Hyderabad, Saturday: The closing day of the Bharat Summit 2026 turned into a sharp political confrontation, with Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi declaring that India is “no longer a democracy” and the BJP hitting back by calling him a “puppet of foreign powers”.
Addressing the closing session at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre, Gandhi said the Congress and its allies would defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “I can tell you already, with confidence, that we are going to defeat PM Modi and we are going to get rid of PM Modi,” he told the gathering. “You can see it on our streets, you can see it in Delhi, you can see it in the fear that the Prime Minister and Home Minister Amit Shah have. This is already a done deal.”
What Gandhi said at the summit
The summit, held on November 13 and 14, brought together around 1,000 delegates from 70 countries.
His sharpest charge was aimed at Indian democracy itself. He said democratic institutions had weakened since 2014. “In 2014, we witnessed a completely new election, something we have never seen before. Millions and millions and millions of dollars injected into the political system,” he said. “We discovered it, and we have proven it without any doubt, is that democracy was destroyed in India in 2014.”
Gandhi also questioned the credibility of the electoral process. He claimed that 140 million people who voted in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections had subsequently been declared non-existent voters or non-voters after the Election Commission’s voter-roll revision. Referring to Maharashtra, he alleged that seven million new voters had been added within three months between the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, and that all of them had voted for the BJP.
He also alleged a close link between business and politics. Referring to industrialist Gautam Adani’s rise in global wealth rankings, he said: “The line between business and politics, between Adani and PM Modi, has evaporated. It does not exist anymore.” He further claimed that the BJP’s assets had grown elevenfold over a decade.
The BJP hits back
The BJP responded within hours, accusing Gandhi of seeking to undermine India’s democratic institutions with foreign backing. Party spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said Gandhi had become a “puppet of foreign powers” and alleged that he wanted “regime change with foreign help”.
BJP national media convenor Ashish Usha Agarwal questioned the inclusion of Guillaume Long, former foreign minister of Ecuador, noting that Long is linked to the Centre for Economic and Policy Research, which reportedly received USD 420,000 in grants from the George Soros-backed Open Society Policy Center in 2021.
Senior BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi also questioned the participation of Long and Salil Shetty, former Secretary General of Amnesty International, referring to Shetty’s remarks on Kashmir during a 2019 Harvard interview. The BJP leaders also questioned the presence of Patrick Gaspard, former president of the Open Society Foundations. Agarwal further referred to Enforcement Directorate searches at eight Bengaluru premises in March 2025 over suspected foreign exchange violations allegedly involving the Open Society Foundations and its beneficiaries.
The visa row hanging over the summit
The exchange came amid a running controversy over visas. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor alleged on Friday that 115 of the 315 speakers cleared by the Ministry of External Affairs had been denied entry or had their visas cancelled. The MEA said visa matters are “sovereign functions” of any government.
Meanwhile, Giacomo Filibeck, Secretary General of the Party of European Socialists, said on the sidelines of the summit that democracy was “under attack” in India and expressed support for Gandhi and the Congress.
Why this matters
The row puts the voter-roll revision firmly at the centre of the national political debate. Gandhi’s figure of 140 million affected voters is among the strongest claims made yet about the Special Intensive Revision, which the Election Commission has defended as a routine clean-up of the rolls. The BJP, for its part, has framed the summit itself as the issue, arguing that the Congress gave a platform to people and organisations it links to foreign funding and anti-India narratives. Whether the Congress carries the voter-roll charge into Parliament and the coming state campaigns, and whether the Election Commission answers the numbers in detail, will decide how long this argument runs.
FAQs
What is the Bharat Summit 2026?
A two-day international gathering in Hyderabad on November 13 and 14, organised by the Congress government in Telangana. Around 1,000 delegates from 70 countries took part.
What did Rahul Gandhi say at the summit?
He said India is “no longer a democracy”, claimed 140 million voters had been struck off the rolls, alleged irregularities in Maharashtra’s voter lists, and said the Congress would defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Why did the BJP call Rahul Gandhi a “puppet of foreign powers”?
The BJP objected to foreign speakers such as Guillaume Long and Patrick Gaspard, alleging links to George Soros-backed organisations, and accused Gandhi of seeking regime change with foreign help.
What is the visa controversy around the summit?
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor alleged that 115 of the 315 invited international speakers were denied entry or had their visas cancelled. The MEA said visa matters are “sovereign functions” of any government.
The summit may be over, but the argument it set off is only just beginning, and the voter-roll numbers at its heart will be debated for weeks.
