Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s recent critique of the Election Commission during an address to the Indian diaspora in Boston has ignited a heated political exchange back in India.
The BJP wasted no time in lashing out at the Congress MP, branding him a “serial offender” and a “George Soros agent,” accusing him of consistently tarnishing India’s image abroad. The Congress, however, defended Gandhi’s right to raise questions, asserting that the BJP cannot keep labeling everything as “defamation.”
With the example of the recent Maharashtra Assembly elections in mind, Gandhi, the Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition, addressed the people in Boston saying that the electoral process was inherently defective.
"More voters came out in Maharashtra than the population of Maharashtra. and that's a fact. The Election Commission gave us a count in the evening. two hours later, at 7.30 pm, 65 lakh people voted, which is physically not possible," he said.
He reiterated his belief that, "It is very clear to us that the Election Commission is compromised. and there is something very wrong with the system. I have said this multiple times."
BJP's Strong Denial
BJP's response came in swift fashion. Party spokesman Shehzad Poonawalla accused Gandhi of attempting to embarrass India on global platforms. Colleague spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari seconded, calling Gandhi "an agent of George Soros," the Hungarian-American billionaire often targeted by the BJP for allegedly funding anti-India propaganda. "Why is Rahul always denouncing India internationally? An agent of George Soros, who is fighting the Indian state - that's what Rahul Gandhi's agenda today is," Bhandari tweeted on X.
BJP party chief Sambit Patra also piled on, reminding some earlier incidents where Gandhi has, in the BJP's opinion, insulted India overseas. ".right from morning itself, there are two important news reports, one is Rahul Gandhi's past habit of offending the country overseas. It is not the new trend. He has been doing so for long," Patra stated.
He also mentioned the ongoing National Herald case against Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi. The Enforcement Directorate has already submitted a chargesheet in the case, which is up for hearing in a Delhi court this week. The Congress is attempting to harbor unrest to divert the attention from these legal cases, Patra mentioned.
Allegations Over Maharashtra Polls
The Congress has raised questions about the sanctity of the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly election, in which the BJP-aligned Mahayuti alliance staged a dramatic resurgence after failing in the Lok Sabha polls.
Even though the coalition had managed to secure merely 17 out of 48 seats in the parliament earlier, it later succeeded in securing a decisive 235 out of 288 seats in the state assembly. Congress and its supporters blamed a sudden surge of 60 to 70 lakh new voters "mysteriously" emerged on the electoral rolls at the eleventh hour prior to casting votes.
Subsequently, the Election Commission has called the boom normal, assuring that the process of registering voters is an ordinary process ahead of any election to a state and that it had gone about openly.
The BJP, in turn, pointed out that the Congress' ally, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), won the Jharkhand elections held simultaneously. On Monday, BJP leaders questioned whether JMM leader and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren had manipulated results in his state or whether Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had influenced the Wayanad Lok Sabha by-election, which she won.
Gandhi’s Second Visit to the US in a Year
This marks Rahul Gandhi’s second trip to the United States since his visit in September last year. That journey too attracted criticism from the BJP, particularly over his meeting with US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya had then described Omar as "a Pak-sponsored anti-India voice, radical Islamist, and advocate of independent Kashmir." He went on to say, "Even Pak leaders would be more circumspect about being seen with such rabid elements."
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