Rahul Gandhi opposes SIR process to protect infiltrators: Pradeep Bhandari

New Delhi, Oct 9 (IANS) BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari launched a sharp attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi ahead of the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, accusing him of running a “fake propaganda campaign” on issues like ‘vote theft’ and the SIR process.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday, Bhandari said the Bihar Election Commission has made it clear that not a single appeal was filed by any booth-level agent or party worker from the Congress or RJD regarding the final electoral roll.

He claimed this “zero appeal status” exposes Rahul Gandhi’s allegations about electoral manipulation.

“Rahul Gandhi travelled through the lanes of Bihar, claiming that votes were being stolen and that SIR was anti-poor. But now it is proven that none of his own party workers believed in this narrative,” Bhandari said.

He added that even grassroots members of the RJD and Congress consider Rahul Gandhi a “flop show” in Bihar politics.

Bhandari alleged that Rahul Gandhi opposed the SIR process only to “protect infiltrators” and that his stance had nothing to do with the real concerns of the people of Bihar.

“This clearly shows that the issue Rahul Gandhi tried to raise in the Bihar election had no ground reality,” he remarked.

He further said that the Congress party and RJD units in Bihar did not stand with Rahul Gandhi’s claims, indicating a visible internal rift between the alliance partners.

Accusing Rahul Gandhi of “insulting the people of Bihar”, Bhandari demanded a public apology from him. “In the name of opposing SIR, he disrespected the poor of Bihar by calling them thieves. He must apologise,” he said.

Bhandari also referred to former Home Minister P. Chidambaram’s remarks on the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

He questioned who within the UPA government stopped India from retaliating against Pakistan, and asked whether the Gandhi-Vadra family influenced the decision.

Citing former Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon’s book, Bhandari claimed that key officials were in favour of retaliation, yet the government chose restraint -- a decision he implied was driven by political considerations.

--IANS

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