BJP calls Rahul Gandhi 'traitor' after his 'EC compromised' remark in US

The BJP on Monday (April 21) dubbed Rahul Gandhi a “traitor” for his alleged remarks against the Election Commission, and accused him of venting out his frustration over the Enforcement Directorate (ED) action in the National Herald case on the poll body.

Rahul, who is on a visit to the US, reportedly raised questions on the BJP-led coalition’s victory in the Maharashtra assembly polls and alleged that the Election Commission of India was compromised.

Also read: ED glare pushes Congress back to save-Constitution plank; 4000 rallies planned

There was no immediate reaction from the Congress to the BJP’s charge.

‘Open and shut case’

Flaying Gandhi over his remarks, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said, “You are venting the ire over the Enforcement Directorate's (action in the National Herald case) on the Election Commission. Nothing will happen by doing so.”

“The ED will not spare you because agencies work on the basis of facts and the National Herald matter is an open and shut case. You will not be spared. You and your mother will be caught with proceeds of crime and sent to jail,” he said at a press conference at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi.

Both Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi will go behind the bars in connection with the case, he asserted.

“You are a traitor, not just because you insult Indian institutions and Indian democracy on foreign soil but also because you and your mother have embezzled crores of rupees of the country in the National Herald case. You and your mother will not be able to get away with this,” Patra said.

What Rahul said?

Rahul cited the Maharashtra Assembly polls to allege that the Election Commission is “compromised” and “there is something wrong with the system”.

Addressing the Indian diaspora in Boston on Sunday, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha claimed that, in simple terms, more people voted in the Maharashtra Assembly elections than there are adults in the state.

“The Election Commission gave us a voting figure for 5:30 pm, and between 5:30 pm and 7:30 pm, 65 lakh voters voted. This is physically impossible to happen. For a voter to vote, it takes approx 3 minutes, and if you do the math, it would mean that there were lines of voters till 2 am, but this did not happen,” he said.

Also read: Modi govt trying to intimidate Congress through National Herald case: Kharge

“When we asked them for the videography, they not only refused but they also changed the law so that now we are not allowed to ask for the videography,” Rahul said. "It is very clear to us that the Election Commission is compromised, and it is very clear that there is something wrong with the system. I have said this multiple times,” he added.

ED chargesheet

The ED had recently filed a chargesheet against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and others before a special court in New Delhi in the National Herald case accusing them of allegedly laundering Rs 988 crore.

The prosecution complaint filed on April 9 under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) named Sonia Gandhi, a former Congress president, as the accused no 1, and her son and MP Rahul Gandhi, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, as accused no 2.

(With agency inputs)