Claim check: Rajnath Singh says opposition protests seek Bangladesh-style regime change

The claim

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said at a press conference in Lucknow on Friday, October 16, that Congress and its allies are seeking regime change in India along the lines of Bangladesh, and that the protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls are a means to that end. ThePrint, carrying an ANI report, quotes him describing the agitation as a conspiracy to seize power by inciting anarchy. The Free Press Journal, citing PTI, reports that he said the opposition's real target was the democratic system and not the SIR or Kumar.

What he cited

The five reports read agree on the substance of his remarks. They differ on what, if anything, he offered in support.

• Mathrubhumi says he pointed to remarks about Bangladesh by a student activist, to what he called recent Supreme Court observations on the protests, and to Congress not having filed formal appeals against the electoral rolls. It does not give the content of the activist's remarks or of the court's observations.
• The IANS report in Morung Express says he described Congress as openly citing Bangladesh as motivation and talking of bringing down the government. The report does not specify the Delhi incidents or the Congress event he referred to, and it does not reproduce the statements he attributed to Congress.
• ThePrint (ANI) and the Free Press Journal (PTI) contain no supporting evidence for the conspiracy claim beyond his statement. The Free Press Journal adds that he urged Rahul Gandhi to note the Supreme Court's observations without saying which.
• DNA India reports the same allegations and also carries historical claims he made about past Congress governments and the Election Commission.

What the record shows

None of the five reports contains a response from Congress, Rahul Gandhi or the INDIA bloc to Singh's remarks. The reports read do not reproduce any Congress statement calling for regime change by violence or otherwise.

One item in the story record points the other way, but it was not read for this article. An Economic Times video report carries a headline attributing to Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera a remark that the party is saying it will bring about regime change. The record available here does not show what he meant by it or whether it relates to the violence Singh alleged.

Singh's statement that Congress filed no formal appeals against the rolls is a separate claim. The reports read do not say what kind of appeals he meant, and they do not verify it.

Where this leaves the claim

The claim rests on Singh's statement. The reports read neither confirm it with independent evidence nor show a rebuttal from the parties it names.