Bengaluru, Aug 12 (IANS) The Congress party has expelled the ST leader for speaking the truth, which is highly condemnable, stated Union Minister for Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Prahlad Joshi.

Speaking to the media in New Delhi on Tuesday, Joshi said that in Karnataka, K.N. Rajanna is a senior leader from the ST community. Regarding Rahul Gandhi’s “vote theft” allegation, Rajanna spoke the truth. It is precisely for that reason he has now been expelled, Joshi claimed.

Removing Rajanna from the ministership in the Congress government is an example of Rahul Gandhi’s arrogance, Joshi alleged. “What mistake has Rajanna made? The entire Congress party should introspect on this,” he said.

“On Rahul Gandhi’s vote theft allegation, Rajanna had stated, during the Lok Sabha election preparations in Karnataka, our government was in power. From the district commissioners to the assistant commissioners, all the officers were our people. We should have been the ones monitoring the voter list given by the Election Commission. What is wrong with this statement?” he said.

K.N. Rajanna is a 72-year-old veteran and a powerful politician from the ST community. Expelling such a person is an example of how the Congress party treats Dalits and honest people, he said.

“Regarding the vote theft allegation, all Rahul Gandhi has is a bundle of lies, not documents given by the State Chief Electoral Officer. Rahul Gandhi has lied to the people of the country. In Karnataka, the Election Commission issued a draft voter list on October 27 and gave the final voter list in January. Yet, the Congress party did not file a single objection. All candidates and party members accepted it,” Joshi said.

Rahul Gandhi alleged that 80 people voted from a single room in house number 35. However, he is completely unaware of the facts and has not even made a minimal effort to find out the truth, he said.

“House number 35” is not a single room; it is a large housing block with small individual houses under the same number. There were 80 voters living in various families there. Even the building’s owner has clarified this. Rahul Gandhi is hiding such facts and presenting only lies before the people of the country, Joshi alleged.

Rajanna, who was the State Cooperation Minister, was asked to submit his resignation after his remark against the LoP Rahul Gandhi’s press conference in Delhi and protest in Bengaluru on the voter fraud.

“If there was voter fraud, Congress should have pointed it out much earlier,” he had said.

–IANS

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