NEW DELHI: Telangana BJP president N Ramchander Rao on Sunday demanded an apology from Rahul Gandhi over his remarks on India’s democracy. He accused the Congress leader of insulting the country’s democratic institutions at the Bharat Summit.According to PTI, Rao said the Congress had imposed Emergency and suppressed people’s human rights. He also accused the party of dismissing several democratically elected state governments during its rule.“Rahul Gandhi has forgotten that it was his grandmother who imposed an Emergency in the country. During the Congress rule, several democratically elected governments were dismissed. Now Rahul Gandhi says that since 2014, democracy is not there in the country. This is absurd,” Rao said.Rao was referring to Rahul Gandhi’s remarks at the Bharat Summit, hosted by the Telangana government in Hyderabad on November 13 and 14. Rahul Gandhi had alleged that India was no longer a democracy and questioned the legitimacy of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.Rao also questioned a foreign delegate’s use of the slogan “vote chor, gaddi chod” (vote thief, vacate the seat) at the summit. He asked how a foreign national could interfere in India’s internal political matters.“It is a matter of the country’s sovereignty, the self-respect of the people as the country’s democracy is being taken as an example throughout the world,” Rao said.“Today, our democracy, our elections, our systems are being insulted by Rahul Gandhi before the foreigners. I am sure these are the foreigners who are funding him to create anarchy in the country,” Rao said.
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Rao also targeted the Progressive Alliance and delegates allegedly sponsored by billionaire George Soros, saying they had no right to interfere in India’s internal politics.Rahul Gandhi alleged that 140 million people who voted in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were later declared either “non-existent voters or non-voters”.He questioned the legitimacy of the elections, asking how the democratic process could be considered fair if such a large number of voters were excluded.
