‘You want to protect infiltrators’ votes’: Shah attacks Rahul over ‘vote theft’ claims

NEW DELHI: Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday hit out at leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over his allegations of “vote chori” and "collusion" between the Election Commission and the BJP , accusing the Congress of using the issue to explain its electoral defeats.

Addressing an event in Delhi on his birthday where he launched projects worth Rs 8,941 crore for cleaning the Yamuna, Shah also targeted the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over its governance in Delhi and Punjab.

“The BJP keeps winning elections, and the opposition is troubled by it. That is why they have come up with the excuse of ‘vote chori’, or vote theft,” Shah said. “Rahul ji, you keep talking about vote theft because you want to protect the votes of infiltrators,” he added.

Union home minister argued that the BJP had been winning elections in several states even before Narendra Modi became prime minister, while the Congress had remained out of power in many states for decades. “Congress, its allies accuse BJP of vote theft but are out of power in many states for decades,” he said.

Referring to the Congress's electoral record, Shah cited its prolonged absence from power in several states and questioned whether its electoral setbacks had begun only after Modi became prime minister. “When I say the BJP will remain in power for 30 years, they accuse us of stealing votes. They ask how Amit Shah knows the election results in advance. Amit Shah was born here, lives here and will die here. I do not have to travel abroad every six months. I live among the people of this country,” he said.

Attacking Lok Sabha LoP he said, "When court rulings favour you, you call them fair, but when they go against you, you question them. These double standards will not work, Rahul ji."

Shah also targeted Rahul over opposition protests in Delhi, saying, “You cannot overturn the people's mandate through political manoeuvres and mob pressure. Winning elections is not about staging protests and sit-ins.”

Shah also accused previous governments in Delhi of failing to prevent untreated sewage from entering the Yamuna and said the BJP government was committed to cleaning the river. “Congress, AAP govts allowed discharge of sewer water in Yamuna; we will clean it by May 2029,” Shah said.

The projects launched at the event are aimed at improving sewage treatment and wastewater management, expanding sewer connections and reducing pollution in the river.

Turning to poll-bound Punjab, where the AAP government is led by chief minister Bhagwant Mann, Shah attacked the ruling party over the drug menace and expressed confidence that the NDA would come to power in the state. “Drug menace prevalent in Punjab; people of state want NDA government,” he said.

“AAP is going to be routed in Punjab elections , we will end drug trafficking in state,” Shah added.