New Delhi [India], September 18 (ANI): Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Election Commission of India, following the ECI's interim order to freeze the name and "Flowers and Grass" symbol of All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), saying that "party theft" has joined vote and government theft as a defining mark of India's democratic decline.
In a post on X, Gandhi accused the BJP and ECI of acting in tandem to dismantle opposition forces.
"First Shiv Sena, then NCP, and now Trinamool Congress. Every time, the same pattern—BJP and the Election Commission join forces to split a party. Then its election symbol is snatched away. When an entire party can be stolen, it's hardly surprising that the votes of millions of Indians can be stolen too. Vote theft. Government theft. Now party theft—these have become symbols of our democratic decline," he said.
पहले शिवसेना, फिर NCP और अब तृणमूल कांग्रेस।
हर बार एक ही पैटर्न - BJP और चुनाव आयोग मिलकर एक पार्टी को तोड़ते हैं। फिर उसका चुनाव चिन्ह छीन लिया जाता है।
जब पूरी की पूरी पार्टी चोरी हो सकती है, तो करोड़ों भारतीयों के वोट चोरी होना भी हैरानी की बात नहीं।
वोट चोरी। सरकार चोरी।…
Further, the Lok Sabha LoP alleged that the ECI is actively failing its constitutional duty to protect voters and instead helping the BJP overturn election results.
"The ECI's constitutional responsibility is to protect the mandate—but instead, it's aiding those very forces that overturn the people's verdict. This fight isn't just Mamata Banerjee's. It's the fight of every political party, every voter who wants free and fair elections," he said.
Earlier today, ahead of the scheduled October 6 bypolls in Nandigram and Rejinagar assembly constituencies, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind kejriwal asked whether the elections would be won "this way".
"Modi ji's birthday gift to the country. Will they win the election this way?" Kejriwal posted on X.
ECI passed an interim order on Thursday barring both rival factions of the Trinamool Congress from using the name "All India Trinamool Congress" or the party's "Flowers and Grass" symbol until the leadership dispute is finally resolved.
ECI's order stated that "Neither of the two groups led by Shri Arup Roy (Petitioner) and the other led by Ms Mamata Banerjee (Respondent) shall be permitted to use the name of the party 'All India Trinamool Congress '."
The order followed a hearing on Thursday at Nirvachan Sadan in New Delhi, where the ECI heard the rival factions after seeking their final submissions. (ANI)
