Refuting the fresh claims of vote theft made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the BJP alleged that he is willing to create a situation similar to Nepal and Bangladesh in India. BJP MP Anurag Thakur on Thursday accused Rahul Gandhi of trying to weaken the democracy and mislead citizens.
His remarks came following Rahul Gandhi’s explosive allegations of voter deletions in a centrally coordinated scam. “While the Election Commission of India is functioning without bias, Rahul Gandhi is busy weakening democracy, misleading citizens, and trying to create a situation like Bangladesh and Nepal,” Anurag Thakur said in a press conference.
The BJP MP’s remarks came days after unrest rocked Nepal, and protests from student groups led to the resignation of former prime minister KP Sharma Oli. Over a year before that, Sheikh Hasina was ousted as Prime Minister amid massive protests in Bangladesh.
Thakur also alleged that Rahul Gandhi’s repeated allegations against the Election Commission reflected Congress’ lack of faith in the Indian democracy. “They have made the politics of allegations their ornament. When the Election Commission asks them to verify the allegations they themselves have made, they turn their back and run away. When asked to file an affidavit, they back out. Making false and baseless allegations has become a habit of Rahul Gandhi,” the BJP leader said.
What did Rahul Gandhi allege?
Rahul Gandhi doubled down on his vote theft allegations on Thursday, specifically accusing Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of protecting “vote chors”. Gandhi named two constituencies – Aland Assembly in Karnataka and Rajura Assembly in Maharashtra, to back his claims of voter fraud.
Rahul Gandhi alleged voter manipulation using automated software. He claimed that 6,018 vote deletions were attempted in Karnataka’s Aland Assembly in 2023, and citing another instance, said 6,850 fake entries were added online in Maharashtra’s Rajura Assembly.
Anurag Thakur’s rebuttal on Aland Assembly charge
After Rahul Gandhi claimed attempts to delete votes in Karnataka’s Aland assembly constituency, Anurag Thakur reminded the Congress leader that it was the Congress candidate who won the polls from that seat in 2023.
Thakur agreed that attempts to steal votes were indeed made, but contended that the poll panel had directed the filing of an FIR in the case. “The Election Commission has already provided the mobile number and IP address. After all this, what has the CID of Congress-ruled Karnataka done so far? According to the records, it was the Congress candidate from the Aland assembly constituency who had won. So, did Congress win by stealing votes?” Thakur asked.
Reacting to Rahul Gandhi’s fresh allegations, the Election Commission said the claims were “incorrect and baseless”, asserting it wasn’t possible to delete votes online.
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