Rahul slams EC, says it's biased' against Oppn ministers

New Delhi: In a scathing criticism of the Election Commission (EC), Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said when it comes to matters related to the Opposition, the poll watchdog is “completely biased”, a remark that comes close to the poll panel giving clean chits to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah on various complaints related to violation of model code of conduct. Mr Gandhi also attacked the BJP on its compromising approach on terrorism and saffron leaders’ repeated reference to armed forces while seeking votes.

“When it comes to issues of the BJP, the EC is absolutely on the straight line, when it comes to the Opposition’s issues, it is completely biased,”said Mr Gandhi.

“All this institutional capture that is taking place and all the negative effects of it will have consequences in the future. We are not going to allow Indian institutions to be disturbed, controlled, crushed and anybody who colludes, anybody who falls to this pressure, is committing a crime,” he said.

Alleging that the BJP is compromising in dealing with terrorism, the Congress president said his party’s government would adopt an approach much tougher than that of the Modi government.

Accusing Mr Modi of using armed forces for political mileage, Mr Gandhi said that the NDA had insulted the Army by saying that UPA’s surgical strikes were video games.

At a press conference here, Mr Gandhi said that the Indian Army is not Prime Minister Modis ‘”personal property”.

He also alleged that the saffron party was compromising in dealing with terrorism and cited JeM chief Masood Azhar’s release during the previous NDA rule.

“Who had sent him to Pakistan? He is being designated (as UN terrorist), but who sent him there in the first place? How did he reach Pakistan? Has the Congress sent him to Pakistan? Which government had negotiated with terrorism, bowed in front of terrorism, who sent him back? he asked, alluding to Azhar’s release in the Kandahar hijacking case during the NDA rule in 1999.

The Prime Minister had on Friday mocked the Congress’claim of UPA government conducting six surgical strikes, saying that the party did so only “on paper” and the leaders of the Opposition party thought those were akin to video games.

Mr Gandhi also took on the Prime Minister over allegedly invoking the armed forces for seeking.

“Modi thinks the Army, Navy and Air Force are his personal property,” he added.

Mr Gandhi said his party’s internal assessment after four phases of polling shows that the BJP will lose in the Lok Sabha elections and he sees a scared Prime Minister” unable to face the onslaught of the Öpposition.

It was said five years ago that Mr Modi cannot be defeated and will rule for 10-15 years, but the Congress has “demolished” him, he said.

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