‘Congress bribed CECs with Padma awards and political posts, now ignoring own track record,‘ says Piyush Goyal

Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday attacked the Congress party, which is leading the INDIA bloc’s continued protests seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged SIR irregularities, and recalled its close relations with people who earlier held the CEC post.

Union Minister Goyal further said that the conduct and double standards of Rahul Gandhi and his childish actions are damaging every aspect of the Constitution.

He said, “For the past few days, we have been seeing the conduct and double standards of Rahul Gandhi, seeing his childish actions which demolish every aspect of the Constitution. I want to share some information with you regarding this and ask some questions to Rahul Gandhi. Congress questions the fairness of the Election Commission but overlooks its own track record.”

“Congress raises questions about the Election Commission while ignoring its own track record. If you look at Rahul Gandhi’s (Congress’) track record, they gave a party ticket to one election commissioner, made another a minister, and appointed two as governors," Goyal said in a press conference on Tuesday.

Goyal mentioned the names of four ex-CECs, including TN Seshan, MS Gill, RK Trivedi and Naveen Chawla, and listed how these officials were “rewarded” during the Congress regime.

They fielded TN Seshan against LK Advani, Goyal said. Seshan served as the 10th CEC of India from 1990 to 1996 and was fielded by Congress from the Gandhinagar constituency in the 1999 Lok Sabha polls, which he lost, saying, “In 1999, Congress gave Seshan the opportunity to contest on party ticket against L K Advani. If he had been administering the electoral system with such integrity as an election commissioner, was fielding him as a party candidate in such an important election against a leader like Advani not a way of rewarding him?”

He further added, “M S Gill served as Chief Election Commissioner for five years, from 1996 to 2001. Interestingly, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan. In 2000, while he was still the sitting Chief Election Commissioner, he was conferred India’s second-highest civilian honour. Was this not an inducement? Was it not, in effect, a form of bribery?”