Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday criticised the Congress for protesting against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Dhami said the party targets institutions because it lost political ground. He added, "Congress's work is only to oppose for the sake of opposing." The public remains with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday criticised the Congress for protesting against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing the party of targeting institutions because it had lost political ground.
While Congress leaders led by Rahul Gandhi took to the streets of Delhi as part of a nationwide protest, Dhami, who was on a visit to Haridwar, took a swipe at the party, saying the Congress was now targeting institutions "just for the sake of opposition".
"The ground has slipped from beneath the Congress's feet, and that is why it is trying to put the Chief Election Commissioner, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), electronic voting machines, the administrative machinery, the courts and other agencies in the dock," he said.
Dhami alleged that the party was creating an atmosphere of disorder and said the public was familiar with its conduct.
"The people of the country are with Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he said.
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The Chief Minister also accused the Congress of having a record of undermining democratic institutions. He said the party had repeatedly brought down elected governments, changed election commissioners from time to time and imposed the Emergency.
"It should remember its own past," Dhami said, responding to a question about Gandhi's protest.
He said everyone had the right to express their views in a democracy, but allegations alone were not enough.
"The right to speak exists for everyone in a democracy. But merely making statements will achieve nothing; evidence and results are needed," he said.
"Congress's work is only to oppose for the sake of opposing," Dhami added.
The protests have focused on Kumar and issues including the SIR and electronic voting machines. The Congress has raised concerns over the election process and the functioning of institutions, while the ruling party has rejected its criticism.
Dhami also praised Modi's tenure as Prime Minister, saying he had led a campaign of "service and commitment" over the past 12 years and enhanced India's standing around the world.
The Chief Minister was in Haridwar to attend an event on Thursday. He made the remarks while responding to reporters' questions about the demonstrations in Delhi, where Gandhi joined fellow Congress leaders in protesting against the Chief Election Commissioner.