The BJP on Thursday dismissed Rahul Gandhi's "vote chori" charge as "baseless", saying the Congress leader was trying to create "hype" over a media report on differences within the Election Commission, driven by his jealousy toward Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party’s electoral setbacks.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi also called Gandhi "prapanch shiromani (master manipulator)" and alleged that the PPT presentation the Congress leader made at his press conference on Thursday came from unknown and dubious sources.
"All decisions (at the Election Commission) were taken unanimously. There is no evidence that the decisions were taken by majority," Trivedi said.
The BJP leader questioned the authenticity of the report published in the Indian Express, contending that it does not have a comment, even off the record, from the Election Commission or any of the election commissioners.
"What is the basis of the report?" he asked.
Trivedi said Gandhi was merely creating a "hype" over such a media report out of his frustration and jealousy against Prime Minister Modi and also because the Congress was facing electoral setbacks.
"Over the last 70 years, the BJP has risen decade by decade and the Congress has declined decade by decade. It's because Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a leader who is deeply connected to the grassroots.
"Rahul Gandhi zameen se ude hua neta hai ( Rahul Gandhi is a leader who is disconnected from the grassroots)," he said.
"He flies abroad every other month, returns after acquiring knowledge from there and attempts to cite baseless facts," Trivedi added.
(With inputs from PTI)
