The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday lodged a complaint with the Election Commission of India (ECI) against Rahul Gandhi, a day after the Congress leader accused the ruling party of doing ‘match-fixing’ ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, insinuating that the BJP was ‘rigging’ the upcoming national elections.
The BJP delegation, led by Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri and party national general secretary Arun Singh, urged the poll panel to take ‘strictest action’ against Gandhi.
Addressing the media after meeting Election Commission officials, Puri described the ex-Congress chief’s statement as ‘extremely objectionable.’
“This (Gandhi’s remark) is not just in violation of the Model Code of Conduct, but could have serious implications. He (Gandhi) also said that the central government has deployed its people in the Election Commission. He also raised questions on the credibility of the EVMs and said the Constitution will be cancelled changed after elections if the BJP wins again,” the minister said.
Singh, the national general secretary of the saffron party, appealed to the ECI to consider ‘censuring’ the Wayanad MP.
“He repeatedly makes such comments, and, therefore, the Election Commission must consider censuring him from speaking during the Lok Sabha elections, as the Congress leader would not stop making such remarks,” Singh stated.
On Sunday, member parties of the Congress-led opposition INDIA bloc participated in a joint rally in Delhi. At the rally, which was primarily against the recent arrest of Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the liquor policy case, the speakers, including Gandhi, targeted the Centre’s Narendra Modi government for allegedly weakening the country’s democracy, and ‘fixing’ the polls.
(With PTI inputs)
