Kolkata, Nov 3 Senior BJP leader Smriti Irani on Tuesday mocked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, calling him a “prince in perpetual waiting”, while accusing the party of refusing to accept electoral defeats as she targeted the Opposition over its protests against SIR.
Addressing a press conference here, the former Union minister claimed that the Congress had lost 56 assembly elections since 2014, before the current SIR exercise began, and alleged that Gandhi was blaming the Election Commission for the party’s poll setbacks instead of introspecting its leadership failures.
The BJP national general secretary questioned why the Congress was opposing the removal of duplicate and ineligible names from electoral rolls, alleging that the Opposition was undermining constitutional institutions by casting aspersions on the poll panel.
“Why does the Congress want duplicate and fake voters to remain on the electoral rolls?” she asked.
Attacking the Trinamool Congress, Irani alleged that the party had accommodated infiltrators in West Bengal for electoral gains.
“Why does the TMC want duplicate and fake voters in the electoral list? Because it accommodated infiltrators for its own benefit,” she alleged.
Irani’s remarks came amid an escalating political confrontation over the SIR exercise, with the Congress, the TMC and other opposition parties accusing the EC of facilitating “vote theft” and demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The BJP has defended SIR as necessary to remove duplicate entries and the names of deceased persons from electoral rolls, while the Opposition has alleged that the exercise could disenfranchise genuine voters.
Irani cited 10 special intensive revisions conducted during Congress-led governments, questioning the party’s opposition to the current exercise.
She also pointed to the Congress’s prolonged absence from power in several states, saying it has not been in government in Tamil Nadu for 59 years, in West Bengal for 49 years and in Uttar Pradesh for 37 years.
“The Congress has been losing elections since 2014. Gyanesh Kumar was not even the chief election commissioner then… From 2014 to 2025 before the current SIR, Congress has lost 56 state assembly elections,” Irani said, questioning the Opposition’s attempts to blame the poll panel for its defeats.
She said SIR was conducted on 12 occasions since 1952, out of which 10 exercises were held during Congress governments.
“The Congress has declared a war against the country. It is not sparing the EC or the Supreme Court,” she alleged, attributing the party’s condition to what she described as corrupt and failed leadership.
Irani also accused Gandhi and Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar of making remarks against India while abroad, alleging that the Opposition was seeking foreign assistance to discredit the country and unseat the Narendra Modi government.
“Mani Shankar Aiyar goes to Pakistan and makes comments against the country. Rahul Gandhi goes to London and says he wants to defeat Modi. Is it right for the leader of the opposition to make such remarks on foreign soil?” she asked.
The BJP leader further questioned Gandhi’s ability to fight elections independently, alleging that he had to bring together several opposition parties to organise protests against the Election Commission.
Taking a swipe at the Opposition’s joint rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan, Irani challenged the Congress, the TMC and the CPI(M) to organise a similar demonstration in West Bengal.
She alleged that the opposition parties, despite being political rivals in the state, were joining hands in Delhi to target the BJP.
“In Delhi, Adhir da (Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury) and Mamata didi are joining hands, why are they not doing so in West Bengal?” she said.
The press conference was held as part of the BJP’s ‘Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy’ campaign, as the party sought to counter the Opposition’s protests over the SIR exercise.
The BJP has accused the INDIA bloc of attempting to weaken democratic institutions by questioning the EC, while the Opposition has maintained that its protests are aimed at protecting the voting rights of eligible citizens.
(PTI News)
