conveying her greetings. In the message she referred to the July 2024 movement and praised Bangladesh’s young people highly, saying Bangladesh had shown the way for the ongoing movement in her own country.
The Socialist Students’ Front recently posted the video on its official Facebook page. But following the video’s release, and a remark by lawyer Prashant Bhushan about regime change, Modi’s saffron camp has turned on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
The BJP alleges that Rahul Gandhi and his political circle are trying to bring about a ‘regime change’, or the fall of the government, by creating a situation in India like the 2024 movement in Bangladesh.
Neha Bora and Prashant Bhushan have also taken part in the protests led by Rahul over the recent special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll and the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
What Neha said about Bangladesh
In the video, Neha Bora is seen speaking about the 2024 student movement in Bangladesh. She says, ‘I convey revolutionary greetings and lal salam to the sixth central conference of the Socialist Students’ Front. We know that the Gen Z, or young generation, movement under way in our country first began in Bangladesh. It is they who showed us the way in this movement.’
She also congratulated young Bangladeshis on the successful movement of July-August 2024. Neha said, ‘We know that the movement in Bangladesh began for democratic rights and the right to vote. In the same way, a movement for democratic rights and the right to vote is going on in our country too. We know that the young people of Bangladesh are fighting against fundamentalism, and our young people are fighting against the same fundamentalism.’
Noting that Bangladesh’s students had served as a guide for young Indians protesting against the Modi government, Neha added, ‘Your fight and the ongoing fight of the young people of our country are the same. You are our guide in this movement.’
A day after Neha’s remarks, on Thursday, Neha Bora, Abhijit Dipke of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) and Prashant Bhushan held a joint press conference. There Bhushan spoke directly of ‘regime change’. He said, ‘Regime change will certainly happen. We all want regime change. Is there anything wrong with that?’ The BJP then launched a fresh attack on Rahul Gandhi over these two statements.
BJP national spokesperson Pradip Bhandari said the statements by Neha Bora and Prashant Bhushan were a reflection of Rahul Gandhi’s own thinking. Sharing videos of their remarks on social media, he alleged that this was an open admission of regime change. Bhandari further claimed that Rahul Gandhi and his associates want to weaken the democratic system by creating anarchy in India in the name of political resistance.
At the BJP’s press conference on Thursday, Bhandari said an attempt had been made in Bangladesh to destroy the entire system through various groups and crowds, with ‘regime change’ as the main objective; he alleged that a similar situation was being engineered in India under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership. Saying that Rahul Gandhi had made Neha Bora his ‘poster girl’, Bhandari said this meant Neha’s views matched Rahul’s thinking.
The BJP’s new IT cell chief, Deepak Mahaske, also criticised the remarks by Neha and Bhushan. He claimed the statements pointed to an attempt to create disorder on India’s streets. The BJP also alleged that the successive ‘regime change’ remarks were part of a sustained effort to legitimise anarchy.
The student movement that began in Bangladesh in 2024 over demands to reform the quota system in government jobs later turned into a broader movement. More than five hundred people were killed in several months of violence, and at one stage the then prime minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to leave the country and took shelter in India.
A report by the Indian news outlet NDTV also said that during that unstable period the activities of Islamist extremists increased in Bangladesh and attacks took place on temples and minorities.
Following the remarks by Neha and Prashant Bhushan, the BJP has sharpened its allegations by comparing that sequence of events in Bangladesh with India’s recent political situation. Neha Bora and Rahul Gandhi have so far not responded to the BJP’s allegations.
