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BJP counters Rahul Gandhi's ‘hydrogen-bomb’ in round 2 clash over 'vote-chori'
Rahul Gandhi on Thursday accused the CEC and “those who destroyed democracy” of deleting Congress votes before polls, citing data from a Karnataka constituency.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday hit back strongly at Leader of the Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi after he claimed that the Election Commission of India was part of “vote chori”. The BJP accused him of “insulting” the country’s voters with such allegationsations and said the people would give him a befitting response, while insisting that all his “bombs” would fail to explode.
Speaking to reporters after Rahul Gandhi’s press conference, in which he alleged that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was shielding “vote chors”, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad launched a scathing attack.
“Does Rahul Gandhi understand the Constitution? He went to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court issued directions. Did he make a stake? He does not understand the law or the Supreme Court's directions. He only shouts 'Samvidhan, Samvidhan'... The main thing is clear; if Rahul Gandhi does not get votes, then what can we do? The nation will never forget his actions. He is the LoP. He should have some values... He is insulting the country's voters... The people will again give him a befitting reply. All his bombs will diffuse. He trusts no one... I condemn this,” Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters.
Echoing similar criticism, BJP MP Anurag Thakur also targeted Rahul Gandhi, saying, "Making false and baseless claims, apologising in court, and getting reprimanded by the judiciary has become a pattern for him. Rahul Gandhi, who has a track record of losing 90 elections, always runs away when asked to prove his allegations. Making false and baseless claims, apologising in court, and getting reprimanded by the judiciary have become a pattern for him. It seems levelling accusations and then facing the consequences has become Rahul ji’s routine."
What are Rahul Gandhi’s claims?
Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi, targeting the Chief Election Commissioner, accused those “who have destroyed democracy” of systematically deleting votes of Congress supporters before elections. He cited data from a Karnataka Assembly constituency to support his claim.
The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha described his disclosures as another step in showing the country’s youth how elections were being manipulated. At the outset, he clarified that these were not the “hydrogen bomb” revelations he had promised, adding that those would come soon.
Gandhi pointed to alleged attempts in 2023 to delete votes in Karnataka’s Aland constituency. He also referred to Maharashtra’s Rajura constituency, where he alleged that voters were fraudulently added through automated software.
“I am going to make a serious claim about Gyanesh Kumar. I am not saying this lightly. The CEC is protecting vote chors and the people who have destroyed Indian democracy,” the LoP asserted.
He alleged that millions of voters across India were being deliberately targeted for deletion. “I am the leader of opposition and I will not say anything which is not backed by 100 per cent proof,” Gandhi insisted.
In Aland, Gandhi said, attempts were made to delete 6,018 votes, which came to light purely by coincidence. “The booth-level officer noticed that her uncle's vote got deleted and found her neighbour had deleted the vote of her uncle. She asked her neighbour who said he had no idea. It was found that some other force hijacked the process and deleted the vote -- and as luck would have it got caught,” he explained.
According to Gandhi, 6,018 applications had been filed impersonating voters, with the filings made automatically using mobile numbers from outside Karnataka.
Responding to Gandhi’s claims, CPI MP P Sandosh said: “These allegations levelled by Rahul Gandhi are very serious in nature. He directly attacked the Chief Election Commissioner, stating that the CEC is protecting the people who are destroying the Constitution and democracy. Rahul Gandhi had enough proof to show. Vote theft of 6000 votes was shown with evidence...Election Commission of India should make it very clear who had done this. A software was developed for this, it was not done by a human…”
From Wayanad, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra urged the public to listen carefully to her brother’s remarks. “I urge everyone to watch his (Rahul Gandhi) press conference because you should understand what is happening in our country. And the EC is colluding to destroy the electoral process and challenge democracy in our country. We need to fight for democracy, the Constitution and our country...”
She added: “It is an organised effort. It is very clear that the Election Commission is involved in this effort. And Rahul has very clearly exposed it...”
Commenting on Gandhi’s allegations, Maharashtra Congress leader Nana Patole stated: “...He has stated that wrong practices are being done in the country and it must be stopped and the relevant authorities must be accountable...He had an example of one constituency where a Congress candidate lost...”
