Kashmiri Youth Attacked By Congress Supporters After Questioning Rahul Gandhi's EVM ‘Vote Theft’ Claims

New Delhi: A Kashmiri youth who raised questions over Rahul Gandhi and the Opposition’s allegations of “vote theft” was allegedly assaulted by Congress supporters at Delhi’s Connaught Place on Thursday, after he raised slogans in support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The incident took place outside Moets restaurant in Connaught Place, where Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had hosted Opposition MPs for lunch amid the ongoing protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

The youth, identified in reports as Fahim Nazir, is from Srinagar and described himself as a supporter of PM Modi. Videos from the spot showed a confrontation between the youth and people in the crowd, with the man allegedly being surrounded, pushed, dragged, slapped and punched.

According to reports, the confrontation began after Nazir raised slogans in support of PM Modi and questioned Rahul Gandhi and the Opposition’s allegations concerning electronic voting machines and electoral irregularities.

The youth subsequently denied abusing Rahul Gandhi, challenging those who accused him of using abusive language to produce evidence from the cameras at the spot.

“I did not misbehave in any way, and I never used any abusive language. You have it captured on your cameras how I was beaten up. Just show me one video in which I abused him,” Nazir said, according to reports.

Nazir also questioned the Opposition’s criticism of EVMs, pointing to Congress’ electoral victories in elections conducted using the machines.

He questioned why EVMs were being called faulty and the Election Commission accused of wrongdoing when Congress had itself won elections in which EVMs were used.

The youth further said that he was supporting PM Modi because he believed the government’s policies had contributed to a decline in terrorism in Kashmir. He also invoked Union Home Minister Amit Shah while defending the Centre’s record on security in the Valley.

The incident has triggered a political backlash, with BJP leaders accusing Congress supporters of attacking the youth for expressing views contrary to the Opposition’s political narrative.

BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari shared visuals of the incident and accused Congress workers of displaying an “anarchist mindset”. BJP spokesperson Sajid Yousuf Shah also questioned the Opposition’s commitment to dissent and freedom of expression.

“If a Kashmiri Muslim is beaten by Congress workers for publicly challenging Rahul Gandhi and his party's narrative, where does their commitment to dissent and free expression stand?” Shah said in a post on X, according to the Times of India.

The alleged assault comes at a time when the Congress-led Opposition has intensified its campaign against the Election Commission, accusing it of irregularities in the SIR exercise. The Opposition has demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Rahul Gandhi and other Opposition leaders have continued their protests in Delhi, with the Congress leader reiterating that the campaign would continue until Kumar resigns.

The Connaught Place incident has now added another flashpoint to the politically charged protests, with questions being raised over whether supporters holding views contrary to the Opposition’s position were allowed to voice them at the protest site.

However, the allegations regarding the assault and the identity of those involved could not be independently verified. The Congress has not been independently established to have ordered or sanctioned the alleged attack.

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