Hyderabad: Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy on Friday rejected the Rahul Gandhi vote chori allegations and defended the Election Commission’s role in elections. His remarks followed Gandhi’s renewed allegations over the electoral process and the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Gandhi had also targeted the Election Commission over the issue.
Reddy accused the Congress leader of questioning constitutional institutions whenever his party faced electoral setbacks. Moreover, he turned the criticism towards Congress and cited political defections in Telangana. Reddy claimed 10 MLAs elected on other party tickets later joined Congress after it formed the state government.
He described those defections as the “real vote chori”. He also referred to the Supreme Court’s decision in the Danam Nagender disqualification case. The court upheld the Telangana High Court judgment disqualifying Nagender as Khairatabad MLA.
Rahul Gandhi vote chori charge draws SIR response
Reddy also responded to Gandhi’s criticism of the Special Intensive Revision process. He cited election outcomes in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal while disputing claims that the exercise favoured the BJP.
Meanwhile, Reddy defended the Election Commission as an independent constitutional body. He argued that Congress had opportunities to raise objections over electoral rolls during the prescribed process.
Gandhi had recently intensified his criticism of the Election Commission and repeated allegations of electoral irregularities. The Election Commission, however, maintained that its decisions concerning the SIR process had the approval of all three commissioners.
In addition, Reddy criticised Gandhi’s remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He accused Congress of repeatedly casting doubt on institutions, including the Election Commission, judiciary and investigating agencies.
Reddy said political allegations should not undermine confidence in India’s electoral process. He added that voters would ultimately judge political claims through elections.