I.N.D.I.A. Bloc Rejects Rahul’s Leadership: BJP
“Leave the I.N.D.I.A. bloc aside; even Congress leaders and members of the party are not willing to accept Rahul Gandhi as their leader": BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan
NEW DELHI: The BJP on Wednesday claimed that the I.N.D.I.A. bloc was crumbling and its leaders had rejected Rahul Gandhi’s leadership after Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and several other leaders skipped an alliance meeting.
Union minister and senior BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan alleged that the bloc’s proposed marches were intended to save the “dynasty” of the Congress and its allies rather than democracy.
“Leave the I.N.D.I.A. bloc aside; even Congress leaders and members of the party are not willing to accept Rahul Gandhi as their leader. Rahul himself, during Congress Working Committee meetings, keeps pleading: ‘Accept me as your leader, trust me’,” Chouhan claimed.
His remarks came after I.N.D.I.A. bloc leaders met in New Delhi to finalise a joint agitation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
“Zero vision, 100 percent frustration, and advance excuse for poll defeats are the outcome of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc meet,” he said.
The proposed marches are scheduled from October 2 to October 8.
The DMK and AAP skipped the meeting, while Yadav did not attend because of nominations for Rajya Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh.
“The I.N.D.I.A. alliance fell apart even before the meeting took place. The DMK is not attending the meeting. Akhilesh is busy elsewhere. The AAP had already declined,” Chouhan said.
He also cited Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray’s decision to participate virtually as evidence of divisions in the alliance.
“Why is this happening? It is because the I.N.D.I.A. alliance is simply not willing to accept Rahul Gandhi-ji as its leader. His leadership is not being accepted; that is why they are not even showing up,” he alleged.
Chouhan claimed that repeated attempts to relaunch Gandhi had failed to secure his acceptance as the bloc’s leader.
“How can the country accept someone as a leader whom the Congress party itself does not?” he asked.
The minister also criticised the bloc’s opposition to the SIR.
“An accurate voter list is the soul of democracy, and if incorrect names are included in it, democracy will perish. I want to ask the Congress party what objection could you possibly have to the removal of the name of someone who is no longer alive from the voter list?” he said.
Stressing that accurate electoral rolls were essential for a “pristine democracy”, he asked: “What is the problem if a name is removed from one location in cases of duplication? Why should the name of someone who is not even a citizen of the country be included in the voter list?”