'Stop daily drama': Kiren Rijiju's message to Rahul Gandhi, Congress amid ECI row

Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday said Rahul Gandhi and the Congress should stop what he described as a "daily drama" of targeting the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Supreme Court and instead focus on serving people to win their mandate.

"This daily drama by the Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, and their associates -- constantly attacking the Election Commission and the Supreme Court -- needs to stop now. This drama has been going on continuously since 2014. How long will this drama continue? In a democracy, if you serve the people, you get the public's mandate. When you fail to win the mandate, you abuse the Election Commission. When the Supreme Court asks for an apology, you attack the Supreme Court and claim you have no faith in the judiciary. You call the Election Commission corrupt and call the government corrupt," Rijiju told reporters.

The remarks came after at least 300 lawmakers of the INDIA bloc marched from Parliament to the Election Commission of India, demanding the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Attacking the Congress, the ruling BJP sought to know whether they won their own elections through "vote chori".

"Have Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi become MPs through vote theft? ...If we became MPs through vote theft, did they also become MPs through vote theft? Were the governments in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh formed through vote theft?..." BJP lawmaker and spokesperson Sambit Patra said, while addressing the media.

The BJP accused Rahul Gandhi of levelling false allegations against ECI and the process followed for special intensive revision (SIR). Patra said Gandhi's accusations that the poll panel and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar were involved in "vote chori" and making "illegal and unilateral" changes to voter registration Form 6 are unfounded and an attempt to create "anarchy".

"Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Supreme Court had declared Form 6 illegal and ruled that it was altered unilaterally to help the BJP. The Supreme Court never declared Form 6 illegal," he said. The apex Court accepted a petition to review records to clarify who made the modifications, Patra said.

He also denied Gandhi's claims that the EC's decision regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar was not unanimous. "The ECI in its statement said clearly that the SIR order was a completely unanimous decision passed by all three Election Commissioners on June 24, 2025. The decision has been legally validated and upheld by a Supreme Court judgement on May 27, 2026," he said.

The BJP which has been accusing the Congress of trying to create distrust in public institutions and constitutional bodies on Tuesday accused the grand old party of trying to create anarchy.

Rajya Sabha MP and spokesperson, Sudhanshu Trivedi accused Gandhi of being "kaamchor" (shirker).

"Of the 13 crore (130 million) voters, 2.8 crore (28 million) are deceased, 6.3 crore (63 million) have relocated, 1 crore (10 million) duplicate named, and 3 crore (30 million) are absent. Even among these, if anyone has an Aadhaar card, they can come and produce the document. I want to ask Congress and Rahul Gandhi: when you refer to 13 crore (130 million) voters, how are you counting deceased and duplicate voters as eligible voters?" Trivedi said.

He accused the Congress of misappropriating MGNREGA wages worth ₹4.45 crore.

"Whenever they face a crushing defeat, Rahul Gandhi and the entire opposition starts singing the old tune of vote chori. Slinging mud at constitutional institutions to hide their political failures and disconnect from the public has become the Congress's old habit," he said.

Trivedi said more than 23.7 million new young voters have been successfully added to the electoral list.

"After our government came to power, when the ration cards were investigated, 5.8 crore (58 million) ration cards were found belonging to people who didn't even exist. When the MNREGA cards were investigated after 2019, 4.45 crore (44.5 million) cards were found belonging to people who didn't even exist, and they were receiving wages. The same people who consumed the ration worth 5.8 crore (58 million), who pocketed the MNREGA wages worth 4.45 crore (44.5 million), are now attempting to devour democracy through dead and duplicate voters," Trivedi said.

Responding to the Opposition's rally against the poll panel irregularities, Patra said, "...We have been hearing about the so-called rally and march. Before their rally takes place, it is our responsibility as a political party to accurately place the issue before the people of the country and explain what is happening in the Election Commission and what is happening in the entire matter before the Supreme Court. For the past few days, misconceptions and fake news have been spread regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR)..." Patra said.