‘No need to take him seriously’: Pralhad Joshi slams Rahul Gandhi over EC remarks

NEW DELHI: Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday hit out at Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over his recent allegations targeting the Election Commission, questioning why the Congress had not objected through “legal means” and accusing the party of selectively blaming the poll body depending on electoral outcomes.

“There is no need to take him seriously. Why did the Congress party not file any objection? Why he did not file any election petition?” Joshi told said, while responding to the Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of “voter fraud” in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections,

Joshi alleged that the Congress party’s stance on EVMs and the EC is inconsistent, given they themselves have appointed Chief Election Commissioner (CECs) in the past.

#WATCH | Delhi | On Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi’s allegations on the EC, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi says, “There is no need to take him seriously…Why did the Congress party not file any objection?…Why he did not file any election petition?…The states where Congress party… pic.twitter.com/MewXxpYxWg

— ANI (@ANI) August 8, 2025

He said, “The states where Congress party wins the elections, EVMs and the Election Commission are good. They always try to blame the Election Commission. These people appointed Manohar Singh Gill as the Chief Election Commissioner of India and then made him an MP of the Congress party. Earlier, the Prime Ministers, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, used to appoint the Chief Election Commissioner on their own. Now there is a proper system.”

#WATCH | Delhi | On Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi’s allegations on the EC, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi says, “There is no need to take him seriously…Why did the Congress party not file any objection?…Why he did not file any election petition?…The states where Congress party… pic.twitter.com/TBUI8IyfpI

— ANI (@ANI) August 7, 2025

He also accused the Congress of “misusing” election scheduling for political gain.

He said, “When Rajiv Gandhi was killed, they (Congress) could have postponed the election in just his constituency, but they postponed the election in the entire nation. Congress wanted to take the sympathy votes. Those who have conducted elections like this are trying to teach us lessons about elections today.”

“Today, the opposition leader is part of the three-member panel to select the Chief Election Commissioner,” he said.

The state’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has asked the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha to submit a sworn affidavit and provide specific evidence of alleged inclusion or deletion of electors from the voter rolls. (ANI)