New Delhi [India], August 1 : Senior BJP leader and Member of Parliament Ravi Shankar Prasad on Friday launched a sharp attack on Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of making baseless allegations against the Election Commission and other institutions out of "deep frustration" over the continued electoral defeats of the Congress.
Rahul has levelled serious allegations against the Election Commission of India (ECI), accusing it of direct involvement in large-scale voter fraud, with the Congress having "open-and-shut proof" of the alleged theft.
"Votes are being stolen. We have open-and-shut proof that the Election Commission is involved in this vote theft. And I'm not saying this lightly, I'm speaking with 100% proof. And when we release it (proof), the entire country will come to know that the Election Commission is enabling vote theft. And who are they doing it for? They're doing it for the BJP," Rahul Gandhi said while talking to reporters outside Parliament today.
"All of Rahul Gandhi's frustration stems from the fact that he doesn't get votes. So, what can we do about it? They lost the country for the third time, lost Maharashtra, lost Haryana, lost Delhi, and now they will lose Bihar and Bengal too, so what can we do about it? When they won, was the Election Commission fine then?... Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party should first look within themselves to understand why the public isn't voting for them..." Prasad told ANI.
The BJP MP also addressed concerns raised by Congress over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, which the opposition alleges may lead to voter suppression.
"Regarding the SIR issue, 99.9% of people in Bihar have filled the forms. The law clearly states that only genuine voters who reside in that area can vote... So, if this action is being taken, why are they troubled by it? Do they want to win based on such fake voters?... At least once, Rahul Gandhi should speak frankly," he said.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju also refuted the claims made by Rahul Gandhi against the Election Commission's involvement in voter fraud and stated that the opposition was running a "malicious plan" to discredit constitutional organisations, further stating that the Congress leader was "threatening" Constitutional organisations.
"This is not the first time Rahul Gandhi is threatening Constitutional organisations... This is a huge conspiracy to weaken democracy... This is a very dangerous behaviour and approach. The opposition is running a malicious plan to discredit constitutional organisations. It is an attack on democracy..." Rijiju told ANI.
Rijiju highlighted the growing divide between the opposition and claimed that even opposition leaders had started internally opposing Rahul Gandhi. "Even the opposition party leaders have started to oppose Rahul Gandhi internally... People have started saying Rahul is playing a dirty game and wants to destroy the country's image..." he further added.