18 March,2024 12:17 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Rahul Gandhi speaking at a rally in Mumbai/ Team Mid-day
A recent comment by Rahul Gandhi, questioning the integrity of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) made during a rally at Mumbai's Shivaji Park, has ignited a heated exchange between the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha elections 2024.
BJP leader Nalin Kohli came down heavily on Gandhi and denounced his comments as an affront to the integrity of the Indian electorate. Kohli claimed that by throwing doubt on EVMs, the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi were insulting India's people, who had the authority to decide the country's future. According to Kohli, the Congress party's refusal to accept electoral results causes them to insult voters by challenging the trustworthiness of EVMs, reported ANI.
Kohli told ANI, "By raising these kind of allegations, the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi, in a way, are insulting the electorate of India. Its the electorate of India that determines India's destiny. They are the ones who blessed Prime Minister Modi on 2014, 2019 and clearly seem to be wanting to bless him for a third term, because Narendra Modi treats the entire nation as his family. The Prime Minister has one agenda, and that is to make India a developed country by 2047."
He further added, "They (Congress) are unable to digest the fact that the vote is not coming their way and hence they keep insulting the voters by speaking against the EVMs."
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The Gandhi scion on Sunday, during a rally of the INDIA bloc at Shivaji Park, raising concerns over EVMs' operation, has used the Hindi word 'Shakti' to highlight the Opposition's struggle against the might of the state, ANI report added,
"There is a word 'Shakti' (might) in Hindi. We are fighting against a Shakti (might of the state). The question is, what is that Shakti and what does it entail for us? The soul and integrity of EVMs have been traded to the King (Modi). This is a fact. Not just EVMs but every autonomous institution of the country, be it the ED, CBI or Income Tax department, have traded their spines to the Centre," the agency report quoted Gandhi as saying.
Reacting to this, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla accused the Congress MP of expressing 'misogynistic' views and claimed that the grand old party has a long history of Hindu hatred.
Poonawala told ANI, "A series of INDI alliance members have said that Hindu Dharma is fraud. Ramcharitmanas is potassium cyanide. Congress Party has a long history of Hindu hatred, from denying the existence of Lord Ram to making the statement about Shakti. The statement from Rahul Gandhi in front of Uddhav Thackeray shows to what extent they can fall. Today, this is not just an insult to the Hindu faith but shows the misogynistic mindset of Rahul Gandhi, who is against NariShakti and its manifestation."
