Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday challenged the Congress to answer a series of questions on its electoral performance, appointment of Election Commissioners and revision of voter lists, a day before the opposition INDIA bloc's rally at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan.
In a post on X, Rijiju questioned how the Congress managed to win only 44 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections when the Election Commissioners were appointed during the party-led UPA government's tenure.
He also questioned the Congress' criticism of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, pointing out that Kumar was not heading the Election Commission during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
"When Gyanesh Kumar was not CEC in 2024, how did Congress face a hat-trick defeat? Will present Congress CMs resign and also apologise for forming the governments during 2014 to 2026?" Rijiju asked.
The Union minister also questioned the opposition party's stand on removing names of illegal immigrants, deceased persons, people who had shifted residence and duplicate entries from electoral rolls.
"Should all the names in voter lists who are illegal immigrants, dead, shifted or duplicate be removed from voter list or not," he said.
Referring to previous Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercises conducted between 1952 and 2004, Rijiju asked whether those revisions were also illegal.
He listed several such exercises conducted between 1952 and 2004 and questioned the Congress' objections to the ongoing revision process.
Rijiju further alleged that a "one-family party", along with outside forces, was attempting to undermine the Constitution and Indian democracy.
His remarks came ahead of the INDIA bloc's November 1 rally at Ramlila Maidan against alleged irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls and seeking the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday announced that the proposed 'Chalo Dilli' march would begin at noon from the Minto Road-Connaught Place junction and culminate at Ramlila Maidan.
Gandhi urged people to join the march through a post on X.
Meanwhile, Delhi Police sources said permission had been granted for the rally at Ramlila Maidan, but no permission had been sought for the proposed march from Connaught Place to the venue.
Police also said prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita were in force in parts of New Delhi.
