Rahul Gandhi's inspection of EVMs in Amethi not violation of law: Congress

NEW DELHI: Congress hit out at BJP for demanding action against Rahul Gandhi for inspecting EVMs inside some polling booths in Amethi, saying the party had poor understanding of the law as the Congress vice president had done no cognisable offence.

"BJP has a poor understanding about the law of the country. What should be done and not done is up to the Election Commission to decide," Union Minister Salman Khurshid said.

Responding to a question, he told reporters that Rahul had done nothing that was in violation of law.

"It's only where there are cognisable offences that FIR are registered. If there is no cognisable offence, no FIR is lodged.

"Interference with polling, with voting may well be a cognisable offence, but taking a look by a candidate that everything is in order...I am not prepare to believe that it is in violation of law," he said, dismissing BJP's charges.

BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu had earlier in the day said that Rahul, the Congress candidate from Amethi, had gone to EVM enclosures during polling hours but there was no action against him unlike registration of a case against Narendra Modi and Chandrababu Naidu for speaking to the media beyond the permissible limits of a polling booth.

Naidu cited media reports to say that Rahul inspected EVMs in some booths during polling yesterday.