Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday accused the Congress and its allies of undermining democratic institutions and creating an atmosphere of anarchy in the country, while defending the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
According to a report by PTI, addressing the NDA's 'Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao' (Save democracy, remove anarchy) foot march, Adityanath alleged that opposition parties questioned electronic voting machines (EVMs) only when they lost elections, while taking credit for their victories.
"If they win elections, it is because of their hard work. But when people reject them because of their own failures, they blame EVMs. This has become their habit," he said, according to PTI.
BJP president Nitin Nabin, Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Pankaj Chaudhary, state minister and Nishad Party president Sanjay Nishad, and other NDA leaders and ministers participated in the march.
Adityanath said the SIR exercise was not unprecedented, pointing out that electoral roll revisions had been conducted at different times in the past, mostly under Congress governments, PTI reported.
He accused the opposition of creating a controversy over the Election Commission's exercise to remove the names of alleged Bangladeshi infiltrators, Pakistani nationals and deceased persons from electoral rolls.
Including the names of foreign infiltrators in voter lists would deprive poor, Dalit and marginalised communities of their democratic rights, the chief minister claimed.
"The Congress, the INDIA bloc and all their allies should apologise to the people of the country for their actions," he said, accusing them of creating an atmosphere of anarchy instead of strengthening democracy.
He further alleged that opposition parties were attempting to undermine the credibility of constitutional institutions on which the country's democratic system rests.
Referring to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on EVMs, Adityanath questioned why Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had taken oath as a Lok Sabha member after being elected through the same voting system that his party had criticised.
"If the EVM is so wrong, why does Rahul Gandhi take the oath in Parliament after winning an election using the same EVM?" he asked.
Targeting the Congress over the Emergency imposed in 1975, Adityanath said the party was now lecturing the country on democracy despite its own record in power.
He asked whether Gandhi and the Congress would apologise for the Emergency, during which, he alleged, people faced police atrocities, properties were seized and some died in custody, PTI reported.
"Will Rahul Gandhi apologise to the people for 1975? Will the Congress apologise?" he asked.
The chief minister also questioned the Congress over its November 1 rally at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan against alleged electoral irregularities. He linked the date to the anti-Sikh violence that followed the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1984.
Adityanath alleged that while the country was remembering the Sikhs killed in the violence and expressing solidarity with their families, Congress leaders were celebrating in Delhi, hurting the sentiments of the victims' relatives.
Citing the Congress' performance in successive Lok Sabha elections, he also sought to counter the party's allegations of electoral irregularities.
The Congress won 44 seats in 2014, 52 in 2019 and 99 in 2024, taking its combined tally across the three elections to 195, Adityanath said. In comparison, the BJP alone secured 240 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he added.
Referring to Uttar Pradesh, where Assembly elections are due early next year, Adityanath said the BJP had won 255 seats in the 2022 elections, while the Congress and the Samajwadi Party secured only a small number of constituencies.
He accused opposition parties of disrespecting the people's mandate by questioning the electoral process after every defeat.
Using the example of a student who repeatedly makes excuses for failing examinations, Adityanath said opposition parties were blaming EVMs, SIR and constitutional bodies instead of examining their own electoral performance.
He also alleged that Uttar Pradesh had witnessed frequent communal riots and poor law and order during Samajwadi Party rule. The BJP, after coming to power in 2017, had focused on security, good governance and development, he claimed.
Adityanath said the NDA's foot march was not merely a political programme but part of an effort to strengthen democracy and contribute to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a developed and self-reliant India.
(With inputs from PTI)