At a press conference in Raipur on Sunday, September 27, 2026, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai launched a sharp broadside against Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of behaviour he described as anti-national — and placing the charge squarely in the lap of a party he claimed has lost repeatedly at the ballot box. Speaking at Kushabhau Thakre Parisar, the BJP's state headquarters in Raipur, CM Sai said it was 'a matter of great sorrow' that Gandhi — whom he described as a Congress leader who has faced defeat roughly a hundred times in elections — has now, in his words, 'descended in desperation into persistently anti-national conduct.' The remarks, delivered in Hindi, targeted both Gandhi personally and the Congress party more broadly.

The charge: constitutional institutions under political fire

The core of Sai's attack was not a single incident but a pattern he alleged: that the Congress, under Gandhi's leadership as Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, is engaged in a sustained campaign to 'defame the country's constitutional institutions' and to pursue what he called 'a politics of continuous lies and deception.' This framing — that criticism of institutions amounts to defaming India itself — sits at the heart of a long-running argument between the BJP and Indian National Congress that has intensified through successive election cycles since 2014. The BJP's position, as articulated by Sai, is that the opposition conflates legitimate dissent with deliberate sabotage of national credibility. The Congress and its allies have consistently countered that scrutinising institutions — from the Election Commission to the judiciary — is precisely what a functioning opposition is constitutionally required to do.

Kushabhau Thakre Parisar and the politics of the press conference

The choice of venue carries its own signal. Kushabhau Thakre Parisar in Raipur is named after the late BJP ideologue and organisational architect Kushabhau Thakre, making it a deeply symbolic platform for any BJP leader choosing to go on the offensive. Holding the press conference there — rather than the state secretariat — underscores that this was a party statement as much as a governmental one. Rahul Gandhi, now serving as the constitutionally recognised Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, is the most prominent face of the Congress's national political strategy. His statements on institutions — ranging from the judiciary to investigative agencies — have drawn regular rebuttal from BJP leaders at both central and state levels. Sai's remarks fit squarely into that established pattern, though the sharpness of the language, invoking the phrase 'deshdrohi aacharan' (anti-national conduct), marks an escalation in register. Congress has not yet issued a formal response to Sai's press conference. Whether the party's national leadership or its Chhattisgarh unit responds — and how — will indicate how much oxygen it intends to give the exchange.