Congress Accuses BJP of Undermining Democracy in Haryana Rajya Sabha Election
In a sharp critique, the Congress party on Tuesday alleged that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) resorted to "money power, threats, and misuse of the returning officer" to secure victory in the Haryana Rajya Sabha election at any cost. The party slammed its rival for what it called "again exposing its anti-Ambedkar character" by attempting to steal the parliament membership of grassroots Dalit activist Karamvir Boudh.
Deepender Hooda's Allegations of Electoral Manipulation
Congress MP Deepender Hooda, speaking at a press conference alongside Congress's scheduled castes department chairman Rajendra Pal Gautam, detailed the alleged misconduct. Despite cross-voting by five Congress MLAs and four votes being declared invalid, the BJP scraped a win in the polls. Hooda claimed that the BJP leadership was determined to win "irrespective of the tactic used," as evidenced by appointing Gujarat's deputy chief minister as the observer for the election.
"BJP tried to murder democracy in the dark of night," Hooda asserted. "All the four votes declared as invalid were completely valid. They had even been put in the tray of valid votes by an official. But this was done by a blatantly partisan returning officer to contrive the numbers in favour of BJP."
Congress Vows Action Against Cross-Voting MLAs
Hooda emphasized that Congress will take strong action against the MLAs who cross-voted and betrayed the party, warning that "people will not forgive the legislators who betrayed their mandate." He alleged that the BJP aimed to engineer cross-voting by nine or seven Congress legislators while securing two votes from the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD).
He further accused INLD, which he labeled as "the B-team of BJP," of declaring its decision to abstain from polling barely half an hour before voting ended. According to Hooda, this move was because INLD was sure that Congress was winning the election, suggesting strategic manipulation.
Alleged Three-Pronged Strategy by BJP
Deepender Hooda outlined what he described as a three-pronged strategy by the BJP to secure the Rajya Sabha seat. First, he claimed the BJP attempted to use pressure and money to influence votes. When this failed, he said, the party turned to its second tactic: engineering cross-voting. Finally, as a last resort, Hooda alleged that the BJP employed a third strategy of "fixing the play through the returning officer."
"The returning officer worked as a BJP agent," Hooda added, reinforcing the accusation of partisan conduct that he believes skewed the election results in favour of the BJP.
This incident has sparked significant political controversy, with Congress positioning it as a broader critique of the BJP's electoral ethics and commitment to democratic principles, particularly in relation to marginalized communities like Dalits.
