Kerala Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Sunday, 27 September 2026, doubled down on his 'fraud' characterisation of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, pushing back against Kerala Chief Minister VD Satheesan's condemnation of the remark. Chandrasekhar simultaneously demanded a public apology from Gandhi for calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Election Commission of India (ECI) 'traitors' — a charge that has sharpened an already bitter political exchange.

Background: How the Row Began

The escalation stems from a media report alleging internal differences within the Election Commission of India, which the ECI has since denied. At a press conference addressing the controversy, Rahul Gandhi declared: 'Traitors will be punished,' while demanding an investigation against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Gandhi's remarks triggered a sharp response from Chandrasekhar, who, a day earlier, had publicly labelled Gandhi 'India's biggest fraud' — a step he described as a departure from his usual reluctance to engage in personal attacks.

Chandrasekhar's Defence on X and at the Press Conference

In a post on X, Chandrasekhar alleged that Gandhi's politics 'tears down country and country's institutions' and accused the opposition leader of persistently making 'slander and abuse' against Prime Minister Modi while spreading what he called 'lies and misinformation' about the government and the BJP. He further alleged that Gandhi's party 'presides over epic corruption and misgovernance of UPA-era type in states where they are in government.'

Chandrasekhar stated he had 'absolutely no reservation or hesitation' in branding Gandhi's politics as 'built on fraud and corruption,' particularly after Gandhi's remarks referring to India's elected Prime Minister and the Election Commission as 'deshdrohis' (traitors). He argued it was the Congress leader's remarks — not his own — that warranted condemnation.

The Conditional Offer to Satheesan

Addressing Kerala Chief Minister Satheesan directly, Chandrasekhar laid out a pointed conditional offer: 'If you get Rahul to apologize for calling our PM Narendra Modi a 'deshdrohi', and have him apologize to the Election Commission for lying, then I promise to stop referring to Rahul Gandhi as a fraud.' He warned that if the Congress continued what he described as a strategy of 'lies, unkept promises, corruption and appeasement,' it should expect to be 'called out as frauds. Every time.'

Electoral Rolls Dispute Adds Fresh Dimension

Chandrasekhar also weighed in on the ongoing debate around the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, asserting that Gandhi's stated positions on the issue were 'not consistent' with those of senior leaders within his own party. He argued that the removal of fake, duplicate, and illegal voters from electoral rolls was a legitimate and necessary process, framing it as a point of divergence within the Congress itself.

Congress and Kerala CM's Stand

Chief Minister Satheesan had condemned Chandrasekhar's original 'fraud' remark as a 'baseless allegation,' stating that 'Keralam wholeheartedly rejects these baseless allegations against Rahul Gandhi Ji and the Indian National Congress.' The Congress has not publicly responded to Chandrasekhar's apology demand as of the time of this report. The exchange marks one of the most personalised confrontations between the BJP and the Congress ahead of a political season that is expected to grow more combative in the coming months.