Hyderabad, Nov 2026 : Telangana BJP President Ramchandra Rao on Saturday accused Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi of copying Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Chai Pe Charcha’ initiative after the Congress leader hosted a high tea for senior party colleagues at his residence ahead of Diwali.
Rao also alleged that Gandhi was using such gatherings to promote what he described as a misleading narrative about electoral irregularities and the Congress party’s ‘vote chori’ allegations.
The Telangana BJP chief claimed that people had lost faith in Gandhi but that the Congress leader continued to organise meetings to push his political arguments.
“Despite the fact that the people of this country do not believe Rahul Gandhi, he is repeatedly holding meetings to spread a false narrative. Now, he is inviting his leaders for Chai Pe Charcha, which he has copied from Narendra Modi. Chai Pe Charcha is essentially Narendra Modi's programme, and Rahul Gandhi is now copying that initiative,” Rao said.
He further alleged that the Congress was attempting to spread misinformation through such interactions and claimed that even leaders within the party were no longer convinced by its allegations of vote theft and electoral irregularities.
“This type of meeting spreads a false narrative, which is very unfortunate. Even their own party leaders are no longer believing in allegations of 'vote chori' and other irregularities,” he mentioned.
Rao also praised the BJP leadership, claiming that people had confidence in Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national leaders and other senior party functionaries. He attributed the party's electoral performance to public faith in its leadership.
The remarks came a day after Rahul Gandhi hosted a high-tea gathering for senior Congress leaders at his residence at 5, Sunhari Bagh Road, in New Delhi on Friday. The event was organised ahead of Diwali and brought together several prominent figures from the party.
Among those who attended were Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, party general secretary Jairam Ramesh, Sachin Pilot, Kumari Selja and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
Former chief ministers Bhupinder Singh Hooda of Haryana, Bhupesh Baghel of Chhattisgarh, Ashok Gehlot of Rajasthan, Harish Rawat of Uttarakhand and Digvijaya Singh of Madhya Pradesh were also present.
Congress general secretaries, state in-charges, members of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and leaders from states heading towards elections also participated in the gathering.
Although the meeting was presented as a Diwali celebration and an opportunity for informal interaction among party leaders, sources indicated that discussions could also have focused on the Congress's political strategy, particularly its campaign over alleged electoral irregularities.
No official agenda was announced for the gathering. However, the Congress has been seeking to intensify its campaign around allegations of 'vote chori' and irregularities in the electoral process.
According to party sources, Rahul Gandhi had discussed the future course of action on the issue with senior leaders following the INDIA bloc's rally at Ramlila Maidan.
The high-tea gathering therefore brought together senior Congress leaders at a time when the party is preparing to coordinate its political response and strengthen its campaign on electoral transparency. Rao's criticism added a fresh political dimension to what the Congress had described as a festive interaction.
