Union Home Minister Amit Shah has predicted that the BJP will remain in power for the next 30 years, using Rahul Gandhi's reported visit to Vietnam to take a fresh swipe at the Congress leader amid opposition protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Shah made the remarks while launching projects worth Rs 8,941 crore aimed at cleaning the Yamuna. He questioned Gandhi's absence from the political mobilisation, which has brought the INDIA bloc and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) together over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

According to a report by India Today, Gandhi is on a four-day visit to Vietnam. Referring to the trip, Shah said the Congress leader could listen to his remarks after returning to Delhi.

“I know you can't hear me, you're sitting somewhere abroad. You don't even explain why, but that's okay, that's your personal life... But once you land in Delhi, listen to me; your turn won't come for the next thirty years,” Shah said.

The Home Minister also rejected the opposition's allegations of electoral manipulation, arguing that the BJP's electoral prospects reflected its political strength rather than any wrongdoing.

BJP leaders question Rahul Gandhi's overseas visit

Gandhi's reported trip has triggered criticism from BJP leaders at a time when opposition parties are protesting against the SIR exercise and questioning Gyanesh Kumar's role in it.

The BJP shared a video on X that it claimed showed Gandhi travelling to Vietnam and asked what the Congress leader's foreign visits were intended to achieve. The party accused him of leaving the political campaign after repeatedly targeting the government during demonstrations in Delhi.

BJP leader Sambit Patra alleged that Gandhi was pursuing a regime-change agenda and claimed he travelled abroad to receive guidance from billionaire philanthropist George Soros. Party spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari, meanwhile, questioned whether the Congress leader was taking a break or meeting what he called his “chaos collaborators”.

The Congress rejected the criticism, maintaining that Gandhi was entitled to travel during his personal time.

The exchange comes as opposition parties continue to challenge the Election Commission over the electoral roll revision. Their protests have focused on allegations of irregularities in the process, while the BJP has accused the opposition of undermining the electoral mandate.

Shah cites opposition's electoral setbacks

Shah also turned his criticism towards the Congress and its allies, citing their prolonged absence from power in several states to challenge their allegations of vote theft.

“You haven't won an election in Bengal for 54 years... You haven't been elected in Arunachal Pradesh for 12 years, and in Delhi for 18 years,” he said.

He argued that his prediction of three more decades of BJP rule was based on the party's political position, accusing the opposition of using claims of electoral malpractice to explain its defeats.

Taking an indirect dig at Gandhi's overseas travel, Shah contrasted the Congress leader's reported absence with his own long-term association with India. He said he was born in the country, lived there and would die there, in an apparent reference to the frequency of Gandhi's foreign trips.

The Home Minister also defended the BJP's approach to governance, saying party workers at every level, from local booth representatives to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, understood public concerns and worked to address them.

He urged opposition parties to focus on solutions rather than demonstrations. “Protests and demonstrations don't achieve anything. Bring a plan to the place where you've been elected,” Shah said.

Yamuna cleanup becomes focus of Shah's attack

Shah's remarks came at an event where he launched projects valued at Rs 8,941 crore for the Yamuna's cleanup. He used the river's pollution to criticise the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress, arguing that both had failed to deliver adequate results despite having held power.

He said BJP-led governments at the Centre and in the states would work towards cleaning the river along its entire course, from Yamunotri to the Sangam at Prayagraj.

“The BJP, under the leadership of Narendra Modi, will have the privilege of cleaning the entire Yamuna, from Yamunotri to Sangam,” Shah said.

He further argued that political protests and what he described as mob rule could not override the public mandate.

The comments linked the BJP's campaign on governance and river pollution with its broader political confrontation with the opposition, which has intensified over the SIR process and allegations concerning the conduct of the Election Commission.