NEW DELHI : Chief spokesperson of Congress Bihar unit, Rajesh Rathorre alleged on Sunday that Election Commission officials were ‘targeting’ opposition leaders, while leaders of the BJP-led NDA were permitted to move about “freely” following Party chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s helicopter inspection in Bihar’s Samastipur.
He accused Election Commission officials checked Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s helicopter.
Taking to his social media handle, Rajesh Rathorre said, “It is unfortunate that the helicopter of Rahul Gandhi in Kerala and now that of INC India President Shri@khargeji in Bihar was searched by the Election Commission and the administration. @ECISVEEP Release a video and tell the country which NDA leaders’ helicopters were checked during the election campaign.”
Rathorre, who is the chief spokesperson of the Congress’ Bihar unit, shared a video to claim that the chief electoral officer of Bihar is herself monitoring the checking of Kharge’s helicopter in Samastipur.
“The Election Commission (EC) should clarify whether such checking of choppers of Congress leaders is routine and whether similar checks were also conducted on top leaders of the NDA,” Rathorre said in his video message.
“The EC should make all such records public, otherwise, it will be construed that it is only targeting opposition leaders to “influence and disturb” them and is letting NDA leaders go freely,” he said.
The Congress leader said the EC should put out videos of all leaders who have been checked.
This comes after Congress chief Kharge addressed back-to-back Lok Sabha election rallies in Samastipur and Muzaffarpur in the state on Saturday.
Earlier on Saturday, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to the Election Commission on and expressed his surprise over the poll body castigating him for “obstructing” the ongoing Lok Sabha election and said that he understands the “pressures” ECI is working under.
ECI had castigated Kharge after the Congress chief on May 7 wrote to the leaders of the INDIA bloc over the alleged discrepancies in the voting data released by the Election Commission (EC).
Kharge said, “On one hand, the Commission respects citizens’ right to ask questions and, on the other hand, threatens citizens in the form of advice to exercise caution.”
Stating that he is puzzled by the ECI’s view on the publication of voter turnout data, Kharge stated that “many voters who are deeply interested in the elections would also like to see the absolute number of votes polled put out in the public domain by the Commission directly.”
He further said that the Congress party is on the side of the Commission but EC officials should decide where they stand.
The commission also refuted any delay in giving turnout data and pointed out that updated turnout data has always been higher than poll day. (ANI)