Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, saying he should acknowledge his repeated electoral setbacks instead of questioning institutions.
Rijiju’s remarks followed Gandhi’s allegation that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was shielding those behind “vote theft” and that names of Congress supporters were being struck off the rolls in Karnataka. The Election Commission swiftly rejected the claims as “incorrect and baseless”, noting that deletions could not take place without due process.
“If you lose elections repeatedly, you should acknowledge your weaknesses and accept the failure of your leadership. But instead, ...you start blaming institutions. Is that the right way?” Rijiju asked while speaking at a FICCI FLO event in New Delhi.
Also read: Rijiju labels Rahul Gandhi as Pakistan's darling
The Parliamentary Affairs Minister accused the Leader of Opposition of deflecting attention. “Just to cover up his failures in elections, Rahul Gandhi cannot target any other institution or shift the focus elsewhere,” he remarked, adding that such attempts “would not be accepted by the people.”
Rijiju also linked Gandhi’s criticism to external propaganda. “Whatever narratives Pakistan creates, the same narratives are propagated by Rahul Gandhi and his company here in India. For many years now, what Rahul Gandhi and his group say is found to be used by anti-India groups and elements in Pakistan,” he asserted.
The sharp exchange adds to the ongoing confrontation between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress over electoral integrity, with the Election Commission again forced to publicly defend its processes.
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