New Delhi [India], July 10 : BJP National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla on Thursday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav for the alleged snubbing of Purnia MP Pappu Yadav and NSUI leader Kanhaiya Kumar during the Mahagathbandhan protest against electoral roll revision in poll-bound Bihar. Referring to Rahul and Tejashwi, he accused the two "nawabs" of disrespecting both leaders.
"While the so-called 'Pappu' drowned the Congress, Tejashwi Yadav and Congress made another Pappu cry yesterday," Poonawalla told ANI, reacting to the incident.
"Pappu Yadav is a respected leader in Bihar and an MP. Afterwards, he emotionally expressed in an interview that he would swallow this insult. Bihar's two nawabs disrespected Pappu Yadav... Not letting Kanhaiya Kumar on the truck either shows that only 'Parivarwaadi Nawabs' were allowed on the truck," he added.
The incident occurred when both leaders attempted to board the van carrying Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, but were stopped by security guards.
Videos of the incident show Kanhaiya Kumar and Pappu Yadav being prevented from joining Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav on the van, sparking speculation about internal conflicts within the alliance.
The rally was part of the INDIA opposition alliance's protest against the Election Commission's decision to conduct a special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, ahead of the state assembly elections.
During the protest, Rahul Gandhi warned that the pattern of electoral manipulation seen in Maharashtra could be repeated in Bihar.
Rahul Gandhi said, "The way there was vote theft in the Maharashtra elections, a similar attempt is being made in Bihar."
Gandhi also raised questions over the rise in voter numbers between the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Maharashtra, alleging that all newly added votes went to the BJP. He claimed that the INDIA alliance's poor performance in the Maharashtra Assembly polls, despite a Lok Sabha majority, prompted a deeper data review that revealed suspicious voting patterns.
He also said that between the Lok Sabha and assembly elections, one crore new voters were added, and in the assembly elections, 10 per cent more people voted.
Speaking at the Bihar Bandh rally, Rahul Gandhi said, "Shortly after the Lok Sabha elections, assembly elections were held in Maharashtra and Haryana. In the Lok Sabha elections, the INDIA alliance got a majority in Maharashtra. But just a few months later, in the assembly elections, the INDIA alliance did poorly. We didn't say much at the time, but we began working on and investigating the matter. The 21st century is the century of data, so we started studying the data. Upon investigation, we found that between the Lok Sabha and assembly elections, approximately one crore new voters were added. In the assembly elections, 10 per cent more people voted. When we checked the origins of these new voters, we were surprised. In every constituency where voter numbers increased, the BJP won. All the new votes went to the BJP."