Kiren Rijiju Challenges Congress with Five Key Questions on Election Integrity
Kiren Rijiju confronts Congress with five questions regarding election integrity and accountability amidst ongoing allegations of vote manipulation.
New Delhi, October 31 (Daily Kiran) : Central Minister Kiren Rijiju has launched a significant attack on the Congress party concerning allegations of vote theft and the integrity of the Election Commission. He took to the social media platform X to challenge Congress to answer five critical questions.
In his post, Rijiju stated, “I challenge the Congress party to respond to these fundamental questions.”
His first question addressed the circumstances surrounding the 2014 Lok Sabha elections: How did Congress manage to secure only 44 seats when the election commissioners were appointed during their government?
The second question pointed to the upcoming 2024 elections, asking how Congress faced defeat for the third consecutive time when Gyanesh Kumar was not the Chief Election Commissioner.
Rijiju’s third inquiry questioned whether current Congress chief ministers would resign and apologize for their failures in forming governments from 2014 to 2026.
The fourth question addressed the electoral rolls, asking if illegal immigrants, deceased individuals, those who have moved, or duplicate names should be removed from the voter list.
Finally, he asked if the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) processes conducted in various years, including 1952-56 and 2002-2004, were illegal.
In his post, Rijiju accused the Congress party of attempting to undermine the Constitution and Indian democracy in collusion with external forces.
This challenge comes amid protests from Congress and the INDIA bloc against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The opposition alleges that he has compromised the autonomy of the Election Commission and engaged in “vote theft.”
Opposition leaders claim that the SIR process has been misused to arbitrarily remove voters’ names and shift them from one booth to another in favor of the ruling party.
Congress leaders assert that Gyanesh Kumar and the Election Commission are operating under the influence of the Prime Minister and Home Minister, thereby weakening the constitutional independence of the electoral body.
Additionally, opposition figures allege that Kumar made significant decisions without the approval of other election commissioners and provided false statements to the Supreme Court.
In response, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi have put forth three demands: the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the annulment of the SIR process, and a complete shift from electronic voting machines to paper ballots for voting.
