BJP accuses Rahul Gandhi of violating rules, demands his disqualification

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on Thursday accused the Congress vice-president, Rahul Gandhi, of violating rules by entering the polling booth and area where voting machine is kept during penultimate phase of general elections.

For the first time in a decade, Gandhi visited his parliamentary constituency Amethi, on the eighth phase of elections on Wednesday, urging supporters to vote in large numbers.

Gandhi is battling to win a third successive term in power for the UPA in an election that opinion polls predict his Congress party looks set to lose.

Amethi witnessed high-decibel fights between Rahul Gandhi, main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) candidate Smriti Irani and Kumar Vishwas of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in penultimate phase where 95 million voters decided the electoral fortunes of 897 candidates.

However, BJP senior leader Subramanian Swamy said Gandhi should be penalised and disqualified from elections.

"It's a very serious offence and of course he is an illiterate, he is not a very well educated person so he does not know the rules. And they are been lauding it for such a long time. But he must be penalised and they must disqualify him from being a candidate. Because this is a gross breach particularly since the EVM (electronic voting machine) already suspect of being tampered by his mother. So therefore I think the election commission suo moto should disbar him from contesting elections for six years," said Swamy.

Gandhi was also seen interacting with several villagers during polling, which is not allowed during polling time.

Meanwhile, BJP lawmaker Balbir Punj said Congress party had become desperate and was nervous.

"One has to see the nervousness of Congress party. Earlier Rahul Gandhi has never taken the trouble of going to the polling booths and running around. But this time obviously Smriti has really upset his apple cart and he is nervous and so is Congress party. This already shows how desperate the Congress has become," Punj said.