Just a case of sour grapes: BJP on Congress' 'puppet' remark

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary in-charge for Gujarat, Bhupendra Yadav, on Thursday said that the Congress Party always tries to pull strings and now that it is about to face a defeat, it is blaming the Election Commission (EC).

Speaking at a press conference here, the BJP leader said, "During the last Rajya Sabha elections when the Election Commission gave the verdict, we accepted it. Congress then hailed the same EC for being impartial. Now that the Congress is about to face a terrible defeat, they are putting allegations of all kinds on the Election Commission. When Congress comes in power, it always tries to keep others as puppets. I would say, for whom grapes are sour, now they are blaming the constitutional bodies".

He added that the entire nation knows that in 1977, the Congress captivated the country.

"They are known for breaking guidelines of constitutional bodies and we condemn it. Wherever there are elections between two or more parties, the Congress has always lost. Further, I congratulate the people of Gujarat for coming in such large numbers to vote," Yadav said.

Yadav's remark came after the Congress party today attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP on their road shows during the polls, saying that the Election Commission has gone mum and distanced itself from its responsibility.

"The way Modiji is doing road shows with the help of Election Commission shows that the puppet EC has shut its eyes while the constitution is being blasted every moment. Prime Minister Modiji forgot that after 22 years of poor governance, people of Gujarat have rejected the BJP and no techniques are going to help him. The EC too has distanced itself from all its responsibilities", Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said in a press conference here.

He added that Prime Minister Modi's sinking boat is getting help from the EC, which is not going to help the former.

Another Congress leader, Ashok Gehlot, further said that Prime Minister Modi's road show after casting vote is a clear case of violation of the model code of conduct.

"EC seems to be working under pressure from the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister Office", he added.

Bashing the Election Commission, Surjewala further said the former has become a "frontal organisation" of the BJP.

The voting will continue till 5 pm in more than 25,000 polling stations.

The second phase of elections is conducted in 93 constituencies spread across 14 districts in north and central Gujarat.

A total of 851 candidates are in the fray and over 2.22 lakh people will take part in the election to decide their fate.

The security has been increased in various parts of the state in the wake of the polls.

The BJP has fielded 93 candidates for this phase, while Congress has fielded only 91.

The voter turnout in the first phase of the polls was 68 per cent.

The results will be declared on December 18.