'Rahul formed habit of making baseless allegations': BJP leaders slam Congress leader over 'vote chori' charges

New Delhi: Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s press conference alleging voter fraud in the electoral rolls of Karnataka has elicited strong responses from the Bharatiya Janata Party who fielded union ministers and senior spokespersons to counter him.

Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in a post on X, said that Gandhi has “lost his composure”, and called the Congress "ideologically hollow” and alleged that it is “systematically attacking constitutional institutions”.

“It cannot be ruled out that there is a larger conspiracy against India's democracy and constitution behind this calculated deceit. After all, their family's history is also filled with the dark chapter of the ‘Emergency’,” his post read.

“In democracy, the decision of the people is universally accepted, and by attacking the Election Commission, Rahul Gandhi is insulting the wise decision of the people. Where was Rahul Gandhi when the Election Commission invited every party to lodge a complaint regarding SIR in Bihar, then neither Congress nor any party of the INDI alliance went to the Election Commission,” Pradhan posted.

Former union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, speaking to news agency ANI, said it was Gandhi’s “habit” to make allegations. “It has become Rahul Gandhi's habit to make baseless allegations, face defamation cases and then apologise,” he said.

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said that Congress did not complain when the won in the Lok Sabha polls in 2014. “In Maharashtra, Congress and its allies were happy when they won a majority in the Lok Sabha. And when they lost badly in the Vidhan Sabha, it became a problem for them. In a similar way, Karnataka or anywhere, claims made by Rahul Gandhi and his team are completely bogus. They are targeting the Election Commission only to tarnish its image,” Rijiju said.

“Yesterday, they targeted the Supreme Court. The Congress leadership said the Supreme Court cannot decide how an Indian should speak. If the Supreme Court cannot regulate the behaviour of a citizen, who can? Yesterday, they launched an attack on the judiciary. Today, they launched an attack on the Election Commission. Whenever it doesn’t suit them, they start attacking institutions,” he added.