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Piyush Goyal targets Rahul Gandhi over election commissioner row (Img: Dynamite News)
New Delhi: The BJP on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on the Congress amid protests against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral irregularities and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. The party accused the Congress of rewarding election commissioners who allegedly favoured it during previous governments.
Addressing a press conference, Union Minister Piyush Goyal accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of displaying “double standards” over the protests and allegations of “vote chori”. JD(U) leader Rajeev Ranjan Singh was also present at the briefing.
Defending the Narendra Modi government’s approach to appointing election commissioners, Goyal said the current system offered greater transparency and ensured a more consultative selection process.
“In last couple of days we are seeing Rahul Gandhi’s double standards and childish behavior. All election commissioners under PM Modi have worked independently," Goyal said.
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“Now you look at the track record of Rahul Gandhi. During their time, they have given poll tickets to ECs. They pitted TN Seshan against LK Advani. They gave Padma Vibhushan to MS Gill. They rewarded all those ECs who favored them," the BJP leader added.
Goyal cited the appointment of former Chief Election Commissioner RK Trivedi as Gujarat Governor in 1986, alleging that previous governments made appointments unilaterally, without consulting other stakeholders.
“RK Trivedi in 1986 was made Governor of Gujarat. Previously, the government used to make the appointments unilaterally. There was no consultation or dialogue with anyone involved. Whoever the government chose was appointed to the Election Commission, whoever they desired was made the Chief," he remarked.
The Union Minister also highlighted the 2023 law governing the appointment of election commissioners, under which the Leader of the Opposition is a member of the selection committee.
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“It was PM Narendra Modi’s government that introduced a new law in 2023 under this legislation, the Leader of the Opposition was made a member of the selection committee, and now, the Leader of the Opposition sits alongside the Prime Minister to make the selection. Naveen Chawla was made CEC because he favored Congress when he was EC. I want to ask 10 questions to Rahul Gandhi," Goyal added.
The BJP’s remarks came amid the continuing political confrontation over the Election Commission, with the Congress raising concerns over alleged electoral irregularities and the SIR exercise.
