Even as both Houses of Parliament were disrupted again Monday over the issue of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, the BJP took on Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and his INDIA bloc allies, accusing them of “shaming not just the nation but democracy”. BJP leaders said that by questioning Constitutional institutions and their processes, the Opposition is seeking to “trigger anarchy” to “destablise the nation”.
Union ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Dharmendra Pradhan accused the Opposition, and especially Gandhi, of “speaking the language of anti-national” forces aiming to “uproot democracy” from the country. Gandhi’s ‘vote-theft’ allegations and continuing protests over the SIR lack direction and that his politics is not “issue and policy-based”, they said.
The Delhi Police detained Opposition MPs, including Gandhi, Monday as they took out a march from Parliament House to the Election Commission of India (ECI) headquarters to protest against the Bihar SIR. Union Agriculture Minister Chouhan alleged that Rahul Gandhi and the Opposition are defaming democracy “under pressure from anti-national forces”.
“First, they shamed the country, the Election Commission, and even the Supreme Court. They shamed the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), played with respect for the armed forces. They questioned the valour of the armed forces. They are destroying democracy. They are playing with the honour of Constitutional institutions. They want to spread anarchy,” Chouhan said.
“Rahul Gandhi is lying again and again. He lied on Operation Sindoor – but lost his voice after the army provided proof. They raised questions on EVMs, saying they lost the elections because of EVMs. When they were asked for proof, it was not provided. After the Supreme Court pulled him up, he became Rann-chor-das (a deserter). Now the EVM has been left behind, and they have come to the SIR, defaming the voter list,” he added.
Taking on the senior Congress leader as well as the larger INDIA bloc, Chouhan asked whether non-BJP governments across several states and the personal electoral victories of the Opposition alliance’s leaders were a result of the same alleged issues in the electoral process.
The former Madhya Pradesh chief minister also sought to “caution the people of India” against what he alleged was a large-scale “conspiracy to destabilise the country”, demanding why Gandhi was not willing to give an affidavit to the ECI regarding his allegations.
Story continues below this ad
“I want to ask Rahul Gandhi ji and the leaders of the INDI alliance – did the Congress win in Karnataka due to issues in the voter list? Did the Congress win in Telangana due to malpractices by the Election Commission?…in Himachal Pradesh due to mistakes and malpractices of the Election Commission and the voter list? Did the DMK…win in Tamil Nadu due to issues in the voter list? In Jharkhand, has the Hemant Soren-led INDI alliance government been formed due to issues with the voter list?” he asked.
“Rahul ji, did you yourself win due to issues with the voter list…and Priyanka ji too? Did (Samajwadi Party president) Akhilesh (Yadav) ji also win due to issues with the voter list? You level allegations and run away? The Election Commission is asking you for an affidavit… You do not want to… You are playing with the honour of the nation. You are committing the sin of weakening the nation and democracy by shaming them. If you win, all is well; if you lose, all is bad? I want to caution the people of the country – be wary of their (the Opposition’s) conspiracies,” he added.
Congress and Opposition left with only ‘votebank politics’: Dharmendra Pradhan
Pradhan, addressing a press conference at the party’s national headquarters, said that Gandhi, “who cites the Constitution on a daily basis” was the sole political figure in the country engaging in “anti-India” deeds since the Congress’s “lack of direction has become its problem”.
Story continues below this ad
“The SIR is not happening for the first time; in every state, at the national level, the EC has a rule-based process – the purification of the electoral rolls…After Independence, it has had a continuous process (in this regard). Earlier, the Congress used to tell lies on the EVM; sometimes they rake up Maharashtra, sometimes Haryana, to make a new mountain of lies. (Due to poll losses) in 2014, 2019 and 2024 especially, the Congress has reached a level of bankruptcy due to continuous losses,” Pradhan alleged.
“There is no clear issue they have in hand, or a policy…(so) they are making a political issue out of this…(they) lied about Rafale jet planes, then they helped China by raising questions related to India’s sovereignty regarding which the judiciary, for the first time in Independent India, made such harsh remarks about a politician…They do not have any public honour left in a democracy. With anarchy slowly combining with arrogance, this is a deliberate strategy to trigger destabilisation in the country. You will win elections, then everything is fine. If you lose…you will remember the issues with the system,” he added.
Accusing Gandhi of having “no basic knowledge about technology, the Election Commission’s procedure or the country”, Pradhan alleged that the Congress and the Opposition were left with only “votebank politics” and wanted to “get by on the votes of infiltrators whom they have made voters”.
“When the Election Commission, from a Constitutional and impartial point of view, tells them the facts, they talk about destroying the Election Commission :’we will drop an atom bomb and the Election Commission will disintegrate’. This is the language used by our rival nations. Big powers which want to uproot democracy from a democratic Bharat, they use the language that the Leader of Opposition of the country does,” he alleged.
Story continues below this ad
“I want to appeal to them to do issue-based politics; just triggering fear in the hearts of infiltrators, or in those of a particular section (of society), you will not be able to break the democratic structure of this country by taking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, the decision of the people of the country or its Constitutional system,” he added.
