BJP accuses Congress chief of undermining constitutional institutions

India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has accused Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge of insulting constitutional institutions and the people’s electoral mandate. Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan made the accusation in a statement on Saturday after Kharge described Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah as “illegal”, according to The Hindu. Chouhan said Kharge’s remarks reflected Congress’s frustration after electoral defeats.

He alleged that the party repeatedly attacked democracy, the Election Commission, electronic voting machines and election results when voters rejected it. The BJP minister questioned whether Congress considered democracy legitimate only when it or the Gandhi family was in power. He also pointed to Congress victories in Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh, saying the party had not questioned electronic voting machines in those contests.

Chouhan defended the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023. He said it had been passed by both Houses of Parliament and included the Leader of the Opposition in the selection committee. He accused earlier Congress governments of appointing election commissioners without a law or transparent selection process, an allegation presented in the statement without a response from Congress.

Chouhan also defended the revision of electoral rolls, describing the removal of duplicate or false entries and the addition of eligible voters as a continuing statutory process. He said the Supreme Court had repeatedly upheld the reliability and fairness of electronic voting machines.