Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, launched a sharp attack on Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and other Opposition members, accusing them of 'disgraceful' conduct toward a female journalist during the INDIA bloc march held a day earlier in New Delhi. Goyal said the incident — in which the journalist, who was three months pregnant, was allegedly pushed and thrown to the ground before being hospitalised — would 'never be forgiven' by the people of India.

Goyal's Remarks on the Journalist Incident

Addressing a press conference, Goyal said: 'Yesterday's disgraceful behaviour by Rahul Gandhi and his colleagues towards a woman journalist was unacceptable. She was three months pregnant and therefore was repeatedly telling them to be careful. However, she was pushed around and thrown to the ground, and eventually had to be hospitalised. What was her only fault? She was covering their protest and asking a few questions.'

The minister went further, stating: 'I do not believe the 1.4 billion people of this country will ever forgive such behaviour. I do not believe that even a single journalist, male or female, could ever forgive this conduct.' The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is yet to release independent medical verification of the journalist's condition, and the Opposition has not yet formally responded to the specific allegation.

Attack on Congress Over SIR Protests

Goyal also trained his sights on the Congress-led Opposition's street protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. He pointed out that the Supreme Court had already upheld the constitutional validity of Bihar's SIR in May 2026, and questioned why the Opposition was resorting to public demonstrations when judicial proceedings on Form-6 were still underway.

'The court is examining whether Form-6 is appropriate, and if any corrections are needed, it will direct them. The court has already held that the SIR is constitutionally valid. So, why are they taking to the streets and trying to create anarchy?' Goyal said. He accused the Congress of 'insulting the Constitution' by choosing agitation over legal recourse.

Petition Defects and 'Vote Chori' Allegations

Goyal took aim at the quality of the petition filed by Opposition leaders in the Supreme Court alleging electoral irregularities, claiming it contained 14 defects. 'This is such height of stupidity that they can't even file a petition properly despite giving Rajya Sabha seats to such big lawyers,' he remarked. He argued that if the Congress genuinely had evidence of 'vote chori' (vote theft), it should have been submitted to the court or the Election Commission of India (ECI) rather than used as a street-level rallying cry.

Goyal on Congress–TMC U-Turn Over West Bengal

The minister also referenced internal contradictions within the INDIA bloc, noting that Congress had previously accused All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of facilitating a BJP victory through alleged wrongdoings. 'After both of them lost elections, they shamelessly took a U-turn and started blaming SIR and the Election Commission since both are now searching for a reason for their defeat,' Goyal said. He called on both Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee to 'show some spine and stick to one story rather than constantly changing narratives.'

This comes amid a broader BJP effort to portray the INDIA bloc as fractured and inconsistent ahead of upcoming electoral cycles. The incident involving the journalist is likely to remain a flashpoint, with Opposition parties expected to present their version of events in the coming days.