JAIPUR: Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday hit back at the Congress over its criticism of electronic voting machines (EVMs), asking, "Who brought EVMs? The Congress did."
Addressing a BJP rally at Ramlila Maidan, Vaishnaw also said railway and state government officials were jointly investigating the recent explosion on a railway track in Rajasthan's Sriganganagar district. The state government, he said, would decide whether to involve the National Investigation Agency (NIA) once preliminary evidence was available.
"The DGP, Chief Minister and Chief Secretary have been involved in discussions, and railway and state officials are investigating together," Vaishnaw said. "Once preliminary evidence is available, the state government will decide whether to involve the NIA." He added that the conspiracy would be exposed and those responsible would face action.
At the 'Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy' meeting, Vaishnaw also defended the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. "Is this the first SIR in the country?" he asked, pointing out that the exercise had been conducted several times since Independence, including under Congress governments.
Vaishnaw said the SIR was intended to keep electoral rolls accurate by removing the names of deceased voters, recording changes of address and correcting duplicate entries. "The voter list is the fundamental foundation of democracy," he said, adding that the Election Commission was responsible for maintaining accurate electoral rolls.
He accused the Congress of opposing the revision to undermine democratic institutions and challenged the party to debate EVMs and the SIR in Parliament.
Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, who also addressed the meeting, said the Congress should answer for its own record before speaking about democracy.
"Before talking about democracy, the Congress should answer for its history of the Emergency and anti-democratic actions," he said, referring to the 1975 Emergency and the dismissal of elected state governments under Article 356.
Sharma challenged the Congress to an open debate in the Assembly, comparing the BJP government's two years in office with the Congress's five-year tenure.
He also accused the previous Congress government of facing questions over appointments to the Rajasthan Public Service Commission and alleged irregularities in the Jal Jeevan Mission.
The meeting was followed by a march from New Gate to Tripolia Gate. BJP state in-charge Sanjay Bhatia, state president Madan Rathore and Jaipur MP Manju Sharma were among those who participated in the march.
The rally came a day after former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot criticised Sharma over allegations made against him. Gehlot said he had given Sharma 24 hours to apologise but had received no response. He urged the Chief Minister to verify the facts before making personal allegations.
