BJP calls Congress’ Vote Adhikar Rally in Bengaluru a political gimmick

Bengaluru: The BJP state president B Y Vijayendra termed the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi-led ‘Vote Adhikar Rally’ in Bengaluru on Friday a political gimmick.

He also said that the protest lacks truth.

Vijayendra said the Congress party is maintaining a double standard by opposing Special Intensive Revision of voters’ list in Bihar and simultaneously alleging bogus voters in Karnataka during 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

"Rahul Gandhi is to stage a demonstration on Friday. He opposes SIR in Bihar and alleges illegalities in the election. His statements are out of frustration,” Vijayendra said addressing a press conference.

He was commenting on the Congress protest at Freedom Park in Bengaluru where apart from Rahul, several top Congress leaders, including its President Mallikarjun Kharge, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his deputy D K Shivakumar and party general secretaries would attend.

Rahul, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, on Thursday claimed that while the Congress got the lead in six out of seven Assembly segments in Bangalore Central Lok Sabha constituency, it trailed in the Mahadevapura Assembly segment that helped BJP to win the seat.

Vijayendra said, “There is no truth in Gandhi’s claims and we don’t take him seriously. It’s all a political gimmick.” The BJP state chief said Rahul had the opportunity to lodge a complaint within 45 days after the election results were announced in 2024 but he did not utilise it. Also, it was the candidate who should have questioned it and not Rahul, he noted.

Vijayendra ridiculed the Congress leaders who demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s resignation.

He said Rahul has raised the issue of bulk voters, fake voters, or duplicate voters during his press conference on Thursday. To do away with all these discrepancies, the ECI has started the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voters’ list in Bihar.

“Why then Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party are opposing the SIR in Bihar,” he asked.

In 2005, when Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister, Mamata Banerjee as an MP, had in Lok Sabha raised the issue of illegal Bangladeshis residing in West Bengal and getting included in the voters’ list, Vijayendra said. Then Mamata had demanded a discussion on this issue but the then Speaker Somanath Chatterjee had rejected her demand and she was suspended from the Lok Sabha, he added.

"Rahul claims that the surveys showed that Congress would win 16 seats but no survey had ever claimed so. Only some fools in Congress would have told Rahul Gandhi that Congress would win 16 seats," he alleged.

Vijayendra said it was the BJP that suffered a loss in Karnataka when it slipped from 25 seats in 2019 LS election to only 17 seats in 2024. "Should BJP say that illegalities have taken place?" he asked. He also rejected Gandhi’s claim that large-scale voting happened in the evening in Karnataka, which he has taken as sample.

Vijayendra said, across the country, voting gains momentum in the evening after the weather cools a bit.