If there was theft, BJP’s seats would not have decreased from 303 to 240: OP Rajbhar

Uttar Pradesh Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar criticised Opposition parties over their protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, questioning allegations surrounding the Election Commission. Other BJP leaders also attacked the Opposition, while the poll panel maintained that SIR decisions were unanimous

New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar on Friday hit out at the Opposition over its protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, saying that the Opposition parties were only looking for an excuse in the name of the Election Commission.

Reacting to the protest, Rajbhar said, “These people are just looking for an excuse in the name of the Election Commission. They should know that in 2019, the Bharatiya Janata Party won 303 seats. After Gyanesh Kumar came, it came down to 240. If there was theft, would it have increased or decreased?”

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He further said, “And secondly, before 2014, the entire system was under the control of Congress. So, did Congress get the Election Commission to commit irregularities and make Modi ji the Prime Minister?”

Rajbhar’s remarks came amid the Opposition’s continued criticism of Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Opposition parties have been demanding his resignation over the issue.

Speaking on the Opposition’s protest against the CEC, Bihar Minister Ram Kripal Yadav said that the Opposition had no faith in democratic and constitutional institutions.

“The people in the Opposition have no faith in democracy. They also have no faith in constitutional institutions. These are people who are murderers of democracy and do not believe in the Constitution. The Election Commission is a constitutional institution, and Gyanesh Kumar is heading it,” he said.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Minister Dilip Ghosh criticised the Congress over the protest. “As the winter session of Parliament approaches, Congress MPs sit outside and inside Parliament, basking in the sun. Others also join them. This will continue for a month, two months or even three months during winter, with them sitting in the sun. This is how the Congress conducts its publicity campaigns,” Ghosh said.

The Opposition parties have been criticising Gyanesh Kumar over the SIR of electoral rolls and demanding his resignation after it was reported by a section of media that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections on at least 14 occasions over 10 months to decisions and orders, some of which they said were issued without their knowledge.

The Election Commission, however, has clarified that the three-member Commission had taken all decisions, including those relating to the SIR, unanimously.