Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has criticised the fairness of the recently concluded general elections in India, claiming that the elections were not conducted on a level playing field and accusing the process of damaging the idea of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Speaking at Georgetown University during a four-day visit to the United States, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha stated, "I don't believe that in a fair election, the BJP would come anywhere near 240 seats. They had a huge financial advantage, and our bank accounts were frozen. The Election Commission did what they wanted. The entire campaign was structured for Modi to push his agenda across the country with different strategies for different states."
Gandhi went on to explain how the Congress party faced significant challenges during the elections, including the freezing of their financial accounts. Despite this, he asserted that the Congress party still succeeded in dismantling what he termed "Modi's idea of India."
"I remember sitting down with our treasurer, and he told us that the accounts were frozen. Yet, the Congress party fought with its accounts frozen and still managed to destroy the idea of Modi," he said during the interaction.
He also claimed that during the campaign, Prime Minister Modi was unsure if he would reach anywhere near 300 or 400 seats, hinting at BJP’s concerns about their electoral performance.
During his visit to the US, Gandhi engaged with the Indian diaspora and youth in Dallas, Texas. He is also expected to meet US lawmakers and senior government officials in Washington, DC.