New Delhi: Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday launched a sharp attack on a demonstration in London, alleging that Congress party flags were displayed alongside the flags of Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir at the protest. The minister’s accusation, made on X, was pointed at YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, who reportedly joined the demonstration — a detail Rijiju highlighted in his post.
Rijiju shared a video of the protest on the social media platform, writing: “Congress party flags with the flags of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Pakistan in London! These people think that gatherings of Anti-India gangs in London will intimidate patriotic Indians. Bharat will never bow, and anti-India forces can never break Bharat.” In the post, he described the attendees as “Anti-India gangs” led by a “Pseudo Indian YouTuber” — in the context of the event, a reference to Rathee.
The allegation is Rijiju’s and has not been independently established. One outlet that carried the development noted that the video claims “need to be independently verified,” and The FM News likewise treats the assertion as the minister’s allegation, not a verified fact. Neither the Congress party nor Rathee had responded at the time of writing. The caution matters: protest footage has previously been mischaracterised online, and flags visible in a crowd do not automatically establish who organised an event.
London has become an increasingly contested battleground for Indian political theatre. Demonstrations in the British capital involving Kashmir, Khalistan and other diaspora causes have drawn responses from Indian officials before, and the government has consistently objected to what it describes as anti-India activities on foreign soil. Rathee, a Germany-based commentator with a huge online following, has long been a polarising figure.
He has escalated his rhetoric sharply in recent days, framing the political battle in stark terms. In a post on Friday, he wrote: “Forgive your Enemies once, Friends twice, but never Traitors” — a line that drew wide attention for its uncompromising tone. He called the battle line “Dimagi Naxals Vs Patriotic Indians.”
Rijiju has also trained his sights on senior lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan. He shared a video of Bhushan’s 2011 remarks on Kashmir, reigniting an old controversy, and the two have clashed directly. At a press conference on Thursday, Bhushan said: “Yes, we want regime change” — a statement Rijiju has repeatedly quoted to sharpen his charge that a coordinated anti-India campaign is under way, with opposition parties, activists and influencers allegedly operating in tandem.
For the Congress party, the London flag allegation is the kind of charge it will need to rebut quickly. The party has historically been defensive about anything that associates it with Pakistan — a sensitivity the BJP has exploited repeatedly in election campaigns. If the video is verified, the fallout could be significant; if not, the episode risks becoming another round of unverified social-media claims.
Rathee commands an audience spanning the Indian diaspora and domestic urban youth, and his presence at the London protest was already likely to be weaponised by both sides. His supporters argue he is exercising democratic speech; his critics, including Rijiju, frame him as a hostile actor. The minister’s “Pseudo Indian YouTuber” label is among the harshest personal attacks on a digital creator by a senior cabinet member.
The opposition will demand proof, the minister’s supporters will treat the video as conclusive, and fact-checkers will dissect the footage frame by frame. Until verification arrives, it remains a senior minister’s allegation — politically weighty, but awaiting evidentiary backing.
