Union Minister Kishan Reddy hits out at Rahul Gandhi over ‘vote chori’ allegations
Hyderabad, Sept 25 (TNT): Union Minister for Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy on Friday criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his allegations of “vote chori”, questioning his criticism of the Election Commission and other constitutional institutions.
In a post on X, Reddy said Gandhi trusted the Election Commission only when the Congress won elections and alleged that he described the poll panel as part of a conspiracy at other times.
Reddy also criticised Gandhi for his remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah and said political leaders elected by the people should not be described in such terms.
The Union Minister referred to the Supreme Court’s September 24 decision upholding the disqualification of Telangana MLA Danam Nagender under the anti-defection law. The Supreme Court upheld the Telangana High Court’s decision and declared the Khairatabad Assembly seat vacant.
Reddy alleged that 10 MLAs elected on other party tickets had subsequently joined the Congress in Telangana and described the defections as “vote chori”.
He also alleged that one of the MLAs later contested the Lok Sabha election on a Congress ticket.
On Gandhi’s allegations concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Reddy cited electoral outcomes in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal and questioned the Congress’ contention that the exercise was intended to benefit the BJP.
Gandhi has repeatedly alleged irregularities in the electoral process and has demanded action against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. On September 24, he reiterated his allegations of “vote chori, kanoon chori and sanstha chori” and questioned the functioning of the Election Commission.
Reddy defended the Election Commission as an independent constitutional body and said the government had not interfered in its functioning.
He also referred to the Congress’ past positions on Election Commissioners and cited former Chief Election Commissioners M S Gill and T N Seshan in his criticism of the party’s allegations regarding the independence of the poll panel.
Reddy said the Congress had booth-level representatives and opportunities to raise objections to electoral rolls and questioned Gandhi’s decision not to make his allegations on oath.
He further criticised Gandhi’s comparison of India’s electoral process with elections in countries such as Iraq and North Korea and said voters did not require Gandhi’s “certificate” to have confidence in their vote.
The remarks come amid an escalating political dispute between the Congress and the Election Commission over electoral-roll revision and Gandhi’s allegations of irregularities in the electoral process.
TNT TS
