Insulting people’s mandate is Congress’ old habit: BJP

Shivraj Chouhan accuses Kharge of attacking constitutional institutions; defends appointment process of Election Commissioners and reliability of EVMs

Updated - October 03, 2026 10:47 pm IST - NEW DELHI

Shivraj Singh Chouhan. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday (October 3, 2026) said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah “illegal” amounted to an insult to constitutional institutions and the people’s mandate.

“The country’s democracy stands firmly on the foundation of the Constitution given by Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, and the people will continue to respond to such false and baseless statements democratically time and again,” Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said in a statement.

Mr. Chouhan alleged, “Mr. Kharge’s statement, made at the direction of Leader of the Opposition [in the Lok Sabha] Rahul Gandhi, reflects the Congress’ frustration and mindset following electoral defeats.”

Stating that the Congress chief’s remarks were yet another example of the party’s “longstanding practice of attacking constitutional institutions”, he said, “Whenever the people of the country reject the Congress in elections, it begins conspiring to discredit democracy, the Election Commission, EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines), and the mandate of the people.”

“Does democracy, in the Congress party’s view, become legitimate only when the Gandhi family or the Congress party is in power?” he asked.

Mr. Chouhan said the Congress had not questioned EVMs when it won elections in Karnataka, Telangana, or Himachal Pradesh.

Referring to Mr. Modi’s electoral record, he said that the people had elected him Chief Minister for three consecutive terms and subsequently gave him a third consecutive term as Prime Minister, demonstrating their trust in him.

The Union Minister also accused Mr. Kharge of misleading the public on the appointment of Election Commissioners. “The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, was passed by both Houses of Parliament in a completely democratic, constitutional, and transparent manner,” he said.

“The Leader of Opposition has been made an integral part of the Selection Committee, thereby ensuring the voice of the Opposition,” he said.

“The Congress party may have forgotten its own history. For decades, Congress governments appointed Election Commissioners arbitrarily, without any law or transparent selection committee, merely on the basis of a note from the Prime Minister’s Office, and later rewarded them with ministerial positions and membership of Parliament,” he alleged.

On the revision of electoral rolls, he said removing fake and duplicate entries and adding eligible voters is a continuous and statutory process of the Election Commission, adding that the Commission accepted claims and objections in a transparent manner under the prescribed rules.

“The Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld the reliability and fairness of EVMs. Despite this, the Congress wants to push the country back to the era of booth capturing, ballot-box looting, and violence associated with paper ballots in the 1980s and 1990s,” he alleged.

Published - October 03, 2026 10:41 pm IST

Bharatiya Janata Party / Indian National Congress / Narendra Modi

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