Congress president Rahul Gandhi launched a fresh attack on the Election Commission just as theLok Sabha polls ended on Sunday, alleging that it had yielded to the ruling BJP despite having the constitutional responsibility of providing a level playing field to all political parties.
“From electoral bonds and EVMs to manipulating the election schedule, NaMo TV, Modi’s Army & now the drama in Kedarnath; the Election Commission’s capitulation before Mr Modi & his gang is obvious to all Indians. The EC used to be feared & respected. Not anymore,” Rahul Gandhi tweeted.
Through the course of the elections, many opposition leaders – including Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president Chandrababu Naidu and Rahul Gandhi himself – accused the poll body of going easy on the BJP. It was also accused of giving clean chits to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah despite “irrefutable evidence” of poll code violations.
Soon after Rahul Gandhi’s tweet emerged, Congress leader P Chidambaram hit the social media platform to air his grievances against the poll body too. “Our charge had been that the Election Commission was sleeping on the job. Now, we can go further and say that it completely surrendered its independence and authority. Shame!” he tweeted.