Rahul blaming EC for poll defeats, running Congress like 'dictatorship': BJP's C R Kesavan
BJP national spokesperson C R Kesavan on Thursday accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of shifting the blame for his party's electoral defeats onto the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
In a video statement, Kesavan alleged that Gandhi was attacking the poll panel to avoid taking responsibility for the Congress' electoral setbacks.
"Rahul Gandhi is clutching at straws, trying to shift the blame on the SIR process and ECI for his staggering massive electoral defeats the Congress party has faced, for which Rahul Gandhi is responsible," he said.
Reacting to Gandhi's remarks on reported differences within the Election Commission, Kesavan said those who run their own party like a "dictatorship" could not understand dissent and differing views in democratic institutions.
"How can Rahul Gandhi and his family, who lord over the Congress party as if it were a dictatorship, even understand the concept of dissenting opinion and differing views in democratic institutions?" he asked.
Kesavan also criticised the Congress for relying on what he described as a "very lopsided article" on differences within the poll panel.
He claimed the Congress had been "fact-checked by the ECI's press release yesterday" and accused Gandhi of repeatedly targeting constitutional institutions.
"It is notable to observe that Rahul Gandhi till now has not summoned the courage to file an affidavit to substantiate his baseless allegation," Kesavan said.
He also referred to the Supreme Court's May 2026 judgment on the SIR conducted in Bihar, in which the court upheld the Election Commission's authority to conduct the exercise and found it constitutionally valid.
Kesavan questioned the Congress' opposition to the electoral-roll revision, asking why Gandhi was resisting what he called the "rightful removal of ineligible, illegal and bogus voters" from the rolls.
"Is it because Rahul Gandhi is stiff scared that it will severely affect Rahul Gandhi's vote bank politics of appeasement?" he asked.
The BJP spokesperson also alleged that Gandhi had consistently "maligned constitutional institutions", opposed the SIR process and "intimidated constitutional authorities".
He asserted that voters would not accept attempts to "vilify" constitutional bodies or what he described as "fake narratives" surrounding the electoral-roll revision.
