Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday said she was “anguished by the assault on freedom”. Her statement came soon after counting in the Gujarat Rajya Sabha polls was delayed following allegations that two of the party’s MLAs had revealed their votes to Bharatiya Janata Party National President Amit Shah, who contested in the election.
“Self-appointed vigilantes are a threat to liberty and an enemy of pluralism and diversity,” she said. The Congress has alleged that the BJP was pressuring the Election Commision to dismiss its plea seeking to quash two of its MLAs votes for flouting election rules.
Gandhi further said that the Congress will always defend the liberty and freedom of individuals and institutions.
The BJP, however, countered the allegations, saying the Congress was making “desperate attempts” as they had “defeat staring them in the face”. “We requested the Election Commission to reject the Congress’ plea as once votes are cast, nothing can be done,” Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said. “The process was fair.”
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