New Delhi [India], August 8 : Union Minister Bhupender Yadav on Friday took a sharp jab at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for making serious allegations against the Election Commission of India (ECI), accusing the Leader of Opposition of the Lok Sabha of spreading misinformation and targeting constitutional bodies.
Yadav's remarks came a day after Gandhi alleged large-scale voter manipulation in Karnataka's Mahadevapura constituency and claimed the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were "choreographed" to favour the BJP.
Bhupendra Yadav questioned the credibility of Gandhi's claims and the Congress leader's tone against officials. "His foundational statement yesterday was that there has been an addition of 1 crore voters in Maharashtra... According to the ECI, there was an increase of only 40 lakh voters. This is straight-up 60% less than what Rahul Gandhi said", he said.
Yadav further pointed out the coincidence, saying, "In Maharashtra, they have won most of their seats in places where the votes have increased"
Condemning Gandhi, Yadav also accused him of using intimidating language directed at ECI officials.
"For the last many days, our LoP Rahul Gandhi talked about releasing an atom bomb... If truth be told, the aggression in the language spoken by Congress's 'yuvraj' and the country's LoP was for Election Commission officials. He said, "When we come to power, there will be consequences for Election Commission officers, big and small." Does such language used by the LoP against government employees suit the position he holds? If someone attacks the valour of our forces, it is Rahul Gandhi. They never miss out on criticising the remarks of the Supreme Court", he said.
The remarks came in response to a press conference held by Rahul Gandhi on August 7, where he claimed that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were "choreographed" by the EC to benefit the BJP, which he said appeared "immune to anti-incumbency."
Citing internal analysis, Gandhi said the Congress expected to win 16 seats in Karnataka but ended up with only nine. He said the Congress investigated seven unexpected losses, zeroing in on Mahadevapura, where he alleged vote theft involving 1,00,250 votes.
Presenting Congress' research on voting in the Mahadevapura Assembly in Karnataka, Rahul Gandhi alleged "vote chori" (vote theft) of 1,00,250 votes.
"Our internal polling told us we would win 16 seats in Karnataka; we won nine. We then focused on seven unexpected losses. We focused on Mahadevapur...All data is 2024 data from the Election Commission; the total votes polled in the Lok Sabha were 6.26 lakhs. The BJP won with 6,58,915, securing a margin of 32,707. But then we look at Mahadevapura, where Congress polls 1,15,586 and BJP polls 2,29,632. Congress wins all Vidhan Sabhas but this one," the Congress leader said.
"We found 1,00,250 votes stolen. Stolen in five different ways. Duplicate voters, fake and invalid addresses, and bulk voters in a single address, on a building with 50-60 people living. But when we go there, no record of those people living there. One family living in that house," he added.