Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is presently in the US and addressing the Indian diaspora, the media and university students. At Georgetown University in Washington DC, he questioned the credibility of our Election Commission and raised doubts about the EC’s neutrality. Rahul gave the impression that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were not held in a free and fair manner. He went to the extent of saying that the EC is a BJP-controlled election commission, which tilted in favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP.
These are some of his remarks: “I don’t see it as a free election. I see it as a heavily controlled election… I don’t believe that in a fair election, the BJP would come anywhere near 240 seats… BJP had a huge financial advantage… The Election Commission was doing what they wanted. The entire campaign was structured so that Mr Modi could carry out his agenda across the country, with different designs for different states… The Congress party fought the elections with their bank accounts frozen and has basically destroyed the idea of Modi. You can see it because when you see the Prime Minister now in Parliament, he is psychologically trapped, and he basically cannot come to terms, he cannot understand how this has happened.”
At an Indian diaspora event in Virginia, Rahul Gandhi asked a Sikh Indian present in the audience about his name and religion, and said, “The fight is about whether he, as a Sikh, is going to be allowed to wear a turban in India; or whether, he, as a Sikh, will be allowed to wear a kada in India; or whether he, as a Sikh, is allowed to go to a Gurudwara. That’s what the fight is about, and not just for him, but for all religions”. Naturally, Rahul’s remarks about Sikhs drew immediate condemnations in India, with Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri reminding him of what happened to Sikhs during 1984 under Congress rule.
Rahul Gandhi has every right to criticise and oppose Narendra Modi. It is his right as Leader of Opposition. Nobody should have any objection to it, but trying to discredit our Constitutional institutions on foreign soil is not acceptable. Speaking about communal disharmony is not a good sign. I think, Rahul Gandhi should avoid childishness and speak with responsibility as a Leader of the Opposition. Instead of insulting Constitutional institutions, he should accept the power of the people and the mandate given by the voters. For how long will he continue giving explanation about why he lost his third bid for power?
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