Bhubaneswar: Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and other senior BJP leaders Saturday took out a march in Bhubaneswar, accusing the Congress of attempting to create unrest in the country in the name of “vote chori” and the SIR of electoral rolls.
The leaders, carrying party flags, marched from the BJP’s state headquarters to Utkal University and raised slogans as part of the party’s “Save Democracy, End Anarchy” padayatra.
Addressing the gathering, Chouhan alleged that the Congress and some other opposition parties were attempting to incite unrest as they could not tolerate India’s economic growth and reduction in poverty under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
“As India, under the leadership of Modi, is witnessing both economic growth and a reduction in poverty, a development that certain external forces are opposing. Unable to tolerate this national progress, the Congress and some other opposition parties are attempting to incite anarchy,” he alleged.
The Union minister also criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, alleging that his role was detrimental to national interests.
“Rahul Gandhi is acting at the behest of divisive foreign forces. The opposition’s propaganda regarding the SIR of electoral rolls is entirely baseless, irrational and misleading,” Chouhan said.
BJP MP and national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi alleged that opposition parties were spreading misinformation against the Election Commission to protect their vote banks rather than safeguarding the rights of ordinary citizens.
He claimed that the opposition’s vote bank included deceased persons, people who had relocated, infiltrators and fake voters.
Trivedi also accused the Congress of adopting double standards on electronic voting machines (EVMs) and the Election Commission, alleging that the party accepted the electoral process when it won elections but questioned it whenever the BJP emerged victorious.
Unable to accept repeated electoral defeats in states such as Odisha, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, Congress leaders had become desperate, he claimed.
“Driven by the pain of losing power, they are speaking of instability and ‘regime change’ in the country. This conspiracy to protect individuals who lack citizenship, while showing no faith in the 1.4 billion citizens of this nation, will never be tolerated,” he said.
Chief Minister Majhi said the BJP was committed to protecting democracy despite attempts by the opposition to disrupt it.
He also targeted the opposition BJD led by Naveen Patnaik, alleging that its recent political activities had exposed its claim of maintaining equal distance from all parties.
Majhi referred to the BJD’s support for a Congress candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections in the state, its participation in Congress and INDIA bloc meetings in Delhi, and its presence at an INDIA bloc rally in the national capital.
“The BJD’s claim of maintaining an ‘equal distance’ from all parties is false,” Majhi said.
