Congress slams ECI over TMC symbol, alleges 'party theft'

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday condemned the freezing of Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool's twin-flower symbol by the ECI, calling it a case of "party chori" (theft).

Gandhi backed INDIA bloc ally Banerjee as she stands besieged by the loss of the party symbol following defections by a majority of its MPs and MLAs after her defeat in the West Bengal elections earlier this year. "First the Shiv Sena, then the NCP, and now the Trinamool Congress. Every time, the same pattern - the BJP and the Election Commission join forces to split a party. Then its election symbol is snatched away," Gandhi said.

Read more: TMC name, symbol frozen: Mamata, Ritabrata factions submit new choices to ECI


He also alleged a "vote theft", (vote chori) and "party theft" (party chori) correlation. "When an entire party can be stolen, it's hardly surprising that the votes of millions of Indians can be stolen, too. Vote theft, government theft, now party theft - these have become symbols of our democratic decline. The ECI's constitutional responsibility is to protect the mandate, but instead, it's aiding those very forces that overturn the people's verdict", the Congress leader said.

Expressing solidarity with Mamata Banerjee, he said: "This fight isn't just Mamata Banerjee's. It's the fight of every political party, every voter who wants free and fair elections."