The BJP launched a sharp attack on All India Students' Association (AISA) president Neha Bora over her remarks where she said priests commit rapes inside temples. Bora came to the limelight after the NEET-UG protests and has been given a place of prominence in Opposition events by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

While the BJP used the clip to highlight what it alleged to be an "anti-Hindu mindset", some Congress allies also slammed Bora over her generalised remarks.The controversy erupted after an old video of Bora surfaced on Tuesday (November 3), with a bevy of BJP leaders attacking her. Former Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi and Samajwadi Party MP Rajeev Rai also condemned her over the sweeping allegations against priests and religious institutions.Meanwhile, a Supreme Court advocate on record claimed to have filed a police complaint against Neha Bora, accusing her of making statements that could "disturb communal harmony".In the video circulated by BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari, Bora said, "It is the very same system under which even Brahmin women are unsafe and fall victim to rape.

Priests commit rapes inside temples. We have witnessed such instances in Unnao and Kathua." BJP leader Gaurav Bhatia accused Bora of insulting priests and alleged that she had drawn inspiration from the political upheaval in Bangladesh.

Bhandari, meanwhile, described Bora as Rahul Gandhi's "poster girl" and accused her of displaying "Hindu hate".WHAT DID NEHA BORA SAY ABOUT TEMPLE PRIESTS?The controversy began after the BJP circulated an undated video of Bora on November 3. In the clip, Bora was speaking about the "Brahmanical system" and women's safety.

Her remarks surfaced amid an Opposition-backed move against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls. "Protection is absolutely necessary. And it is precisely from the Brahmanical system that such protection is required.

This is a system which posits that the poor, the oppressed, animals and women are all deserving of subjugation and abuse," Bora said.Then, she went on to allege that even women were unsafe and referred to sexual assaults involving priests, citing the Unnao and Kathua cases.The 2018 Kathua rape and murder case involved an eight-year-old girl who was held captive in a village temple before being sexually assaulted and murdered. Six people were convicted in June 2019.Bora's reference to the case, however, triggered criticism over generalising criminal acts to religious functionaries and places of worship as a whole.BJP LINKS NEHA BORA'S REMARKS TO BANGLADESH UPHEAVALOn October 15, the BJP had slammed Neha Bora after she called for a regime change in India, and said she drew inspiration to protest from Bangladesh's student-led demonstrations, which led to PM Sheikh Hasina's ouster in August 2024.While slamming Bora for "disrespecting Hindu priests" and questioning her "selective outrage", BJP leader Gaurav Bhatia referred to her Bangladesh remarks too."I just raised this point that when there was a coup in Bangladesh, Neha Bora drew inspiration from that.

Atrocities were committed against Hindu women; Hindus were killed. Today, Neha Bora is insulting all priests through her statement," Bhatia told ANI.The BJP leader defended the role of priests in Indian society and alleged that Bora's comments reflected a "hostile mindset"."If there's any substance to such a statement, let Neha Bohra go ahead and say it, that in madrasas, maulvis commit atrocities against Muslim girls.

She won't say it. This selective outrage is dangerous, and it's done with malicious intent," he added.BJP's Bhandari accused Neha Bora of reflecting "the anti-Hindu mindset prevalent within Rahul Gandhi's entire ecosystem" and alleged that she was "influenced by the Islamists in Bangladesh" while seeking a similar regime change in India."Their true intent is anarchy and hatred toward Hindus," he told ANI, adding that Bora's remarks "should not be viewed in isolation" but reflected what he called the Congress's "anti-constitution, anti-democracy, anti-Hindu mindset".In a post on X, the BJP's Mahila Morcha's former Delhi General Secretary, Vaishali Poddar Singh, accused Congress and its INDIA bloc partners of projecting Bora as a youth leader despite her controversial statements."The youth of India are watching everything!" Poddar Singh wrote on X, accusing Bora of repeated anti-Hindu rhetoric and praising controversial activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam. "First win one seat.

Then lecture the country!" she added.A major political row has erupted over controversial remarks made by student activist and AISA president Neha Bora regarding temple priests and religious institutions. The BJP targeted Bora and linked her statements to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, claiming she had served as a prominent face in recent opposition protests against the Chief Election Commissioner.

BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari shared an undated video of Bora alleging sexual assault occurs inside temples, describing the statements as anti-Hindu. #NehaBora #BJP #Congress #RahulGandhi #AISA | @anjalipandey06 @Piyush_mi— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) November 3, 2026CONGRESS ALLIES SHIV SENA UBT, SP ALSO SLAM NEHA BORAFormer Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi strongly criticised Neha Bora's remarks despite belonging to the Congress-led Opposition alliance."It is highly unfortunate. While I believe this may be an old video, it reveals a mindset that asserts rapes happen in temples, are committed by priests, and that Brahmin women are unsafe.

I generally avoid focusing on caste, but as a Brahmin woman myself, I must ask: is it appropriate to use such derogatory language?" Chaturvedi told ANI.She also criticised radical thinking on both sides of the ideological spectrum. "I have always maintained that this kind of radical thinking, whether from the Left or the Right, is harmful to the nation," she said.The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader added that she wanted to speak with Bora personally."I would like to sit down with Neha Bora and explain that not everything should be viewed through the lens of caste or religion. She is young, talented, bright, and smart, with the drive to fight for a cause; she ought to use her intellect more constructively," Chaturvedi added.Samajwadi Party MP Rajeev Rai, another leader from the Congres-led Opposition INDIA alliance, also disapproved of Bora's comments."Making such a sweeping statement is not appropriate.

Every religion has both good and bad people; we shouldn't make such generalisations... We should avoid them.

That is exactly what the BJP wants; why should we fall into their trap?" Rai said."Furthermore, in this day and age, the kind of rhetoric being used is simply unacceptable. There is no basis for it.

We shouldn't make sweeping generalisations about any caste, community, religion, or region," he added.POLICE COMPLAINT OVER NEHA BORA'S PRIEST'S REMARKSDelhi-based advocate Amita Sachdeva took to X and said that she had filed a formal complaint against Neha Bora with the Station House Officer of Sansad Marg Police Station in New Delhi."Such reckless and sweeping allegations against an entire community of religious functionaries have the potential to create communal disharmony, promote enmity between groups and disturb public tranquillity," Sachdeva wrote on X."Freedom of speech is a constitutional right, not a licence to make irresponsible and inflammatory statements," she added.The latest controversy has given the BJP another opportunity to target the Opposition over the politics of religion and caste. However, the criticism from the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Samajwadi Party has also shown that Bora's remarks have found little support among some of the Congress's own allies.Twenty-nine year-old Neha Bora is a JNU PhD scholar and national president of the All India Students' Association (AISA), the student wing of CPI(ML) Liberation.

She has been associated with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led agitation at Jantar Mantar, which started on June 6. Later she also undertook a 23-day hunger strike at Jantar Mantar alongside other student activists.Bora subsequently emerged as a prominent face of the protests demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls.

She was seen alongside Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra during the Opposition's October 12 march to the Supreme Court, and was also given prominence at INDIA bloc press conferences. While CJP leader Abhijeet Dipke maintained a distance from the Congress-led protests, Bora's proximity to Rahul Gandhi led observers to describe her as a potential bridge between CJP leaders and the Congress-led Opposition alliance, as both carried out separate protests.

However, an old clip of Bora has now given fresh ammunition to the BJP to attack her and Rahul Gandhi.- Ends