New Delhi, Aug 9 (IANS) BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia on Saturday launched a sharp attack on Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of “threatening constitutionally-mandated bodies” and “spreading lies” about the Election Commission of India (ECI) in a manner detrimental to Indian democracy.

Addressing a Press conference at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, Bhatia said, “The image Rahul Gandhi has built over the last decade is one of an anarchist. He always tries to destroy constitutionally-mandated institutions and raises questions on independent bodies. His August 7 Press conference, where he attacked the Election Commission, is another attempt to demolish India’s democratic institutions. Does it befit the Leader of Opposition to threaten a constitutional body?”

Bhatia was referring to LoP Gandhi’s recent remarks warning of “consequences” for EC officers if the Congress comes to power.

“He is threatening democratic bodies. His modus operandi is simple — when they lose elections, they blame EVMs, VVPATs, the Election Commission, or even the public. But he never files a formal complaint,” Bhatia alleged.

He further claimed that LoP Gandhi spreads “falsehoods” without taking the oath required for lodging an official complaint, which could be pursued legally.

“Such baseless allegations create unrest and spread hatred,” he said. Countering LoP Gandhi’s charge that the EC does not share the digital voter list, Bhatia said, “As far as I know, all such lists are available on the EC website.”

He also rejected the Congress MP’s statement that CCTV footage of polling booths had been destroyed. “By law, video footage is preserved for 45 days. If he is certain of partiality, he can petition the court to preserve it for longer,” he said.

Bhatia accused LoP Gandhi of giving contradictory figures on voter list increases in Maharashtra. “Sometimes he says 70 lakh voters increased, sometimes 39 lakh, and now one crore. But as per official EC data, the increase was 40 lakh,” Bhatia claimed, adding that such misinformation was being spread just months before the Bihar elections.

–IANS

sas/rad