New Delhi [India], September 11 : BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla on Thursday demanded proof from TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee after the latter claimed that "votes were bought" in the Vice-Presidential elections by giving "Rs 14 to 15 crore" per MP.
Hitting out at the TMC MP, Poonawalla asked if he is questioning the "credibility" and "honesty" of the INDIA bloc MPs themselves.
The BJP leader further alleged that creating "distrust" among the public has become a habit of the INDIA bloc leaders.
Speaking to ANI, Shehzad Poonawalla said, "After making baseless allegations on Maharashtra elections, Haryana elections, Bihar elections, Rahul Gandhi, who is the nepo kid of the Congress party, also raised questions on the Vice Presidential elections and accused of 'vote theft'. Now Abhishek Banerjee, a nepo kid of TMC, has also said that MPs were bought by spending Rs 15-20 crore. What does he want to say? Does he want to say that the MPs of the INDI alliance are not durable and are corrupt? (Yeh kehna chahte hai ki INDI alliance ken eta tikaau nhi bikaau hai?). He is questioning the credibility and honesty of the INDI alliance MPs themselves. Instead of analysing why they lost the elections, they raise questions on the institutions, EVMs. Abhishek Banerjee should tell where the proof is. Creating distrust among the public has become their habit..."
This comes after Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee claimed that Rs 15-20 crore was "reportedly" used to influence representatives during the Vice Presidential elections.
"All our MPs were present (for the Vice President election) and cast their vote for our candidate, B. Sudershan Reddy. As this was a secret ballot, it is difficult to confirm whether there was any cross-voting or if the votes of opposition members were discarded. Yesterday, I spoke to a few sources and learned that Rs 15-20 crore was reportedly spent on each person to influence votes. Representatives may be bought, but the people cannot..." Banerjee had said on Wednesday.
In the Vice-Presidential elections, conducted on September 9, NDA nominee CP Radhakrishnan was elected as the 15th Vice President of India after securing 452 first preference votes.
Opposition candidate Justice (Retd) B Sudershan Reddy received 300 votes, while 15 votes were declared invalid.
A total voter turnout of 98.20 per cent was recorded, with 767 MPs casting their votes out of 781.
Announcing the result, Rajya Sabha Secretary General and Returning Officer PC Mody said that 767 out of 781 MPs cast their votes, recording a turnout of 98.2 per cent. Of these, 752 ballots were valid and 15 were invalid, lowering the required majority of first preference votes to 377. While the NDA had the backing of 427 MPs on paper, 11 lawmakers from the YSRCP also supported Radhakrishnan. Interestingly, the NDA candidate received 14 votes more than expected, sparking speculation of cross-voting from the Opposition camp.
Following the announcement of results, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated CP Radhakrishnan and expressed confidence that the newly elected Vice President would strengthen India's constitutional values and contribute positively to parliamentary discourse.
The oath-taking ceremony of Radhakrishnan is scheduled for the morning of September 12, Friday, at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi. President Droupadi Murmu will administer the oath of office to Radhakrishnan.