'Respect people's mandate, introspect political role': Rajnath Singh advises Rahul Gandhi

Lucknow, October 16 (IANS) Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday advised Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, to respect the people's mandate and introspect on his political role. Singh also alleged that the Congress MP was resorting to political disruptions in the name of safeguarding democracy.Addressing a press conference in Lucknow, Singh cited the Congress' electoral record after the introduction of voter identity cards and challenged LoP Gandhi to explain why the party had failed to secure a majority on its own at the Centre since 1984.“Rahul Gandhi, instead of doing politics of disruptions in the name of saving democracy, should respect the people's mandate and introspect on his political role. This is my suggestion to him. India's future is the responsibility of everyone,” Singh said.Questioning the Congress' allegations of vote theft, the Defence Minister referred to the history of voter identification in India and the party's electoral performance over the decades.“For five to ten decades, elections were held in the country without voter ID cards. In other words, before 1993, voter ID cards did not exist. There was no concrete proof to establish a voter's identity. And ever since voter ID cards were introduced, a majority has become a distant dream for the Congress.“…Since the voter ID card system was introduced in the country, the Congress has not formed a government on its own majority. Congress claims that its votes have been stolen. But I want to remind you that in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress last won in 1984, and after 1984, the Congress has not secured a majority in the country.“At that time, the Bharatiya Janata Party was a party with just two seats. Now you decide: Was this vote theft or a failure to perform? Rahul Gandhi should answer this question,” Singh said.The Defence Minister's remarks came amid the Congress' allegations of irregularities in the electoral process and its criticism of the Election Commission over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral rolls that the Opposition claims has led to 13 crore voters being left out of the draft rolls.Singh challenged the Opposition party to examine its electoral performance instead of attributing its defeats to alleged vote theft.He also stressed that democracy could not be used as a pretext for political disruption or for undermining constitutional institutions, asserting that respecting the people's mandate was essential to safeguarding democratic values.