Rahul Gandhi has failed as a Leader of Opposition: Union Minister Ramdas Athawale

New Delhi, Sep 18 (IANS) Union Minister and Republican Party of India (A) chief Ramdas Athawale, on Thursday, launched a sharp attack on Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, saying he has "failed as a Leader of the Opposition" and is lowering his political value by making "baseless allegations" against the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Union government.

Reacting to Rahul Gandhi's press conference where he accused the ECI of "vote deletion" in Karnataka's Aland constituency during the 2023 Assembly elections, Union Minister Athawale told IANS that the Congress leader was spreading lies to gain media attention.

"Rahul Gandhi is a liar. He says vote theft happens, but that is not true. There was a time when Congress got votes and came to power, but since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came, he has become the country's Prime Minister three times, and the Opposition has lost three times," he said.

The Union Minister added that if Rahul Gandhi genuinely believed vote manipulation had taken place, he should lodge a formal complaint instead of repeatedly making public allegations.

"If vote theft happens, he can go and formally register a complaint, but he will not do that," he said.

Responding to Rahul Gandhi’s charge that SC, ST and OBC voters were being targeted for deletion from the electoral rolls, Athawale dismissed the claim outright.

"This doesn't happen. The largest number of voters are from SC, ST, OBC communities, many of whom live in slums. Their voting strength is the highest, and they are the ones who vote the most," he stressed.

Accusing Rahul Gandhi of misleading people and unfairly targeting the ECI, Union Minister Athawale said such tactics will "only bring temporary media coverage but no real political benefit".

He added, "As a Leader of Opposition, he should also acknowledge the many achievements this (Narendra Modi) government has brought in. By constantly doing this, Rahul Gandhi is only lowering his own value."

Rahul Gandhi on Thursday launched a fresh offensive on the ECI, claiming that votes were being deleted from the Congress booths through fake logins done through a 'centralised system'.

However, he remained evasive on questions of following it up with the ECI or taking legal recourse for the 'irregularities and wrongdoings' under the watch of the poll panel.

--IANS

sas/khz