The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi's press conference on Wednesday regarding the alleged "vote chori" in Haryana, drew a strong response from the in-power Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). Union Minister Kiren Rijiju advised the Congress leader to discuss "serious issues."
Rijiju held a presser, reacting sharply to Gandhi's allegations. He brought up Minta Devi, whose photograph was used by Gandhi in his previous press conference. Rijiju stated that Minta Devi scolded Congress for it.
The Union Minister said, "It clearly shows there is nothing left for him in Bihar, so to divert attention, he is now bringing up the issue of Haryana. He has also made a presentation about irrelevant matters. I don't want to go into that, because it was all fake. He even mentioned the name of a foreign woman."
Adding, "During elections, he goes abroad; during Parliament sessions, he secretly visits places like Cambodia and Thailand. Now, during the Bihar elections, he went to Colombia. So, when he goes abroad, he brings back certain ideas from there, gives them to his team, and they prepare these baseless narratives, wasting everyone's time. Politicians should address serious issues, rather than engaging in such futile matters. This is my first suggestion to him."
He further accused Rahul Gandhi of being "in collusion with anti-India forces", and the games he is playing will "never succeed." Additionally, alleging that Gandhi is trying to provoke Gen-Z, but "the youth of this country is wise, and stands by PM Narendra Modi."
Rijiju said, "Rahul Gandhi says that the atom bomb is going to explode, but why doesn't his atom bomb ever explode? He doesn't take any subject seriously and even says that a hydrogen bomb will explode."
Another BJP leader, Radhika Khera, countered Gandhi's charge about a "Brazilian woman" taking a dig at "voting by an Italian woman", referring to the latter's mother, Sonia Gandhi.
Taking to X, Khera wrote in Hindi, "A vote was also cast in Hindustan by an 'Italian' woman. Do you know her name?"
In his "H-Files", Gandhi alleged "duplicate, fake, and bulk" voting in the Haryana Assembly elections in 2024, which was won by the BJP, with his "next big set of proofs", claiming that the Election Commission is "working at the behest of the ruling BJP to steal votes."
Just a day before the Bihar elections (on November 6), Gandhi held a press conference at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi, where he urged, "I want Gen-Z to take this seriously, because your future is being taken away from you."
Further, he claimed that there were "25 lakh fake voters in Haryana". Gandhi cited an example of a Brazilian model, whose photo is used to register as a voter across various booths.
He said, "With 2 crore total voters in the state, the key victory margin for the BJP in eight segments in the 2024 Haryana Assembly elections was around 22,000."
Adding, "This means, one in eight voters in Haryana is fake, that is 12.5%. This tells you that when the margin was 22,000, 25 lakh was just this. Why eight segments? Haryana has 90 seats, of which the BJP won 48 to make history and form the government for a third consecutive term. The Congress fell short of the midway mark of 45 by eight seats, securing 37, despite exit polls indicating a significant edge."
Presenting some evidence, Gandhi showed a photo used for 223 votes, while another individual voted 22 times across 10 booths in the Haryana polls.
