Rahul Gandhi In Germany Doubles Down On 'Vote Chori' Allegations, Says 'Assault Taking Place...', BJP Fumes

Addressing the Hertie School on the topic “Politics Is the Art of Listening,” Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, alleged that an “assault is taking place on the institutional framework” of India. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) reacted sharply to the Congress leader’s remarks.

Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, while addressing a lecture in Berlin, Germany, doubled down on the "vote theft" allegations on the Central government of India. He claimed that his party won the Haryana Assembly elections in 2024 and also stated that the Maharashtra Assembly elections in 2024 "were not fair."

Rahul Gandhi said that Congress did not receive a "response" from the Election Commission of India (ECI) when the issue was flagged.

The Congress leader is on a five-day visit to Germany. Meanwhile, addressing the Hertie School on "Politics Is The Art Of Listening," Rahul Gandhi also alleged that there is an "assault taking place on the institutional framework" of India. 

"We have won elections in Telangana and Himachal Pradesh. We have been raising issues as far as the fairness of elections in India is concerned. I have done press conferences in India where we have clearly shown, without a shadow of a doubt, that we won the Haryana election and that we don't feel the Maharashtra elections were fair. There is a full-scale assault taking place on the institutional framework of our country. We asked direct questions to the Election Commission," the Congress MP said. 

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"A Brazilian woman was there on the voting list 22 times in Haryana... We did not get a response. We fundamentally believe that there is a problem with the electoral machinery in India," he added.

The Lok Sabha LoP also alleged that the Centre has "weaponised" the investigating agencies, suggesting a quid pro quo in which businessmen in India financially support the BJP rather than Opposition parties.

He added, "There is a wholesale capture of our institutional framework. Our intelligence agencies, ED and CBI, have been weaponised. ED and CBI have zero cases against the BJP, and most of the political cases are against the people who oppose them."

Rahul Gandhi said, "There is an attack on the democratic system. We have to find ways to counter this. We will create a system of opposition resistance that will succeed. We are not fighting the BJP, but their capture of the Indian institutional structure."

BJP Reacts To Rahul Gandhi's Address In Germany 

After Rahul Gandhi's address in Germany, Union Minister of State and BJP leader Shobha Karandlaje slammed the remarks and called the Lok Sabha LoP "an anti-India leader".

Speaking with ANI, BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje questioned the "aim" of the Lok Sabha leader for "speaking against the nation" and said that he "still behaves like a child."

"Rahul Gandhi is not the Leader of Opposition but an anti-India leader who goes abroad and speaks against the nation. What does he aim to gain by doing this? He still behaves like a child, not a leader," Shobha Karandlaje said.

BJP Spokesperson Shahzad Poonawalla said, "Rahul Gandhi said that one woman has voted 200 times in the Haryana elections. He didn't say that her name emerged 200 times; he said she had voted 200 times. He also said that a woman called Shakun Rani voted twice... I want to challenge Rahul Gandhi to give out the details of the woman and how she voted 200 times..."

The LoP in Lok Sabha has been consistently levelling "vote theft" allegations on the Centre, accusing it of "rigging" elections by voter list manipulation.

(with ANI inputs)