Rahul Gandhi should have used 'harsher' words: Congress backs LoP's EC remarks

New Delhi, April 21 (IANS) Congress on Monday rallied behind Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, after the BJP strongly criticised his remarks on the Election Commission (EC), made during his US visit.

LoP Rahul Gandhi’s comments against the country’s election body, delivered while speaking to the Indian diaspora in Boston, triggered a wave of condemnation from BJP spokespersons. The ruling party accused the LoP of “maligning” India on foreign soil and even dubbed him an “agent” of George Soros.

While addressing the gathering in Boston, LoP Rahul Gandhi alleged that the EC was compromised and cited the Maharashtra Assembly elections as an example.

“In the Maharashtra Assembly elections, more people voted than the total number of people in Maharashtra. This is a fact. The EC gave us a figure in the evening around 5:30 p.m., and in two hours, around 7:30 p.m., 65 lakh voters had voted, which is physically impossible. There is something fundamentally wrong with the system,” he said.

Supporting LoP Rahul Gandhi’s comments, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Rashid Alvi said the words used by the Leader of the Opposition were, in fact, “mild” and that “harsher” language should have been used.

“Rahul Gandhi used very mild words for the EC. He should have used harsher words. The EC is partial. The biggest question is: why did the incumbent government remove the Chief Justice of India from the committee responsible for appointing an Election Commissioner? Now, the top official is appointed by the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and a Cabinet Minister. This clearly makes the Election Commissioner a toy in the hands of the government,” Alvi told IANS.

Alvi also questioned the neutrality of the poll body.

“How can we say that the EC is conducting free and fair elections? We have seen what happened in Maharashtra and Haryana. It is the responsibility of the EC to conduct elections with honesty, being an independent constitutional organisation. I want to ask the Prime Minister -- when the entire Opposition is asking for elections to be conducted via ballot paper, why is the government unwilling to do so?” he added.

Congress MP Kumari Selja also defended LoP Rahul Gandhi, stating that his frustration stemmed from the BJP’s continuous attempts to distract from the real issues facing the nation.

BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra, in a press conference, said the LoP is again trying to defame the EC and malign the image of the country.

“A person, who and his mother are out on bail on a bond of Rs 50,000 in the National Herald case, are selling propaganda from foreign soil. Nobody will believe them,” Patra said.

Selja criticised BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra’s comments, saying that the LoP Rahul Gandhi is angry because the BJP is diverting attention from the real issues, adding that the government is playing with the future of our youth.

“Whenever the honourable Prime Minister visits any country, he does not speak about India’s progress. Instead, he talks about the Opposition. Even on foreign soil, he focuses on the Congress. However, Rahul Gandhi does not speak without facts. He does not lie. He speaks the truth,” Selji told IANS.

--IANS

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