Haryana CM invites Rahul Gandhi for debate on ‘vote chori’
Chandigarh: Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Friday took a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his debate challenge, inviting him to the state to face questions from the party’s Yuva Morcha President.
Offering to arrange the venue himself, the Chief Minister said Gandhi could not expect to make what he described as false allegations without facing questions in return. It cannot be a one-sided affair where someone makes false claims and then walks away, he said.
The Chief Minister said that if the Congress had any grievances regarding the electoral process, it should present its case before the Chief Election Commissioner.
“The Election Commission is an independent institution, and the doors of the courts are also open.”
He questioned why the Congress is unwilling to approach these forums, saying that merely making allegations from home for public consumption would serve no purpose.
CM Saini was interacting with the media here after transferring funds under government welfare schemes.
He responded to questions on government initiatives, crop procurement, allegations levelled by the Congress and several other issues.
Launching a sharp attack on the Congress, the Chief Minister said the party had no substantive issue to take to the people and is therefore attempting to mislead the country in the name of “vote theft” while casting doubts on the credibility of democracy and the Election Commission.
He said if the Congress had complaints about voters’ names being deleted or incorrectly recorded, the Election Commission had already prescribed a procedure for raising objections.
Electoral rolls had been made available in the public domain, and a month had been provided for filing objections through the prescribed forms.
Despite these provisions, he said, the Congress continued to mislead the public. He said people were watching these developments closely and would no longer be swayed by such claims.
“There has been no vote theft. What the Congress is facing today is the consequence of its own actions. People are now even saying that the Congress should shut down the party,” the Chief Minister added.