Lucknow, Oct 17 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar on Saturday backed Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy’s remarks against Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, arguing that Opposition leaders should also resign from Parliament if they continue to question the Election Commission of India (ECI), under whose supervision they were elected.

Rajbhar’s remarks came amid the ongoing confrontation between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress-led INDIA bloc over allegations of ‘vote theft’ and irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

On Friday, Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy accused the Congress of creating an “anti-national ecosystem” and alleged that the party was promoting narratives that could undermine democratic institutions. He said that after facing several electoral defeats, “Rahul Gandhi and his party are now openly championing dangerous narratives of street-veto anarchy and unconstitutional regime change”.

Speaking to IANS, Rajbhar endorsed Reddy’s criticism and accused Rahul Gandhi of making irresponsible statements against the country. He also drew a comparison between the Congress leader and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, alleging that both leaders frequently change their positions and fail to stand by their own statements.

“He (Reddy) is right. Just as Akhilesh Yadav keeps acting on what others say and doesn’t stand by his own statements, Rahul Gandhi does the same. He acts irresponsibly, and all his actions are against the country,” Rajbhar said, backing Reddy’s remarks.

Taking his criticism further, the Uttar Pradesh minister questioned why Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav continued to remain Members of Parliament while challenging the credibility of the ECI, under whose supervision they had contested and won their respective elections.

“Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav have always questioned constitutional institutions. They became MPs under the same Election Commission they are now criticising. If they claim irregularities and vote theft are taking place, they should also resign, as they too won elections under the same system. However, they are backtracking on their resignations,” Rajbhar said.

The minister’s remarks came as the INDIA bloc continued its campaign against the ECI over allegations of irregularities in the electoral roll revision exercise.

Opposition leaders have repeatedly questioned the functioning of the poll body and demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

The ruling NDA, meanwhile, has accused the Opposition of making allegations without sufficient evidence and politicising the issue.

Rajbhar also launched a personal attack on Akhilesh Yadav over his political activities and social media posts, accusing the SP chief of having little to offer beyond criticising the government. He mocked Yadav’s routine of posting on social media and holding press conferences, suggesting that these activities had become his primary political engagement.

“Akhilesh Yadav wakes up at 12 o’clock and has to post on X. After that, he has to do PC. He has no other work,” Rajbhar said, using the remark to question the SP leader’s political priorities and approach to public issues.

The Uttar Pradesh minister also accused the Samajwadi Party, Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) of failing to protect the interests of the extremely backward classes.

“Everyone (SP, Congress, and BSP) has betrayed the extremely backward classes. In the Rajya Sabha elections, the Samajwadi Party did not have any leader from another caste. They gave one seat to a family and the other to a ‘Dhanna Seth’. They made it the ‘Parivar Development Authority’,” Rajbhar said.

–IANS

sd/skp