New Delhi, Oct 13 Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Rajiv Ranjan Singh on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on Rahul Gandhi, decrying his anti-CEC street protests as “childish behaviour”, and asked the Congress leader to “introspect” and stop spreading anarchy in the country.
Addressing a joint press conference with Singh, a JD(U) leader, at the BJP headquarters, Goyal rejected Gandhi’s “vote chori” charge as “baseless”. He asserted that the NDA government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership has given “complete autonomy” to the Election Commission to function in the interest of the people and the country.
The NDA government has never tried to give any “political benefit” to any of the election commissioners, unlike Congress which “rewarded” one of the chief election commissioners (CECs) with a cabinet berth and made two of them governors during its rule, the senior BJP leader said.
“Over the past few days, we have been witnessing Rahul Gandhi’s conduct; the double standards in the way he is operating and the childish antics through which he is, in a sense, dismantling every aspect of the Constitution,” Goyal charged, referring to INDIA bloc’s street protests, including its Monday march to the Supreme Court.
“If Rahul Gandhi has the proof of ‘vote chori’, why hasn’t he given it to the Court of the Election Commission?” the BJP leader asked.
Hitting out at the Congress, Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh said the opposition party should realise that its attempts to create anarchy on a baseless “vote chori” charge are causing harm to the “country, democracy and constitutional institutions”.
“Rahul ji, do some introspection and meditation. Do some positive work if some good sense prevails upon you by the grace of God. Democracy can not function with such negative politics and drama,” the senior JD(U) leader said.
“Spreading anarchy is not the opposition’s role. Do not spread anarchy.
“Let constitutional bodies do their work. Do not try to denigrate them, pressure them,” he added.
Singh also asked Gandhi why he did not provide any evidence of alleged “vote chori” to President Droupadi Murmu when he met her along with other INDIA bloc leaders recently.
“Rahul Gandhi is following the footsteps of his ‘daadi’ (paternal grandmother), who had demolished the Constitution to save her seat in power,” the senior JD(U) leader said in an apparent reference to the imposition of Emergency by the Indira Gandhi government in 1975.
“In the same manner, Rahul Gandhi wants to create an atmosphere of anarchy in the country to gain power,” Singh charged.
The opposition INDIA bloc and civil society on Tuesday vowed to unitedly fight for “restoration of the democratic process in the country”, with Rahul Gandhi asserting that the political and people’s resistance would continue and will triumph.
Addressing reporters after deliberations with the INDIA bloc and civil society members at his residence, the leader of opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha said this is the opposition’s commitment that the people who have indulged in “vote chori” would be brought to justice, naming Prime Minister Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
Gandhi had hosted opposition leaders of the grouping together with civil society members and student leaders at his residence for tea.
Goyal alleged that the Congress appointed CECs whosoever they wanted to hold the post when the party was in power at the Centre.
“It is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government which brought in a legal provision for appointment of the CEC and election commissioners in 2023. A new law was enacted under which the leader of the opposition was made a member of the selection committee,” he said.
Goyal said several Congress leaders had earlier demanded cleansing of electoral rolls, claiming the existence of duplicate and dead voters’ names in the list at various locations.
“And, when the SIR (Special Intensive Revision of the electoral rolls) has done it, the Congress is opposing it,” he said, slamming the opposition party for taking a “U-turn” on the issue.
Goyal also claimed that when the Congress won Kerala assembly polls, several leaders of the party gave credit to the SIR for the victory.
“When they are winning, the Election Commission is doing a good job and the elections are perfect. When they are losing, the elections are rigged,” Goyal charged.
“For this, youngsters say: ‘Delulu is the solulu, which means those living in delusion find a solution in their delusion. This is the Congress’ mindset.
“That’s why people don’t like them and repeatedly defeat them (in elections),” he added.
(PTI News)
