The BJP on Monday decried the INDIA bloc MPs ' protest against the Election Commission as "theatrics on the street", alleging that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was trying to create anarchy with his "baseless" allegation of "vote-chori" instead of working diligently to regain people's faith in favour of his party to win elections.
"The reality is that Rahul Gandhi is a ''kaamchor'' (slacker) and he is levelling allegations of 'vote-chori'," party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi charged, adding, "How many times has Rahul Gandhi ever camped in a poll-bound state for at least one week or two weeks and campaigned for his party?"
Launching an all-out attack, the BJP leaders also claimed that the protest march, organised under the aegis of the opposition INDIA bloc to press for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, was yet another attempt of the Congress to "relaunch" Gandhi by creating "chaos and confusion" on the SIR issue.
After opposition MPs were stopped from heading to the EC office, an over eight-hour standoff between the police and the Congress leaders ensued at the Akashwani Bhavan, before the Congress leaders were forcibly removed and detained.
Throughout the day, the BJP held four press conferences at the party headquarters, deploying its two senior spokespersons alongside the party's national media co-convenor Pradeep Bhandari, to counter the Congress' ‘vote-chori’ charge. Several other ruling party leaders also attacked Gandhi, accusing him of "spreading lies".
Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, Trivedi slammed the opposition parties for ‘theatrics on the streets’ and asked the Congress whom it wants to benefit by demanding voting rights without verification to those identified as "absent, shifted, dead and duplicate" voters.
The Congress has been out of power in various states, including in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat and Odisha for the past several decades, he said, asking the main opposition party leaders who is responsible for the decline of their party.
Trivedi also alleged that the Congress organised the protest march just to "create ruckus" and keep the "spotlight" on Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
"This becomes clear from the Election Commission's statement, which clearly stated that neither the INDI Alliance nor the Congress had sought an appointment for a meeting with the Election Commission. And when they were given time and asked to send their representative, they refused," the BJP leader said, addressing the last press conference on Tuesday night.
The EC was ready to send an official to the protest site to receive their memorandum of demands, but they refused, Trivedi said, adding that the poll panel's statement "exposed the lies" of the Congress and Gandhi.
He also termed as a "lie" the Congress' claim that 300 MPs participated in the protest march, asking the opposition party if all of its MPs were even present at the protest site by the evening, leave aside those of INDIA bloc constituents.
Hitting out at the INDIA bloc and the Congress, Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that through their march, they are "venting their frustration" over their electoral defeats by levelling baseless allegations against constitutional bodies to malign their image.
"Friends in the opposition, the very system you are questioning is the one under which you won in Kerala. Was that victory illegitimate? You won in Karnataka. Was that victory illegitimate? You won in Himachal. Was that victory illegitimate? Opposition governments were formed in Punjab and Jharkhand; were those victories illegitimate?" the senior BJP leader asked.
Union minister Kiren Rijiju asked Gandhi to "serve people" to get their mandate, instead of abusing the EC for electoral setbacks.
"The time has come for the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi to put an end to their drama which they have been enacting since 2014," he said.
Rijiju said that foreign forces constantly push narratives to malign constitutional institutions and mislead the people of India.
"The Congress, at the very least, should not propagate these anti-India narratives," he added.
Speaking to reporters here, Chouhan asserted that accepting defeat is the fundamental spirit of democracy, asking the Congress and its allies to "stop insulting democracy and maligning" democratic institutions.
"If you question constitutional institutions, you will commit the sin of plunging the country into the fires of anarchy. Do not commit the sin of plunging the nation into unrest and anarchy. The country and its people will never forgive you," he added.
At a press conference at the BJP headquarters, party spokesperson Sambit Patra criticised Gandhi, accusing him of trying to spread "confusion" and "boost his politics" by misquoting the Supreme Court.
Citing the Supreme Court''s Monday hearing on a PIL, Patra said the court did not say that Form 6 was illegal.
Earlier, Gandhi on X claimed that it was now established beyond doubt that the CEC changed Form 6 "illegally and unilaterally".
Form 6 is filled by those seeking inclusion in the voters' list.
"The Supreme Court did not make any such statement. It has just issued notices. A hearing has not even taken place yet. The CJI has stated that the matter will be examined when a hearing takes place. Yet, Rahul Gandhi is attempting to create an atmosphere of anarchy, lies, deceit, and confusion in the country," Patra said.
Gandhi is trying to "boost his politics" by invoking the Supreme Court and is misquoting it, he alleged.
The BJP MP said that some opposition parties, especially the Congress, are engaged in a concerted effort to dislodge the BJP from power at the Centre and bring Rahul Gandhi to the helm without him having to earn it.
"The Congress has been repeatedly trying to launch and re-launch Rahul Gandhi by any means necessary. When, despite numerous attempts, he failed to gain traction, the Congress and some of its allies decided that even if it meant resorting to anarchy and undermining the nation's democracy, they would launch Rahul Gandhi politically at any cost," he said.
Sudhanshu Trivedi said the Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and KC Venuopal, have raised the issue of duplicate and non-existent voters on various occasions, demanding cleansing of the electoral rolls.
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"Now, when the electoral rolls are being cleaned, they are making a hue and cry and levelling baseless allegations against the Election Commission," the Rajya Sabha MP said.
Trivedi alleged that the Congress, which is "internally a dynastic setup" masquerading as a democratic political outfit, has been levelling "baseless, meaningless and absurd" allegations against "every pillar of democracy", including the judiciary, over the last 12 years because it cannot tolerate a "genuine democracy".
(Disclaimer: Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by the Daily Jagran staff and has been published through a syndicated feed by PTI.)