Rahul’s double standards exposed as Congress MLA praises SIR: BJP

The BJP on Thursday hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of “double standards” after an MLA from his party in Kerala reportedly praised the SIR process for “removing a large number of fake voters”.

In a post on social media, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan has “exposed” Gandhi’s “lies” on SIR.

“Congress has exposed Congress. Congress’s MLA in Kerala has said SIR was very good because it cut out fake voters created by the Left and helped the Congress party. That is why the Congress party does not speak against SIR, the Election Commission or EVMs in Kerala,” he said, sharing a video clip of Kuzhalnadan.

In the video shared by Poonawalla, Kuzhalnadan was purportedly heard saying that the “SIR process removed a lot of fake voters in some constituencies at least managed by CPM. So, that also helped us”.

Accusing Gandhi of electoral opportunism, Poonawalla said the Congress leader was making “hit-and-run allegations” to provide himself an alibi for his “99th defeat”.

“Just look at the opportunism. In Kerala, SIR appears acceptable to them because they won there. In Tamil Nadu too, SIR seems fine. But in Bengal, they want to use it as an excuse. This is Rahul Gandhi’s conditional approach to the Constitution, and even his own party leaders do not take him seriously,” he said.

In the April 9 assembly elections, the Congress-led United Democratic Front secured a decisive victory, winning 102 seats in the 140-member House, while the Left Democratic Front won 35 seats. The BJP won three seats.

Poonawalla claimed that anti-incumbency was evident in West Bengal as well and alleged that Gandhi later changed his stand to blame SIR for electoral setbacks.

“In Bengal too, it is evident that there was an anti-incumbency effect. Rahul Gandhi himself had made a video while going to Nicobar. But after that he changed his tune because you need somebody or something to blame in order to save yourself. So, he is blaming SIR in Bengal, but not in Kerala.

“In fact, he is hailing SIR in Kerala. This shows the double standards and opportunism of the Congress party,” he said. 

He also took a swipe at the Congress leader, saying no one takes him seriously for repeatedly making such claims without providing evidence in court.

“Rahul Gandhi also raised the SIR issue in Bihar. There too, their argument did not stand in the Supreme Court. Even there, Congress leaders said SIR was not an issue. SIR is merely an excuse to shield themselves from repeated electoral defeats,” he said.