Boston/New Delhi, Apr 21: The Election Commission is “compromised”, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged at an event in the US as he attacked the poll panel citing turnout figures in the Maharashtra election, drawing a strong reaction from the BJP which called him a “traitor”.
Gandhi noted that he had been raising the issue earlier also and alleged that “there is something wrong with the system”.
However, the BJP linked his criticism to the Enforcement Directorate’s action in the National Herald case, alleging he had not only “insulted” the country’s institutions on foreign soil but had also indulged in corruption, and said he and his mother will be “sent to jail” for “embezzlement”.
Gandhi arrived in the US on Saturday and made the remarks at an event in Boston on Sunday.
The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha claimed that, in simple terms, more people voted in the Maharashtra assembly elections than there were adults in the state.
“The Election Commission gave us a voting figure for 5:30 pm, and between 5:30 pm and 7:30 pm, 65 lakh voters voted. This is physically impossible to happen. For a voter to vote, it takes approximately three minutes, and if you do the math, it would mean that there were lines of voters till 2 am, but this did not happen,” he said.
“When we asked them for the videography, they not only refused but also changed the law so that now we are not allowed to ask for the videography,” Gandhi said.
“It is very clear to us that the Election Commission is compromised, and it is very clear that there is something wrong with the system. I have said this multiple times,” he said.
The BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP coalition Mahayuti had trounced the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance of the Congress, NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) in the Maharashtra polls in November last year.
Taking exception to Gandhi’s remarks against the Election Commission, BJP MP and national spokesperson Sambit Patra alleged that Gandhi was venting his ire over the Enforcement Directorate’s action in the National Herald case on the Election Commission.
“Nothing will happen by doing so. The ED will not spare you because agencies work on the basis of facts and the National Herald matter is an open and shut case.
“You will not be spared. You and your mother will be caught with proceeds of crime and sent to jail,” he said at a press conference at the BJP headquarters in Delhi.
Both Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi will be behind bars in connection with the case, he asserted.
“You are a traitor, not just because you insult Indian institutions and Indian democracy on foreign soil but also because you and your mother have embezzled crores of rupees of the country in the National Herald case. You and your mother will not be able to get away with this,” Patra said.
The ED had recently filed a chargesheet against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others before a special court in New Delhi in the National Herald case accusing them of allegedly laundering Rs 988 crore.
The prosecution complaint filed on April 9, under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), named former Congress presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi as accused no 1 and 2 respectively.
Rahul Gandhi arrived in Boston on Saturday night and began his interactions with the business and Indian community members. He will visit Brown University in Rhode Island on April 21-22.
At Brown University, Gandhi will give a talk and interact with faculty members and students. (PTI)
