New Delhi, Nov 5 (PTI) Dismissing Rahul Gandhi’s claims of vote theft in the Haryana Assembly polls as “false and baseless”, the ruling BJP on Wednesday accused the Congress leader of raising questions on the Election Commission (EC) to hide his failures and defame India’s democracy.
Union minister Kiren Rijiju also accused Gandhi of trying to “instigate” the GenZ and asserted that such efforts will never succeed as India’s youngsters are wise enough not to fall for such provocations.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader’s retort came hours after Gandhi cited electoral-list data from Haryana to claim that 25 lakh entries were “fake” and the poll victory in the state was “stolen” from the Congress last year.
The leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha said he has “100 per cent” proof of the malfeasance he has alleged.
Rijiju rejected Gandhi’s allegations as “baseless and false”, and said he is alleging vote theft in the Haryana polls and abusing the EC, while his party colleagues have said the Congress lost the election due to its own reasons.
“During the Haryana polls, their senior leader, Kumari Selja, had said the Congress will not be able to win because Haryana Congress leaders wanted the party to lose,” he told a press conference at the BJP headquarters here.
“Three days ago, a former Congress minister resigned from the party and said the Congress lost the Haryana polls because its leaders were not working and were engaged in ensuring the party’s defeat,” Rijiju claimed.
Haryana Congress president Rao Narendra Singh had also said there was no coordination in the party at the grassroots level, he added.
Rijiju termed Gandhi’s allegations “nonsensical and illogical”, alleging that the Congress leader is repeatedly claiming vote theft to hide his failures and has now come up with “baseless” claims of irregularities in the Haryana election just to divert public attention.
“Polling will be held in Bihar in two days and he is telling the story of Haryana. This makes it clear that there is nothing left in Bihar (for the Congress). That is why he came up with the Haryana issue to divert public attention,” the BJP leader said.
The Union minister for parliamentary affairs said the BJP wins elections because of the hard work of its workers and leaders, unlike the Congress.
“At the time of elections, he goes abroad. During a Parliament session, Rahul Gandhi silently goes to Cambodia and Thailand. When poll campaigns were underway in Bihar, he went to Colombia,” he said.
“This man abuses our country, system, judiciary, democratic institutions, going abroad. When he does not go to people and keep travelling abroad, he is bound to lose elections,” the BJP leader said.
“Rahul Gandhi cannot work hard and go to people. He is not a person who can live with people…. He has never seen farming, but he does a drama for a photograph with farmers. He has never caught a fish, but he does a drama of catching fish for a photograph. This habit of getting photographed cannot help win elections,” he added.
Rijiju said if there is any irregularity in voting or in the electoral rolls, then one must file a complaint with the EC or approach a court.
“But they do not have to file any appeal before the EC or approach the court. He (Gandhi) will just call a press conference, give a presentation made by someone else and run away,” he said and asked, “Will democracy function in such a manner?” The BJP leader also accused Gandhi of “playing games” and “inciting the GenZ”, in collusion with “anti-India” forces, to defame the country and its democratic system.
“He talks about the GenZ. But the people of our country are wise. The young generation is firmly standing by (Prime Minister Narendra) Modiji,” he said.
Rijiju said people are “firmly standing by Modi” because India is the fastest-growing economy under his leadership with a growth rate of more than 7 per cent, despite economies in other parts of the world passing through a slowdown.
“Our young generation is standing by Modiji. To divert them, the game that Rahul Gandhi is playing and hatching a conspiracy, colluding with anti-India forces, will never succeed,” he added.
The BJP leader alleged that Gandhi is not just targeting the EC by raking up the “fake” issue of vote theft but the credibility of the country’s institutions.
“This is a well-thought-out conspiracy. There are several forces within the country and abroad who are using Rahul Gandhi and some other people like him as their pawns to dent the image of India and its growing strength. Rahul Gandhi is a prominent face among them,” he said. PTI PK RC
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