'Army, judiciary or PM, Congress disrespects all': Scindia on 'vote theft' charges

Bhopal, Aug 8 (IANS) Targeting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for accusing the Election Commission of India (ECI) of vote theft, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Friday that the Congress have questioned the credibility of every institution in the country, whether it is the Army, judiciary or the Prime Minister.

Without naming Rahul Gandhi directly, Scindia, who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2020, ending his long association with Rahul Gandhi and the Congress, asked "who remained in the country which they (Congress) had not insulted?"

Union Minister Scindia, who was on a visit to attend an event in Bhopal on Friday, while talking to media persons, said, "They (Congress) would not care about the dignity of institutions. They would question the credibility of our institutions and would not miss to disrespect the Prime Minster.

"Who has he (Rahul Gandhi) not insulted tll now? I think he (Rahul Gandhi) should also answer this."

Scindia, who arrived Bhopal to inaugurate 'Shrewsbury International School' in Bhopal's Ratibad, met Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and State BJP Chief Hemant Khandelwal.

He also met veteran Congress leader and former Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh during the event.

Beside Scindia, several other senior BJP leaders in Madhya Pradesh, including Chief Minister Yadav hit out at Rahul Gandhi for his statement on the Election Commission on Thursday.

Chief Minister Yadav even went further to call Rahul Gandhi a "man with Urban Naxal mindset".

The Chief Minister said that Rahul Gandhi first questioned the country's judicial system, then the Armed Forces and now he has started questioning the Election Commission's credibility, which is the pillar of the country's democratic system.

"The way Rahul Gandhi publicly attempted to tarnish Election Commission's image, it showed his mental bankruptcy. He is a man with an Urban Naxal mindset," he said, while responding to Rahul Gandhi's allegations of "vote theft", including in Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections held in 2023.

Chief Minister Yadav, who replaced former Chief Minister and now Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan after the BJP won 163 out of 230 seats in 2023 Assembly polls, lambasted Rahul Gandhi, and demanded that the Congress leader should issue an open "public apology".

--IANS

pd/khz