The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday slammed Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi after he alleged systematic effort to disenfranchise voters by deleting their names from voter list. Hitting out at the Congress MP, BJP leader Anurag Thakur said that it has become a “habit” of the opposition to continually make such allegations and then apologise after.
“Election after election defeats and a leader who has been rejected by the public, under whose leadership the Congress party has lost nearly 90 elections, his frustration and despair is increasing day by day,” Thakur said.
“They have made the politics of allegations their ornament. When the Election Commission asks them to verify the allegations they themselves have made, they turn their back and run away. When asked to file an affidavit, they back out. Making false and baseless allegations has become a habit of Rahul Gandhi,” the BJP leader said.
Apologising after making allegations and getting reprimanded by the court has become Rahul Gandhi’s routine, he added.
Thakur took a jibe at the Raebareli MP, saying someone who claimed to have a “hydrogen bomb” had to settle with firecrackers.”In every case, they have only received reprimands. Whether it is Rafale, Chowkidar Chor, or RSS, he has gotten reprimanded from the Court. So slinging mud and running away has been Rahul Gandhi’s way. In today’s press conference, the one who was supposed to burst a hydrogen bomb had to make do with firecrackers,” he said.
ALSO READ | ‘Form Filled In 36 Seconds, At 4:07 AM’: Rahul Gandhi’s Second ‘Vote Chori’ Bomb; Cites These 3 Cases
The former Union Minister alleged that “infiltrators first politics” was Gandhi’s sole agenda and asserted that the interests of SCs, STs and OBCs will be harmed the most if the Congress’ alleged agenda of protecting illegal voters is allowed.
Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi held a press conference at party headquarters and alleged that he is “getting help” from people who are working for the Election Commission of India (ECI) in uncovering alleged vote fraud in the country.
Thakur defended the Election Commission after Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was repeatedly criticised by Gandhi during the press conference. He cited the association of past CECs like M S Gill, who became a minister in the UPA government, and T N Seshan, who fought Lok Sabha polls on a Congress ticket, to hit back.
He challenged Gandhi to move the court if his arguments have strength.
In his Thursday press conference, Gandhi accused Kumar of protecting “vote chors” and people who have destroyed democracy, and cited data from a Karnataka Assembly constituency to claim that votes of Congress supporters were being systematically deleted ahead of elections.
