![\"'Wrong](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-134517585,imgsize-124010,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/kiren-vs-rahul.jpg\" "\\"Rahul")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nNEW DELHI: Union minister Kiren Rijiju<\/a> on Sunday attacked leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi<\/a> over his criticism of the Election Commission<\/a> and demand for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, saying such remarks would send a \u201cwrong message to society\u201d.Speaking to reporters, Rijiju said, \u201cIt is not appropriate to amplify Rahul Gandhi’s remarks in the public sphere, as it would send the wrong message to society.\u201dHis remarks came days after Rahul Gandhi stepped up his attack on the Centre and the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.Rahul had alleged that the 2024 Lok Sabha and assembly elections were \u201call rigged\u201d and demanded the immediate resignation of Gyanesh Kumar.Addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters on Thursday, the Congress leader accused the Election Commission of failing to protect voters\u2019 rights and alleged that the electoral process had been compromised.\u201cMr Gyanesh Kumar must resign immediately. We are not going to let democracy be destroyed in India and sit silent, and the people responsible for this are going to be punished,\u201d the Rae Bareli MP said.Rahul also referred to reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally raised objections on several occasions over decisions related to electoral-roll management and the SIR exercise.\u201cThe two Election Commissioners have done a wise thing, and I appreciate it,\u201d he said. Rahul further alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah were \u201cat the top of this conspiracy\u201d and would be investigated. He also said Kumar should \u201cturn approver\u201d.\u201cI can say with certainty that Indian elections — 2024 Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls — were all rigged,\u201d Rahul said. He also linked his allegations over electoral rolls to the functioning of Parliament and other institutions.\u201cFrom vote chori (vote theft), comes kanoon chori (law theft) and from that comes sanstha chori (institutional theft),\u201d he said.The Election Commission has rejected the suggestion that the reported objections reflected a disagreement over its final decisions.The poll panel said on Saturday that key decisions related to the SIR, including orders and schedules, were taken with the \u201cunanimous approval\u201d of all three commissioners.It also clarified that a letter sent to the Cabinet Secretary, which had drawn scrutiny, concerned the functioning of an officer on deputation to the ECI and was not related to any policy matter, ANI reported.The clarification came after an Indian Express report said that Sandhu and Joshi had formally raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months on issues including voter registration, deletion and restoration of names, changes to Form 6 and access to electoral-roll databases.The ECI said the SIR order issued on June 24, 2025, covering all states and Union territories, was approved unanimously. It also said the schedules for subsequent phases were issued with the unanimous approval of the Commission.Earlier in the day, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath also criticised the Congress and its allies over their attacks on the Election Commission and the SIR.\u201cCongress and its allies should apologise to the constitutional institutions of the country and to the people for their actions,\u201d Adityanath said.He said the SIR was not being conducted for the first time and pointed to earlier exercises carried out in 1952, 1957, 1961, 1965-66 and 2003.\u201cDespite all this, the kind of uproar that the Congress, Samajwadi Party, RJD and other parties have created over the SIR this time is extremely unfortunate,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Share your thoughts in the comments<\/p>\n<\/div>\n