Ravi Shankar Prasad claims Nehru became PM through 'vote chori'

Patna: Criticising the Congress for alleging that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was working at the behest of the Narendra Modi government, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday claimed that Jawaharlal Nehru became the prime minister through 'vote chori'.

The Congress-led INDIA bloc on Saturday held a symbolic "public impeachment" of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at a mock parliament.

"What kind of mock parliament is this, in which only the opposition is present, and the ruling party is absent? While its (INDIA bloc's) leaders disrupt parliamentary proceedings in the House, the party is mocking parliament and the people of the country by staging such an exercise," Prasad told reporters at the Bihar BJP headquarters in Patna.


Prasad also accused the opposition party of disrespecting Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel by holding a mock parliament on his 151st birth anniversary.

"In 1947, most Congress committee members had proposed Patel's name for prime ministership, but he had to withdraw following pressure from Mahatma Gandhi. Jawaharlal Nehru became prime minister through vote chori. And it is an open secret how many Congress leaders became PM on their merit," he said.

Describing Rahul Gandhi as "irresponsible" and a "pseudo politician," Prasad challenged him and his party legislators to resign if they thought the voting process was compromised.

"When the result went in your favour, then it was considered right. You won Himachal Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka. Had we got fewer seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commission would have been right for you. When you lose, you criticise the Election Commission. This is shameful," he said.

The former Union minister claimed that the Congress has been repeatedly suffering electoral defeats in several states because it has lost people's support.

The BJP leader accused Rahul Gandhi and his associates of undermining constitutional institutions, including the Election Commission, the Supreme Court and the army, and alleged that Congress leaders were "acting under pressure from foreign powers to weaken" India's democratic system.

Prasad claimed people would reject the Samajwadi Party in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election and the Congress in the 2029 Lok Sabha polls.