Photo/Agencies
NEW DELHI: BJP on Wednesday dismissed Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s vote theft allegations in the Haryana assembly polls last year as baseless, claiming that he had resorted to a diversionary tactic realising that the opposition was staring at a crushing defeat in the Bihar elections.Union minister Kiren Rijiju accused Rahul of trying to incite Gen Z against the govt, asserting the young population is with PM Narendra Modi as India continues to notch up high economic growth under him. Rijiju said Rahul’s “baseless” vote theft charges were borne out of his defeatist mentality and were devoid of any merit, while his cabinet colleague and Bihar poll in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan added, “Rahul Gandhi has become a research centre of lies and false narratives.” “Nobody takes him seriously. But he cannot escape the responsibility for another failure despite all these ploys,” Pradhan said, adding the presser was a gimmick aimed at shielding himself against the opposition’s impending Bihar defeat.”The truth is he (Rahul) wants to wash his hands of the impending defeat by resorting to such ploys. He knows the Mahagathbandhan is in tatters and people are continuously rejecting them.” Rijiju said several Congress netas, including Kumari Selja, have blamed internal reasons for its defeat in Haryana. Citing Rahul’s claim that a woman voted 223 times in two booths, BJP IT department head Amit Malviya said it is “downright laughable” as it amounts to one vote being cast every three minutes, considering polling is conducted between 7 am to 6 pm. “And, apparently, no one – not security personnel, not polling officers verifying IDs – noticed this superwoman showing up every three minutes across two booths. Never mind the time it takes to queue up, get verified, and hop from one location to another…,” Malviya said on X. Rijiju said Rahul Gandhi or Congress never followed due process or went to courts even though every political party and candidate has access to electoral roll, and voting and counting process.
