Congress leaders Gaurav Gogoi and Manish Tewari criticised the Prime Minister’s remarks on MLC poll results, while Akhilesh Prasad Singh alleged money power influenced graduates’ and teachers’ constituency elections
Guwahati: Congress leaders on October 29 questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remarks on the recent Legislative Council (MLC) election results, with Gaurav Gogoi accusing him of avoiding concerns over alleged electoral irregularities.
“Why is the PM not speaking on the stealing of democracy?” Congress MP Gogoi asked, questioning why Modi had commented on MLC elections instead of addressing what he described as the “stealing of democracy”.
Congress MP Manish Tewari also criticised the Prime Minister’s remarks, arguing that elections held under different circumstances and through distinct electoral colleges could not be compared.
“Every election has a different context,” Tewari said in Chandigarh, adding that comparing different elections in this manner was not becoming of someone holding the office of Prime Minister.
Tewari also questioned the purpose of the padyatra being led by BJP president Nitin Nabin, alleging that 13 crore people had been disenfranchised. He said restoring their voting rights would help normalise the situation and accused those in government of organising the march to gloss over the issue.
Singh clarified that the Congress’s demand for paper ballots applied to direct elections, not MLC polls, which use a preferential voting system involving multiple rounds of counting.
The remarks followed Modi’s social media post praising the NDA’s victory in the MLC elections, which he described as a reaffirmation of public trust in the ruling coalition.
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