Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday accused the Congress and its sympathisers of seeking a “Bangladesh-type regime change in India”, even as the principal opposition party pledged allegiance to constitutional means and free-and-fair elections.Speaking to reporters in Lucknow, Rajnath said the Congress had begun advocating anarchy and regime change to avenge poll losses.“The Congress and its allies seek to capture power through regime change and anarchy, but India’s democracy and constitutional institutions cannot be sacrificed at the altar of political interests,” he said.Rajnath said at Congress-backed press conferences, people (read Prashant Bhushan and Neha Bora) openly claimed inspiration from Bangladesh for regime change and also publicly talked about bringing down the government.“Their sole agenda is to create unrest and instability. The repeated use of terms such as regime change, resistance…and the jargon that these protests and not Parliament offer the solution makes it clear that the developments and agitations in Delhi represent a condemnable attempt to derail India’s development journey through anarchy rather than constitutional means,” the Defence Minister said, accusing the Congress of committing four sins — Emergency, anti-Sikh riots, firing on kar sevaks and now “maligning” constitutional bodies.In response, Congress media department head Pawan Khera said changing the regime through elections was the goal of the Opposition.He invoked the late Pranab Mukherjee’s remarks that the task of the Opposition was to “oppose, expose and depose”. He said, “Changing the regime through elections is precisely the Opposition’s goal. What else would our purpose be,” Khera asked. He alleged that the BJP had “lost the habit of practising democracy”.The Congress said it categorically rejected any unconstitutional seizure of power and believed in peaceful democratic mobilisation, constitutional institutions, free-and-fair elections and the sovereign will of the Indian people.Earlier, Rajnath said by advocating anarchy and regime change, the Congress was seeking to avenge its political defeats at the cost of the nation.“This reflects the complete erosion of the party’s moral values. A party that engages in politics centered around violence, disorder and the creation of aBangladesh-like situation has lost the moral authority to invoke Mahatma Gandhi’s name,” he said.