Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Oct 10: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s claim that President Droupadi Murmu accepted his allegations of “vote theft” has been rejected by sources, who described it as incorrect and expressed concern over the President being drawn into a political controversy.

“It is unfortunate that the President of India is being dragged into a controversy raised by the Opposition,” sources told reporters.

The remarks came after Gandhi claimed that President Murmu had not disputed the allegations of electoral malpractice raised by an opposition delegation during a meeting with her.

The BJP strongly criticised Gandhi’s statement, with party spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi describing the claim as “unfortunate and bizarre”.

“He is lying,” Trivedi said, accusing Gandhi of dragging constitutional institutions into political controversies. He alleged that the Congress leader was pursuing a pattern of targeting constitutional bodies for political purposes.

Trivedi said the claim that the President had accepted the allegations demonstrated what he described as Gandhi’s “malicious” approach towards constitutional institutions. He also suggested that someone outside the INDIA bloc delegation could clarify what had actually transpired during the meeting.

Referring to Gandhi’s remarks and the reactions of other leaders present, Trivedi said their body language and facial expressions raised questions about the accuracy of the account. He added that Gandhi’s claim appeared to be driven more by politics than by facts.

Following the meeting with the President, Gandhi said he had expected her to reject the allegations of “vote chori” and affirm that India had a free and fair electoral system. He claimed he was “shocked and stunned” that she had accepted what the opposition delegation told her.

Gandhi said the delegation had submitted a memorandum alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had conspired to undermine Indian democracy.

According to Gandhi, the President neither denied nor questioned the allegations during the interaction. He said she had asked the delegation to provide evidence of electoral malpractice.

Gandhi maintained that evidence of alleged “vote theft” was already known across the country, claiming that elections in several states had been compromised and that the 2024 general election had also been stolen.

He said the opposition was prepared to present the evidence it had collected to the President when she was ready to examine it.

The conflicting accounts of the meeting have triggered a political exchange between the Congress and the BJP, with the opposition leader defending his allegations and the ruling party questioning his version of the interaction.