Bengaluru, Aug 8 (IANS) BJP leader R. Ashoka on Friday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for the latter’s “election fraud” claim and called it a damp squib.
Addressing a press conference here, Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly Ashoka said: “There is no role of Prime Minister Narendra Modi or BJP leaders in the preparation of the voter list. Therefore, Rahul Gandhi’s claims are nothing but a damp squib.”
“In the recent Lok Sabha elections, Congress appointed Booth Level Agents (BLAs). The first copy of the voter list was handed over to the BLA, appointed by KPCC President D.K. Shivakumar. It is the responsibility of the BLA to remove the names of deceased voters and add new eligible voters. If so, has Congress done no wrong?” he questioned.
When D.K. Shivakumar had the voter list with him, why were no objections raised about any irregularities at that time?” Ashoka said.
“In some states, Congress leaders were arrested for creating bogus votes. In one small house in Gandhinagar, Bengaluru, there are 18 Muslim voters registered. How is it possible to have so many voters at one address? The moment they lose, Congress blames the Election Commission,” he said.
“The Lok Sabha election in 2024 was held just a year after the 2023 Assembly elections. Naturally, some new voters registered during that period. I received 57,000 votes in Padmanabhanagar. I was supposed to get 20,000 more, but Muslims were brought in from other areas and registered here,” Ashoka claimed.
He questioned, “When the entire system is under the Congress government, how is malpractice possible? “
The leader claimed that in the past, when Congress was in power at the Centre, “bogus voting” was common and ballot boxes were “stolen”.
“Indira Gandhi once won an election through malpractice and was later disqualified. That hasn’t happened to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Gandhi family has a history of electoral misconduct. All of them have won elections by illegal means,” Ashoka alleged.
–IANS
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