New Delhi [India], October 4 (ANI): BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi on Sunday hit out at Congress over its criticism of the electoral process, saying the party cannot blame India’s electoral system for its own electoral failures and alleged that it benefited when elections were marred by booth capturing, ballot paper looting and violence.
Addressing a press conference, Trivedi said Congress was attempting to question the legitimacy of the electoral system out of frustration over its repeated electoral defeats.
“The government formed in 2014, the first non-Congress government in India’s history to secure a clear majority, is being labelled ‘illegal’ by you. The Congress cannot defend itself by blaming India’s electoral system for its own failures,” Trivedi said.
He alleged that Congress historically won elections when electoral malpractices were prevalent and said the party’s electoral fortunes changed as the process became more transparent.
“The reality is that the Congress historically won elections only when illegal practices were rampant–when ballot papers were looted, booths were captured, and there were no CCTVs or independent media,” he said.
“As long as illegal activities–such as booth capturing, ballot box looting, and murders–prevailed, Congress remained in power. It is only since elections became legal and transparent that power has been slipping out of your hands. The frustration stemming from this loss of power is evident in your statements,” he added.
Trivedi also questioned Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s remarks on the electoral process and alleged that Congress should examine its own internal democratic processes before questioning the legitimacy of elections in the country.
“Congress should take a look at its own actions and… This is an insult to the mandate of the 140 crore people of this country. And Congress party should apologise for this insult,” he said.
He also cited the electoral decline of the Congress in several states, saying the party had lost significant ground across Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat and Odisha over the decades.
“Add them all up, it comes to 228. As of the first sunrise of the 21st century, you’re at almost zero out of 228 seats. You aren’t even close to hitting double digits. So why are you dreaming that you’ll get 272 out of 300 seats?” Trivedi said.
He further referred to violence during elections in Bihar and alleged that electoral malpractices had been prevalent during earlier polls.
“In the 1985 Bihar elections, there were probably 83 murders, 67 murders. In 1990, there were 83 murders. In the 1995 Bihar elections, the voting had to be stopped four times and shifted because of murders,” he said.
He also referred to the 1989 election in Amethi, saying, “Even back in 1989 during Rajiv Gandhi ji’s election, bullets were fired in Amethi.”
Trivedi made the remarks amid a political row over the functioning of the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Opposition parties have alleged irregularities in the revision exercise and questioned the independence of the poll panel.
The issue gained further traction following The Indian Express report that Election Commissioners Vivek Joshi and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu had recorded objections 14 times over key files in the last 10 months regarding decisions and procedures related to the SIR exercise and other electoral matters.
The reported objections included issues concerning Form 6, voter deletions and access to electoral-roll databases.
The Election Commission, however, rejected the suggestion that the reported objections amounted to institutional dissent over final decisions.
The poll panel said that operational queries, inputs and suggestions raised during the draft stage were part of its standard administrative and decision-making process. ECI stated that the decisions regarding the schedule of the SIR exercise were unanimous. (ANI)
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