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After Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi targets ECI; Poll body terms it ‘propaganda’
RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav alleged that all the constitutional institutions in the country have been hijacked ever since Narendra Modi took over as the Prime Minister of India
PATNA:
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, on Sunday targeted the Election Commission of India (ECI) citing the results of the Bihar assembly elections in 2020 and alleged that all the constitutional institutions in the country have been hijacked ever since Narendra Modi took over as the Prime Minister of India- a claim rejected by ECI, which said if any political party or leader has concerns or suggestions, they are free to contact the Commission directly.
Tejashwi’s remarks came after leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, in a newspaper article on Saturday made serious allegations against ECI’s conduct in Maharashtra elections, claiming that a large scale poll rigging was done to defeat the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc leaders during the state elections.
Apparently supporting Rahul Gandhi’s contention, Tejashwi said the Grand Alliance (GA) was set to form the government in Bihar in 2020 keeping with trends of the results.
“For the first time, ECI had conducted press conferences thrice to issue clarifications. We were winning but the counting was suddenly stopped in the evening and then the counting resumed late at night. The counting began at 12 in the night and several GA candidates, who were leading the counting till the evening were declared defeated by a margin ranging from 12 to 500 votes in night,” Tejashwi said while talking to media persons in Patna on Sunday.
“How come the BJP IT Cell knows when the elections will be held, much before the Election Commission announces its schedule?” he asked. T
Tejashwi.said constitutional institutions should perform their duties without any bias. “If constitutional institutions are destroyed, then where will people get justice? No officer should be influenced by any particular party.”
Responding to the remarks, the Election Commission, in a press release issued on Sunday, said, “All formal and democratic channels for dialogue remain open. However, baseless allegations without factual backing not only mislead the public but also damage the credibility of the electoral system. Moreover, the option of approaching the courts remains available. If there is no faith even in the judiciary, what further recourse remains?”
The Commission reiterated that statements based on assumptions and unverified information are merely attempts to tarnish the electoral process and emphasised that while no political party raised objections to the recent Jharkhand Assembly elections, linking unrelated incidents from Maharashtra or other states to Bihar’s elections is unfortunate and driven by malice.
It asserted that its foremost priority is to conduct free, fair, and peaceful elections in Bihar and said it will not be swayed by rumors, unfounded statements, or political propaganda.
Earlier in his article, Rahul Gandhi had written that the Maharashtra poll was not an election, rather it was a well-organised match-fixing. “This is a poison for democracy and Bihar election could be its next target,” he claimed.
EC officials dismissed Gandhi’s allegations. “Instead of writing to the EC directly, it is very strange that Rahul Gandhi keeps approaching the media seeking answers to his doubts again and again,” said a top-level official, who did not want to be named. “After losing the match, blaming the referee has become the standard practice.”
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday accused Rahul Gandhi of constantly “insulting” the democratic process and the people’s mandate. “The people have rejected Rahul Gandhi, and in retaliation, he is rejecting the people and their mandate,” Fadnavis said in his articles published in the Indian Express and Marathi daily Loksatta. “It would be more prudent to accept defeat for once and introspect on where you are going wrong, where your connection with the people is lacking, and what you should do about it,” he said.
(With PTI inputs)
