Shahnawaz Hussain accuses Congress of echoing Pakistan's line

New Delhi, July 12 (IANS) In a scathing attack, senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Shahnawaz Hussain accused Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi of playing politics and targeting the credibility of the Election Commission of India (ECI), alleging that he praises the institution only when his party wins and questions it when faced with defeat

“When Congress wins in Karnataka, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh or Rahul Gandhi wins in Raebareli, he lauds the Election Commission. But when they face setbacks in Maharashtra, Haryana, or Delhi, the same ECI becomes questionable in his eyes,” Hussain told IANS on Saturday.

Hussain claimed that the Congress leadership was trying to pre-empt an electoral defeat in Bihar by launching a 'smear campaign' against the Election Commission and questioning its ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive.

“Rahul Gandhi knows that Bihar’s people are with the NDA. For 20 years, NDA governments have worked hard in Bihar. He has visited the state a few times and knows the ground reality — they are losing, and that’s why they’ve begun attacking the ECI,” he professed.

The BJP leader stated that even the Supreme Court has not stayed the SIR drive in Bihar and dismissed the Congress' allegations as baseless. “Rahul is softly targeting the Election Commission, but the people of Bihar will give them a strong reply,” he added.

Escalating his attack, Hussain accused Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge of parroting Pakistan’s propaganda. “The world doesn’t accept Pakistan’s fake narratives, but the Congress does. That’s why they questioned the Indian Air Force’s strikes in Uri and Balakot,” he said.

Referring to Mallikarjun Kharge's recent remarks alleging that Prime Minister Modi 'lied' about a ceasefire as US President Trump had said 16 times that he stopped the war between India-Pakistan, the senior BJP leader said, "The Congress should stop speaking Pakistan’s language. They must stand with the nation, not politicise matters of national security.”