Congress wants Bangladesh-like situation puppet govt in India Minister Nityanand Rai

Surat, Nov 5 (PTI) Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai on Thursday accused Congress of fearing defeat in elections and trying to create a Bangladesh-like situation in India by taking orders from "foreign masters".

    Addressing a press conference here as part of the BJP's 'Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy' campaign, Rai alleged that Congress was trying to protect 13 crore fake voters by opposing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

    "It appears that Congress is taking orders from its foreign masters. It wants to create a situation in India akin to that in Bangladesh, aiming to install a puppet government that dances to the tune of others," he said.

The Opposition, led by Congress, was spreading misconceptions about the electoral roll revision as it feared defeat in the coming elections, Rai alleged.

    About 13 crore names were removed from electoral rolls during the SIR, including 6.3 crore voters who had relocated, three crore who were absent, 2.8 crore deceased voters and one crore duplicate entries, the minister said.

    The Congress was now trying to protect these voters, he alleged, asking whether elections conducted with such names in voter lists could uphold democratic integrity.

     "Foreign infiltrators" too figured in electoral rolls, Rai alleged.

     Congress and its allies, including the Samajwadi Party, Communists and Rashtriya Janata Dal, were resorting to "anarchy" in order to weaken democracy and defame the country on the pretext of opposing the SIR, he alleged.

    The objective of the SIR was not to take away anyone's right to vote but to ensure that all eligible Indian citizens were included in the electoral rolls, Rai said.

    By "supporting infiltrators" in the name of protecting voting rights, Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi were committing a "sin", he said.

    "If an infiltrator's name remains on the voter list, it snatches the rights of India's youth, taking a share of their employment and India's economy," Rai said, adding that illegal foreign nationals would no longer be acceptable in the country.

    The minister also accused the Opposition of repeatedly questioning India's military capabilities and the credibility of its democratic institutions even as the country's global standing was growing under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.

     Taking a swipe at Congress, Rai said the party which imposed Emergency was now raising concerns about the democracy and Constitution.

    He further claimed that the Congress questioned electronic voting machines (EVMs) only when it lost elections.

    Between 2014 and 2025, the Congress suffered defeat in 56 Assembly elections, he claimed.

     Around 25 crore people were brought out of poverty under the Modi government, crores of houses and toilets were provided to the poor, and free medical treatment was being extended to them, the Union minister said.

    The Congress was losing elections because it gave priority to family, corruption and power rather than public welfare, he alleged.

     India had suffered the consequences of appeasement politics in the past and there was no place for any ideology or party seeking to divide the country, the BJP leader said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)