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India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has accused the Congress of seeking a change of power in India similar to what happened in Bangladesh.
He made the remarks at a press conference in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, on Friday (October 16). “Congress wants to follow the model seen in Bangladesh to bring about a change of power,” Rajnath Singh said.
He claimed that the party’s primary objective was not to protest against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar or the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, but to weaken the democratic system and overthrow the government.
The defence minister also alleged that the Congress had tried to turn the Election Commission into its “puppet” when it was in power.
Referring to an incident in 1993, Singh said the Congress had made overnight changes to the Election Commission that year. The then chief election commissioner had recommended to the president the removal of Election Commissioner Naveen Chawla. However, the Congress later elevated Chawla to the post of chief election commissioner, he said.
Singh claimed that there was no system of voter identity cards before 1993. He also said the Congress had been unable to form a government on its own since voter identity cards were introduced.
The defence minister also questioned the Congress’s protests against the SIR exercise and CEC Gyanesh Kumar. He alleged that, under the pretext of opposing electoral roll revisions, the party was attempting to weaken independent institutions. Source: Agencies.