Congress protest against Election Commission merely a political stunt, says Raj BJP chief Rathore

Jaipur: Rajasthan Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Madan Rathore on Thursday criticised the Congress' protest against the Election Commission (EC) in Delhi, saying the incident appeared to be a case of "Election Commission versus Congress Party".

Rathore said that if the Congress had any grievance against the Election Commission, it should have followed the established procedure by seeking an appointment and meeting the Commission with a delegation.

He added that Congress leaders were well aware that such protests would not yield any results, yet they were staging them merely to remain in newspaper headlines and on news channels.

He said that there is a prescribed procedure for raising complaints before the Election Commission and that a delegation of five to seven people could seek an appointment with Commission officials and present its concerns.

"Instead, staging a protest with 300–400 people is nothing more than a political gimmick and an attempt to garner media attention," Rathore added.

He said that such protests would neither lead to action against the Election Commissioner (Gyanesh Kumar) nor have any impact on the electoral process.

According to Rathore, the Congress was merely trying to project itself as an active Opposition party.

The State BJP Chief also alleged that through such protests, the Congress was attempting to create confusion and provoke the public.

He said the Congress should place its faith in democratic and constitutional institutions and present its concerns through established procedures.

Questioning the conduct of Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Rathore added that the media should condemn his behaviour towards a female police officer.

He said it was inappropriate for the leader of a national political party (referring to Rahul Gandhi) to behave in such a manner with a woman police officer.

Rathore specifically criticised the act of placing a hand on the female officer's back and questioned whether Rahul Gandhi should not observe propriety and decorum.

"Leaders in public life are expected to conduct themselves with dignity and decorum. Such behaviour towards a female police officer reflects a lack of proper upbringing and respect for boundaries," the BJP leader said.

Addressing Congress leaders' claims of unity, Rathore added that only those who harbour doubts feel the need to repeatedly assert, "We are all one."

He alleged that Congress leaders were merely coming together for photo opportunities and said that people who genuinely have no differences of opinion or personal animosity do not need to repeatedly demonstrate their unity.

Rathore said the true state of affairs within the Congress was becoming evident through the statements and activities of its leaders.

Referring to an incident involving Congress leader Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Sachin Pilot, the BJP leader added that Randhawa had asked Pilot to make a statement and, after Pilot declined, there was talk of forcibly bringing him in.

He asked whether Congress leaders considered Sachin Pilot a child and said senior party leaders should instead be treated with dignity and their autonomy should be respected.

Rathore also alleged that attempts were being made to create instability in India and claimed that there could be a foreign conspiracy behind such efforts, with some domestic leaders allegedly acting as "puppets of foreign powers".

He urged the people of India to remain vigilant against what he described as attempts to undermine the country's unity, integrity and democratic institutions.

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