‘Childish move’: BJP slams ‘entitled dynast’ Rahul Gandhi over EC allegations
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‘Childish move’: BJP slams ‘entitled dynast’ Rahul Gandhi over EC allegations
Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said that Rahul Gandhi is “troubled by electoral defeats” Rahul Gandhi escalated his attack on the poll body, saying it gave an “evasive” response to serious concerns, and laid out steps the Commission must take to restore its “credibility” The Election Commission dismissed Rahul Gandhi’s allegations as an “affront to the rule of law” and said they were “unsubstantiated” Rahul has demanded that the ECI publish the full data related to the polls to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas of all states, including Maharashtra. He has also demanded that it release all the post-5 pm CCTV footage from Maharashtra polling booths, which is available on ECI’s website. The BJP has accused Rahul Gandhi of undermining democratic institutions to create an alibi for future electoral defeats. The Congress leader has been accused of resorting to divisive politics and said, “Shaitaan dharm ka paath pada raha hai (The devil is teaching lessons of righteousness).”
Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Saturday slammed Gandhi for his allegations of election rigging in the state and said that he is “troubled by electoral defeats”.
“Rahul Gandhi is troubled by electoral defeats. With these defeats, he keeps making such allegations to hide his own performance and the performance of his party,” Bawankule told news agency ANI.
Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi escalated his attack on the poll body, saying it gave an “evasive” response to serious concerns, and laid out steps the Commission must take to restore its “credibility”.
In a post on X, the Congress leader wrote, “You are a Constitutional body. Releasing unsigned, evasive notes to intermediaries is not the way to respond to serious questions.”
Rahul demanded two things from the ECI: One, that it publish the full data related to the polls to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas of all states, including Maharashtra. Two, that it release all the post-5 pm CCTV footage from Maharashtra polling booths.
‘A childish move’
Bawankule further said, “If I ask Rahul Gandhi, when elections occurred in 2009 when there were governments of his party at the Centre and in the State, there were 7.29 crore voters in Maharashtra during Lok Sabha elections.”
The Maharashtra BJP chief added that in the elections that took place after that in the state, there were 7.59 crore voters. “So, will we target the then Election Commission? Will we abuse the then Election Commission? You are criticising such a big institution. You want to damage the election process. I think this is a childish move,” he said.
Bawankule advised Rahul that he should study everything first, sit with Congress workers and then only speak.
“I think, if Congress and Rahul Gandhi keep acting like this, they will never be able to win,” he added.
Bawankule stated that the grand old party is now disappointed as the opposition grouping in Maharashtra, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is falling apart.
“Uddhav Thackeray is going around with his own alliance, and Sharad Pawar is running his own agenda. So, Congress is fearful in Maharashtra, whether their parties (alliance parties) will continue. So, Rahul Gandhi is building a narrative in view of the upcoming Panchayat elections in Maharashtra,” he said.
‘Entitled dynast’
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla also launched a scathing attack on Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of undermining democratic institutions to create an alibi for future electoral defeats.
Poonawalla alleged that the Congress leader was targeting constitutional bodies such as the EC to pin the blame for his party’s failures.
Slamming Rahul’s remarks in a post on X, the BJP leader said, “Election Commission bahana hai. Apne aap ko haar se bachana hai. Isliye samvaidhanik sansthao par nishana hai.”
He termed Rahul Gandhi as an “entitled dynast” who believes his family’s legacy takes precedence over democratic institutions. “Rahul Gandhi knows he will lose the coming elections too, so he is preparing an excuse in advance,” Poonawalla added.
Taking another sharp jibe at the Congress MP, Poonawalla accused Rahul of resorting to divisive politics and said, “Shaitaan dharm ka paath pada raha hai (The devil is teaching lessons of righteousness).”
EC’s response to Rahul Gandhi’s allegations
Meanwhile, the Election Commission dismissed Rahul Gandhi’s allegations and said they were an “affront to the rule of law”.
The ECI said in a statement, “Unsubstantiated allegations raised against the electoral rolls of Maharashtra are affront to the rule of law. The Election Commission had brought out all these facts in its reply to the INC on 24th December 2024 itself, which is available on ECI’s website. It appears that all these facts are completely being ignored while raising such issues again and again.”
“Any misinformation being spread, by anyone, is not only a sign of disrespect towards the Law, but also brings disrepute to the thousands of representatives appointed by their own political party and demotivates lakhs of election staff who work untiringly and transparently during elections. After any unfavourable verdict by the voters, trying to defame the Election Commission by saying that it is compromised, is completely absurd,” the poll body added.