New Delhi, Aug 13 (IANS) BJP lawmaker Anurag Thakur on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his repeated assertions and charges against the Election Commission of India (ECI) as well as its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) campaign in Bihar and cited ‘multiple examples from the past’ to rebut his claims.
Addressing press conference at the party headquarters, the BJP MP dismissed the claims of “vote theft” and irregularities in the electoral process as baseless and politically motivated, accusing Congress of attempting to undermine democratic institutions due to repeated electoral defeats.
“If there is a record of losing elections 90 times under any one leader, it is under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership. Even within the Congress Party, questions are raised about his leadership. When he loses, he blames the EVMs, sometimes the Election Commission, and even the voters,” said Thakur, while dubbing Rahul’s allegations part of a deliberate misinformation campaign.
Thakur argued that the Congress Party itself had laid the foundation for electoral corruption in India. Citing historical examples, he said that Congress and CPI conspired to defeat Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the architect of the Constitution, in the very first general election in 1952. “They ran a ‘vote theft business’ back then. Dr. Ambedkar, a saint-like figure, was made to lose by just 14,561 votes, and from that moment, Congress started eroding the sanctity of elections,” he said.
He further added that it was Congress that introduced booth capturing in 1957 and went on to conduct large-scale rigging in 1987 in collaboration with the National Conference (NC). He also cited the 1975 judgment by Justice Sinha, which found Indira Gandhi guilty on two counts of electoral malpractice, exposing the misuse of government machinery and staff for political gain.
“Even Indira Gandhi once called voters a ‘bunch of fools’ after losing elections. This has been the party’s attitude whenever they face defeat,” Thakur said.
On Rahul Gandhi’s claim that number of voters were exponentially increased after 5 p.m. during the Maharashtra elections, Thakur termed it ‘misleading and misguiding’.
On Special Summary Revisions (SIR) in Bihar, Thakur said, “The Election Commission has been conducting SIR and listening to public complaints in Bihar, there are no problems encountered by people during the process. Yet Congress, instead of cooperating, is resorting to false accusations. They are insulting the voters of this country,” he asserted.
Responding to Rahul Gandhi’s refusal to submit evidence of alleged voter roll discrepancies, Thakur said, “My direct question to Rahul Gandhi is: what are you afraid of, Rahul ji? You don’t provide affidavits, you don’t present any evidence, and you run away after making baseless allegations. This has become your method, spreading confusion during elections. You even refused to engage with constitutional institutions despite repeated requests.”
Thakur further stated that Congress is trying to create doubt about India’s electoral process because voters have repeatedly rejected them, and this latest smear campaign is simply a cover-up for their political failures.
–IANS
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