Press Trust of India

Rajnath dares Rahul to detonate ‘atom bomb of evidence’ against EC

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Cong leader claims it will send a ‘shockwave’

Patna/New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday dared Rahul Gandhi to detonate at once the “atom bomb of evidence of vote theft” which he claimed to have against the Election Commission even as the Congress leader said release of data collected by the party in Karnataka will send a ‘shockwave’ through the electoral system.

Gandhi repeated his claim made on Friday that the data to be released soon will be literally like an ‘atom bomb’ and escalated his offensive against the EC, alleging that the polling system in the country is “already dead” and the 2024 Lok Sabha election was “rigged”.

“In the coming few days, we are going to prove to you without any doubt how a Lok Sabha election can be rigged, and it was rigged,” he claimed at an event in Delhi. A protest by Gandhi has been planned in Bengaluru on August 5 against the alleged incidents of “vote theft”.

Amid the raging row over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, Gandhi, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, has alleged that elections are being “stolen” in the country and claimed that his party has figured out the modus operandi of “vote theft” by studying a parliamentary constituency in Karnataka.

Addressing a function in Patna organised by a media house, Singh slammed Gandhi for his claim.

“Rahul Gandhi says he is in possession of an atom bomb. If it is so, he should detonate it at once. He should just ensure that he is himself out of harm’s way”, said the former BJP president, tongue in cheek.

Gandhi had claimed that his party has an ‘atom bomb’ of evidence to prove “vote chori” by the EC for the BJP, remarks that evoked a sharp response from the poll panel.

The EC termed Gandhi’s remarks as “baseless and wild allegations”.

Singh also said the nation remembers his past rhetoric.

“He had threatened Parliament of an earthquake, but when he spoke, it turned out to be a damp squib”.

The Union minister said the Election Commission of India is an institution that enjoys a reputation for unquestionable integrity.

“It is pulling out all the stops to ensure that the upcoming assembly polls in Bihar are held in a free and fair manner. It does not behove the Leader of the Opposition to make frivolous statements about a constitutional body,” the BJP leader said.

Addressing the inaugural function of the day-long legal conclave on the theme ‘Constitutional Challenges: Perspectives and Pathways’ in Delhi, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the prime minister is sitting on his chair with a “thin majority” and had there been a difference of a few seats, he would have not been there.

He cited data collected by the Congress from an Assembly segment in a parliamentary constituency in Karnataka, where the party checked the photographs and names of electors physically and reportedly found out that 1.5 lakh votes were “fake” out of a total of 6.5 lakh voters.

“You will see the shockwave that is going to go through the electoral system when we release this data. It is literally like an atom bomb.”

“The truth is that the election system in India is already dead. Please remember one thing that the prime minister enjoys a very slim majority. If 10-15 seats were rigged, and we suspect the actual figures to be closer to 70-80 to 100, he would not have been the prime minister of the country,” Gandhi claimed.

Sharpening his attack on the EC, the former Congress chief said, “It’s very clear that the institution that protects this (Constitution), and defends it has been obliterated and taken over”.

Gandhi also said that he did not have the proof earlier and that is why he could not make such statements before.

“But, I am making this statement confidently now because I have 100 per cent proof. And, whoever I have shown it to has fallen off the chair. They literally said how can it be possible. But it is possible, it’s happening, literally,” he claimed.

Gandhi said he has been speaking about the election system as he always had a suspicion that there was something wrong.

“Right from 2014, I had a suspicion that there is something wrong, something is not adding up. I had suspicion about the Gujarat Assembly elections… About this ability to score sweeping victories. Congress doesn’t get a single seat in Rajasthan, doesn’t get a single seat in Madhya Pradesh, doesn’t get a single seat in Gujarat… This was surprising to me,” he said.

Responding to Gandhi’s ‘atom bomb’ of evidence claim against the EC on alleged poll irregularities, Karnataka BJP chief B Y Vijayendra said, “If they have an atom bomb, they can’t keep it in their pockets. If the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi have any proof, they should give it to the Election Commission of this country, or they can challenge it in the Supreme Court”.

“Rather than doing that, creating drama here in Bengaluru, Karnataka, is not going to help them. They should challenge it before the Supreme Court,” he added.

He announced that the party will protest against the Congress party’s “anti-constitutional attitude” in Bengaluru on August 5, on the same day of Gandhi’s protest at the Freedom park.

Terming the attitude of the Congress party “totally unconstitutional”, Vijayendra said that the BJP has taken this matter very seriously.

“They have lost faith in democracy. They have lost faith in constitutional bodies. They are accusing Election Commission. Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar have also joined their voices. So my direct question is if at all… if there are any allegations, how did the Congress party come to power here in Karnataka? How did they win all three by-elections?” he asked while talking to reporters in Bengaluru.

The BJP leader said if the Election Commission can be “manipulated” as being claimed, then how did Congress win elections in Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka?

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