Sambit Patra Hits Back At Rahul Gandhi For EC Remark In US: 'Old Habit Of Insulting India Abroad'

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sambit Patra on Monday criticised Rahul Gandhi for alleging that the Election Commission has been "compromised."

Patra remarked that it is a "longstanding habit" of the Congress leader to criticise the country while abroad, reported ANI.

Photo Credit: PTI

"I've been watching the media since this morning. There are two significant news stories: Rahul Gandhi's old habit of insulting the country on foreign soil. He has done it again in the United States. This isn't something new - he's been doing it for quite some time," Patra stated in Delhi.

He added that if the Gandhi family believes they are on the right side of history by denigrating the nation internationally, they are "on the wrong side of the line."

"The individual, and his mother, who are out on bail of ₹50,000 - if they believe they can tarnish the image of this great democracy by travelling abroad and making such statements, they are completely on the wrong side of the line."

Patra also condemned the Congress party's plan to hold press conferences across the country in response to the Central government, likening it to "a thief making a great deal of noise."

"Another major piece of news is that from today, senior Congress leaders, like chor machaye shor (a thief making a lot of noise), will travel around holding press conferences to defend the son and mother. The Enforcement Directorate has named Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi in its chargesheet. They could well face imprisonment for plundering the country - and they ought to," he asserted.

Accusing the Congress party of "inciting unrest" by protesting against the chargesheet, Patra added, "At the same time, the Congress is working to stir up discontent across the country."

Earlier, while addressing the Indian diaspora in Boston, United States, Rahul Gandhi alleged that India's Election Commission was "compromised," claiming there was something fundamentally flawed with the system.

Citing the Maharashtra elections as an example, the senior Congress leader claimed there was an improbable increase of 6.5 million voters on the electoral roll within two hours.

He said, "More people voted in Maharashtra than the total number of people in Maharashtra, and this is a fact... the Election Commission gave us a figure in the evening around 5:30 p.m., and in two hours around 7:30 p.m., 65 lakh voters had voted, which is physically impossible."

However, sources within the Election Commission have previously maintained that allegations by political parties regarding manipulated voter lists are baseless.

According to these sources, barely any appeals were made under Section 24 of the Representation of the People Act, or for corrections (Section 22) or inclusions (Section 23) during the most recent Special Summary Revision, which was published on 6-7 January 2025.