Rahul Gandhi has once again thrown mud at India’s democratic institutions, hoping some of it sticks. This time, the target is the Election Commission of India (ECI), a constitutional body respected across the world for its impartiality and administrative robustness. His repetition of his earlier allegation—that a staggering 41 lakh voters were mysteriously added in Maharashtra post the 2024 Lok Sabha elections—is not only misleading but reeks of political desperation.
The ECI, to its credit, responded swiftly and factually, dismantling the baseless claim. It clarified that voter enrollment is a routine post-election activity, wherein new electors, primarily those turning 18, are encouraged to register. This exercise is not clandestine. It is public, transparent, and standard practice after every general election. The addition of 41 lakh new voters over six months before the Maharashtra Assembly polls is neither unusual nor suspicious.
But facts rarely matter to Rahul Gandhi. What truly irked him and his party was the Congress-led INDIA bloc’s inability to replicate its Lok Sabha success in Maharashtra during the assembly elections. Instead of introspection, the Congress chose insinuation. As absurd as it sounds, they insinuated electoral manipulation based on the natural dynamics of voter roll updates and evolving public opinion.
The hypocrisy becomes even more glaring when the ECI’s data reveals that the Congress and its allies were the biggest beneficiaries of these newly enrolled voters, not the BJP. But when has truth deterred Rahul Gandhi?
This isn’t an isolated episode. For months leading up to the 2024 general elections, the Congress ran a sinister campaign warning of a supposed BJP plot to “change the Constitution” if it secured over 400 seats. They spread fear among Dalits, Muslims, and other minorities, despite the Modi government having implemented welfare schemes without discrimination. Subsidised housing, free ration, Ujjwala gas connections, Ayushman Bharat coverage, and PM Awas Yojana homes reached Muslims, Dalits, OBCs, and upper castes alike.
The truth is simple: Modi’s governance model is inclusive, even if it doesn’t pander.
Despite this smear campaign, the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 247 seats and, with NDA allies, comfortably secured a majority for the third consecutive term—a historic feat for a non-Congress formation. That alone should have forced some silence and humility from the Congress bench. But Rahul Gandhi is no ordinary politician. He’s a 56-year-old adolescent masquerading as a national leader—clueless, petulant, and reckless.
Congress’s frustration is understandable. The BJP has consolidated its hold across states, barring a few like Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, and Jharkhand. Its firm stance on national security—be it the Balakot air strikes, the abrogation of Article 370, or the crackdown on cross-border terror—has earned the government respect even beyond India’s borders.
Consider the surgical air campaign after the Pahalgam terror attack, where India not only destroyed nine terror launchpads and several Pakistani air bases but did so with surgical precision that spared civilian lives—a feat that even the US military often fails to accomplish. The operation showcased India’s indigenous military prowess: Akash missiles, BrahMos, and advanced drones outperforming imported equivalents. The world noticed. Rahul Gandhi, unsurprisingly, didn’t.
His default mode is disbelief. He doubts the Army, mocks the Air Force, questions the courts, and now maligns the Election Commission. His tirade is not just intellectually bankrupt—it is dangerously subversive. His attacks undermine India’s institutions in the eyes of the world.
The ECI has done well to ask Rahul Gandhi to put his allegations in writing. But will he dare? Will he write a formal letter instead of spewing venom in press briefings and on social media? Highly unlikely. Because facts require courage, and Gandhi lacks both.
There’s a deeper question here: How long should constitutional bodies tolerate such repeated assaults on their credibility? The judiciary acted once, when Rahul was convicted for his derogatory remarks about the “Modi surname”. Why not now?
Why hasn’t the Modi government acted on the issue of his alleged dual citizenship, a matter raised by Subramanian Swamy with credible documentation? Why shouldn’t the Election Commission move to disqualify a habitual offender who weaponizes lies to destabilize democratic trust?
Rahul Gandhi is no longer an impetuous youth. At 56, he has no excuse for this brand of politics. India cannot allow one man’s ignorance and spite to erode faith in the electoral process. Every time he lies unchecked, India’s democratic institutions bleed a little.
It’s time for the judiciary, the Election Commission, and yes, even the political establishment, to draw a red line. Rahul Gandhi has crossed every limit of decency and accountability. If institutions don’t push back now, his brand of politics will normalize falsehoods as a legitimate political tool—and that would be a tragedy not just for the BJP or the ECI, but for Indian democracy itself.
