Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: The BJP on Friday mocked Rahul Gandhi's disclosure to back his allegations of rigging in the Maharashtra assembly polls as a case of someone cutting the branch he is sitting on, and said the Congress and its allies won most of the their seats where the number of voters had increased.
Union minister Bhupender Yadav accused Gandhi of using a language unbecoming of the Leader of Opposition, noting that he had warned officials of a constitutional body like the Election Commission of consequences for their alleged role in helping the ruling BJP.
Citing the EC data, Yadav said the number of voters in the state assembly polls in November last year had increased by over 40 lakh compared to the Lok Sabha elections held earlier that year, and not by one crore as claimed by Gandhi.
He said the Congress leader had prepared for a long time to make his case but the foundational logic of his allegation has turned to be "incorrect".
All this work was meant to serve lies, he claimed.
His every claim should be discounted by 60 per cent from now on, the BJP leader said.
Naming a number of assembly constituencies like Madha, Mohol, Nagpur West and Nagpur North won by the Congress and its allies, he said the number of voters went up in these seats.
Yadav said Gandhi had been claiming that the proof he will present will be like an "atom bomb".
"It was like the case of someone cutting the branch one is sitting on," he said, accusing him of using an arrogant and threatening language against the EC.
If the Congress leader has real objections to the polling process, then he should file an affidavit on oath to the EC, he added, in reference to Gandhi's presentation to the media on Thursday.
He accused the Congress leader of repeatedly trying to peddle lies to tarnish the poll body following his poll losses.
His modus operandi is to "lie and run away", he said, claiming the Opposition's disruption of Parliament over the Special Intensive Review of electoral rolls in Bihar is aimed at running away from discussion.
"The Congress is trying to belittle our constitutional bodies in a systematic way for a family," he said, alleging that Gandhi had earlier demeaned the armed forces as well.
He had to apologise to the Supreme Court for making wrong claims, the BJP leader added.
He said institutions like the armed forces, Parliament or the Election Commission are autonomous and work independently, and any following the Constitution should not use threatening language against them, he said.
Gandhi on Thursday cited an analysis of data from a Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka from the 2024 elections to make explosive claims of "huge criminal fraud" in polls perpetrated by the BJP through the Election Commission, and asserted that this was a "crime" against the Constitution.
He has also been alleging that the Maharashtra polls were rigged to ensure the win for the BJP-led alliance.