NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the opposition’s protests against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and the Election Commission of India’s (ECI). The party accused the Congress of double standards while citing the grand-old-party’s “record”.Union minister Piyush Goyal in a press conference said that Congress is in ‘delulu is the solulu’ mode, while describing Rahul Gandhi as a ‘red flag’ for his party. The minister questioned the Congress’s record on election commissioners and its objections to the electoral roll revision exercise.“For the past few days, we have been seeing the conduct and double standards of Rahul Gandhi, seeing his childish actions which demolish every aspect of the Constitution,” the minister said.“Congress questions the fairness of Election Commission but overlooks its own track record,” Goyal added.
BJP ‘s big bribery charge
Defending the government amid row over CEC, Goyal said the NDA government has allowed the EC to function independently and has not offered political positions to commissioners in exchange for their services.He alleged that the Congress had appointed former chief election commissioners to political positions after their tenures, citing former CECs TN Seshan and MS Gill, among others.Goyal referred to Seshan’s candidature on a Congress ticket in the 1999 Lok Sabha election against BJP veteran LK Advani, asking whether the move amounted to rewarding a former election commissioner.He also questioned the Padma Vibhushan conferred on Gill in 2000, “MS Gill served as Chief Election Commissioner for five years, from 1996 to 2001. Interestingly, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan. In 2000, while he was still the sitting Chief Election Commissioner, he was conferred India’s second-highest civilian honour. Was this not an inducement? Was it not, in effect, a form of bribery?”The minister also highlighted the 2023 law introduced by the Modi government governing the appointment of election commissioners. Under the new framework, the selection committee includes the prime minister, a Union cabinet minister nominated by the prime minister and the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha.Goyal’s remarks come amid opposition protests against SIR and allegations of electoral irregularities. The Congress and other INDIA bloc parties have challenged aspects of the exercise, arguing that the process raises concerns about electoral rights and the integrity of voter lists.
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Goyal also questioned Rahul Gandhi over the Congress’s objections to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, asking why the party had not raised similar concerns when the exercise was conducted in Bihar, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. “Where was the Congress at that time?” he asked.He also questioned the party’s opposition to removing duplicate voter entries, citing public remarks by senior Congress leaders about duplicate names on electoral rolls. If the Congress believes elections are rigged, the Election Commission is not functioning properly and SIR is flawed, Goyal asked whether Congress chief ministers should resign in states governed by the party.