Claims by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi suggesting that President Droupadi Murmu accepted allegations of "vote theft" are inaccurate, news agency PTI reported, citing sources. The sources added that it is "unfortunate that the President of India is being dragged into controversy raised by the opposition."
BJP Accuses Rahul Gandhi Of 'Lying'
Terming Gandhi's claims "unfortunate and bizarre," Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said, "He is lying."
Criticising the opposition leader's remarks, the BJP Rajya Sabha MP said, "His claim that the President has accepted his allegations demonstrates the malicious cycle Rahul Gandhi has been orchestrating, turning every constitutional body into a victim of his politics. It now appears that he has crossed all limits."
Trivedi further noted that only "someone", other than the INDIA bloc delegation, could reveal what actually transpired during the meeting.
"The way Rahul Gandhi spoke, the body language and facial expressions of the leaders standing beside him clearly suggested that what was being said likely bore no relation to the truth. Rahul Gandhi's past track record also reflects this pattern," Trivedi added, emphasising that the claim not only "seems strange" but also reeks more of politics than truth.
What Rahul Gandhi Claimed After The Meeting
The political row erupted following statements made by Gandhi shortly after leading an opposition delegation to meet President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
"The main thing is that I expected the President of India to deny that 'vote chori' was taking place. I expected her to say that India has a free and fair electoral system. I was shocked and stunned that the President of India accepted what we said," Gandhi said.
Gandhi added, "I sat in quite an unbelievable meeting. First, we took a memorandum to the President of India. In that memorandum, we clearly stated that the Prime Minister, HM Amit Shah, and CEC Gyanesh Kumar had conspired to destroy Indian democracy. The President in no way denied what we said, questioned what we said, or argued what we said."
He further said, "She accepted our statement and then told us that we needed to provide her with proof of 'election chori'. I said that the evidence of 'election chori' is known to the entire country. State after state has been stolen. The 2024 election was stolen, and yet the President wants us to submit proof to her. This same group of people will be very happy to present the evidence of 'election chori' that we have collected to the President of India when she is ready to accept it..."
(With Inputs From Agencies)