NEW DELHI: Soon after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday made allegations against the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the SIR, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hit back, accusing the Congress leader and his party of lacking trust in Indian democracy. The BJP intensified its attack on Rahul Gandhi, as he has been continuously attacking both the ECI and the Modi government, alleging "vote chori."
At a media briefing at the party headquarters, former Union Minister and senior BJP leader Anurag Thakur accused Rahul Gandhi of pursuing an agenda to undermine India's constitutional institutions, such as the ECI, due to his party’s weakening and crumbling political base rooted in appeasement politics. In a direct attack on Rahul Gandhi, Thakur further accused him of pushing an agenda of "infiltrators first politics," which, he said, would harm the interests of SCs, STs, and OBCs.
"The interests of SCs, STs and OBCs will be harmed the most if the Congress' alleged agenda of protecting illegal voters is allowed," Thakur asserted. He added that the Congress leader was fabricating a false narrative due to fears of losing elections in Bihar and other states.
Defending the Election Commission after Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar was repeatedly criticised by Gandhi at his press conference, Thakur cited the associations of former CECs like M S Gill, who became a minister in the UPA government, and T N Seshan, who also contested Lok Sabha polls on a Congress ticket, to counter the accusations.
"Congress has been associated with such former CECs earlier, and it has no moral right to accuse any official in the ECI," he remarked. Turning even more combative against Rahul Gandhi, Thakur challenged him, saying that if Gandhi's allegations had any merit, he should take the matter to court.
On Thursday, Rahul Gandhi accused ECI of protecting "vote chors," citing data from a Karnataka Assembly constituency to back his claim that votes of Congress supporters were being systematically deleted ahead of elections. However, the Election Commission on Thursday rejected Gandhi's allegations, calling them "incorrect" and "baseless".
Taking another jab at Gandhi, Thakur pointed out that it was the Congress that had won the assembly seat in Karnataka mentioned by Gandhi and asked whether that victory was the result of "vote chori."
"The Election Commission has stated that no vote can be cancelled online, and no one's vote is cancelled without hearing them, nor is any decision being made. But Rahul Gandhi does not understand anything as per the rules," Thakur remarked. In a post on X, the BJP said Rahul Gandhi's latest tirade against the Election Commission was yet another attempt to shift the blame following repeated defeats.