An old video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticising the Congress party is being shared amid protests over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and demands concerning Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The clip is from February 22, 2026, when Modi addressed a rally in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh—not a recent statement on the ongoing protests.
What is the claim?
A video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticising the Congress party has resurfaced on social media amid the political confrontation over SIR and demands for action against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
In the viral clip, Modi is heard describing the Congress as a “burden on the country”. Some social media users have suggested that the remarks signal a fresh response from the Prime Minister to the ongoing protests.
One post accompanying the video claimed that “something BIG is cooking”, suggesting that the remarks were connected to the current political developments.
However, the video is not recent. The remarks were made months before the protests described in the viral posts.
Haven’t seen Modi ji in this avatar in the last 12 years 🔥
Directly calling out Congress – “Sar phire, benaqab neta desh ko tabah karne par tule hain. Mahilaon ko aage karke PM nahi banoge”
Something BIG is cooking. This is not normal campaign speech. https://t.co/qT1IMkL4dB
— Gaurav (@k_gauravs) October 15, 2026
Fact check: When did Modi make the remarks?
The video dates to February 22, 2026, when Modi addressed a public gathering in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.
During the visit, the Prime Minister flagged off the final stretch of the Namo Bharat rail corridor and the Meerut Metro. His speech included a sharp attack on the Congress party and opposition leaders.
According to the supplied report, Modi criticised the opposition for disrupting parliamentary proceedings and referred to a Youth Congress protest during the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi.
The context of the speech was therefore different from the current controversy over SIR and the demands concerning Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
This is the original post which carried the comment by the PM, Link for the video.
What did the Prime Minister say?
During the Meerut rally, Modi accused some opposition parties of being unable to accept India’s progress.
He said that while citizens were working to make India a developed nation, certain political parties were unable to digest the country’s success.
Criticising Congress leaders, he also referred to parliamentary disruptions and the use of women MPs during protests.
In one of the most widely circulated portions of the speech, Modi said: “Congress has become a burden on the country.”
The statement is genuine according to the source material, but its circulation in October does not make it a fresh comment on the SIR controversy.
Is the video linked to the SIR protests and Gyanesh Kumar row?
There is no direct connection between Modi’s February speech and the protests over SIR or the demands concerning Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The video has resurfaced amid a different political controversy, creating the impression that the Prime Minister has recently broken his silence on the matter.
The distinction is important: an old speech can be circulated during a new controversy without having been delivered in response to it.
Media reports also state that Modi had not made a public comment directly addressing the ongoing anti-SIR protests or the demands concerning the Chief Election Commissioner at the time of publication.
Fact-check verdict
Misleading context. The video showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling Congress a “burden on the country” is from his February 22, 2026, rally in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. It is not a recent speech responding to the SIR protests or the controversy surrounding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The remarks are being recirculated amid current political developments, but the available material provides no evidence that Modi made them in response to the ongoing protests.
