"Distorting truth, misrepresenting facts to malign forces": BJP's CR Kesavan hits back at Rahul Gandhi
Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], May 18 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Spokesperson CR Kesavan on Sunday hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his accusations against External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar that the government 'informed Pakistan' ahead of Operation Sindoor, calling the claim a distortion of facts and an attack on the armed forces.
CR Kesavan alleged that Rahul Gandhi is 'distorting the truth and misrepresenting facts to malign our armed forces,' and demanded that the Congress MP delete his tweet and issue an unconditional apology.
Speaking with ANI, Kesavan said, 'Rahul Gandhi's tweet is downright dishonest, deceptive and dangerous as Rahul Gandhi is distorting the truth and misrepresenting facts to malign our armed forces...Rahul Gandhi should first withdraw and delete his tweet and tender an unconditional apology.'
Referring to the May 11 press conference by Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt General Rajiv Ghai, Kesavan emphasised that the Indian Army had attempted to inform Pakistan of its intent to strike terror infrastructure, only after the operation had already commenced.
'Rahul Gandhi's false allegations have been clearly deflated and debunked by the press conference on May 11th by DGMO Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai,' Kesavan said.
Lt General Ghai had said that the compulsion of India to strike at the 'heart of terror' was communicated to the Pakistan DGMO, however the Pakistan side had 'brusquely turned down' the request.
Kesavan further requested Rahul Gandhi to 'desist from desperate action to stay politically relevant.'
'Rahul Gandhi should desist from desperate action to stay politically relevant and immediately withdraw and delete his tweet and tender an unconditional apology for trying to peddle false propaganda.'
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi posted a video on X, in which Jaishankar was seen speaking to the media on Thursday following the inauguration of the Honduras Embassy in Delhi.
In his X post, Gandhi alleged wrongdoing by the government, stating: 'Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime. EAM has publicly admitted that the GOI did it. Who authorised it? How many aircraft did our air force lose as a result?'
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that left 26 civilians dead. As part of the operation, Indian Armed Forces targeted terror infrastructure deep inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, eliminating over 100 terrorists linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen.
Following the strikes, Pakistan retaliated with cross-border shelling and attempted drone attacks. In response, India launched coordinated airstrikes that damaged key military infrastructure across 11 Pakistani airbases. On May 10, both sides announced an understanding on the cessation of hostilities. (ANI)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News18
29 minutes ago
- News18
Rahul Gandhi Challenges ECI To Publish Voter Rolls, Post-5pm CCTV Footage Of Maharashtra Polls
Last Updated: Rahul Gandhi ignited a political row after he claimed that a systematic method was used to influence the Maharashtra election outcome in favour of BJP. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hit out at Election Commission of India (ECI) over the claims and allegations of 'electoral manipulation" in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, urging the poll body to respond to his allegations in a 'proper manner". The Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition said that 'releasing unsigned, evasive notes to intermediaries" was not a done thing to respond to his 'serious questions." Gandhi also demanded the poll body to publish consolidated data for the recently held elections and all post-5pm CCTV footage from Maharashtra polling booths. 'Dear EC, You are a Constitutional body. Releasing unsigned, evasive notes to intermediaries is not the way to respond to serious questions. If you have nothing to hide, answer the questions in my article and prove it by– Publishing consolidated, digital, machine-readable voter rolls for the most recent elections to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas of all states including Maharashtra and releasing all post-5pm CCTV footage from Maharashtra polling booths. Evasion won't protect your credibility. Telling the truth will," Gandhi said in a post on X. Rahul Gandhi's remarks came hours after the poll body dismissed the allegations raised by the Lok Sabha LoP that there was a large-scale electoral manipulation in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections. What ECI Said? The ECI hit back with a point wise rebuttal, stating that 'facts are completely being ignored." 'Unsubstantiated allegations raised against the Electoral Rolls of Maharashtra are an affront to the rule of law. The Election Commission had brought out all these facts in its reply to the INC on 24th December 2024 itself, which is available on ECI's website. It appears that all these facts are being completely ignored while raising such issues again and again," the ECI said. Following Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi's tweet on Maharashtra election, ECI says, '…unsubstantiated allegations raised against the Electoral Rolls of Maharashtra are affront to the rule of law. The Election Commission had brought out all these facts in its reply to INC on 24th… — ANI (@ANI) June 7, 2025 Adding to its rebuttal about how 'facts were being completely ignored" repeatedly, the ECI further said that such actions not only show 'a complete disregard for the law," but also undermine the integrity of thousands of party-appointed representatives and demoralise the lakhs of election officials who, it said, 'work untiringly and transparently during elections." 'After any unfavourable verdict by the voters, trying to defame the Election Commission by saying that it is compromised, is completely absurd," stated the poll body. Rahul Gandhi's Allegations The Congress leader ignited a political row after he claimed that a systematic method was used to influence the election outcome in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In a post on X, the grand-old party leader summarised the key points of an article he wrote for The Indian Express, where he described the so-called electoral manipulation. In his article, Gandhi outlined a five-step process he claimed was used to tilt the Maharashtra election. 'Step 1: Rig the panel for appointing the Election Commission Step 2: Add fake voters to the roll Step 3: Inflate voter turnout Step 4: Target the bogus voting exactly where BJP needs to win Step 5: Hide the evidence," the Leader of Opposition wrote in his post. 'It's not hard to see why the BJP was so desperate in Maharashtra," Gandhi wrote in his post. 'But rigging is like match-fixing – the side that cheats might win the game, but damages institutions and destroy public faith in the result." 'All concerned Indians must see the evidence. Judge for themselves. Demand answers," Gandhi added. He also warned that what happened in Maharashtra could be repeated elsewhere. 'The match-fixing of Maharashtra will come to Bihar next, and then anywhere the BJP is losing," he said, calling match-fixed elections are a 'poison" for any democracy. Earlier at multiple occasions, Gandhi had raised concerns over the surge in new voters, particularly between the 2024 Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections in Maharashtra, highlighting that 39 lakh new voters were added in just five months after the Lok Sabha polls. 'We want to bring to the notice of the people of India some information that we have found regarding the Maharashtra elections. We have studied in detail the voter lists, the voting pattern and we have a team working on this for some time. There are many irregularities that we have found," Gandhi had said in February this year. Maharashtra Elections 2024 The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti alliance had scored a massive and astonishing victory over Maha Vikas Aghadi in the Maharashtra Assembly elections. The unprecedented electoral sweep is a record win as no alliance has ever crossed the magic mark of 200 seats in the Maharashtra polls. The ruling Mahayuti had won 234 of the 288 seats in the Maharashtra elections, with the BJP emerging as the single largest party, winning 132 seats on its own. About the Author Shobhit Gupta Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at and covers India and International news. He previously worked with Hindustan Times Digital (HTDS) and NDTV. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India ...Read More Get Latest Updates on Movies, Breaking News On India, World, Live Cricket Scores, And Stock Market Updates. Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! tags : BJP maharashtra maharashtra election Rahul Gandhi Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: June 07, 2025, 19:30 IST News politics Rahul Gandhi Challenges ECI To Publish Voter Rolls, Post-5pm CCTV Footage Of Maharashtra Polls
News18
35 minutes ago
- News18
'Indira Gandhi Fixed Elections': BJP's Nishikant Dubey Cites 1975 Verdict To Hit Back At Rahul
Last Updated: The 2024 Maharashtra Assembly Election resulted in a sweeping victory for the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, which clinched 235 seats in a commanding performance. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey on Friday hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, urging him to revisit the 1975 Allahabad High Court judgment that found then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi guilty of electoral malpractices. Dubey's remarks followed Rahul Gandhi's recent statement alleging that the BJP had undermined democratic processes by 'rigging" the 2024 Maharashtra election in its favour. 'Rahul Baba, how is the election fixed or stolen? Read the exploits of your grandmother, Indira Gandhi, which is the judgment of the Allahabad High Court," Dubey said in a post on X. राहुल बाबा इलेक्शन फ़िक्स या कैसे चुराया जाता है,अपने दादी इंदिरा गांधी जी का कारनामा पढ़िए जो इलाहाबाद हाईकोर्ट का जजमेंट है1. 1971 के चुनाव में सेना तथा उसके हेलीकॉप्टर का इस्तेमाल हुआ2. प्रधानमंत्री इंदिरा गांधी जी के चुनाव में शराब,कपड़ा खुले आम बाँटे गए3. हिंदू धर्म के… — Dr Nishikant Dubey (@nishikant_dubey) June 7, 2025 The Allahabad High Court, in its June 12, 1975 ruling, had found Indira Gandhi guilty of electoral misconduct and invalidated her election to the Lok Sabha from Rae Bareli. The verdict led to her disqualification and became a key trigger for the imposition of Emergency later that month. Dubey also criticised the Congress party's track record on democracy, adding, 'The army and its helicopters were used in the 1971 elections. Liquor and clothes were openly distributed during the election of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Ask for votes in the name of Hinduism. Voters were brought in vehicles. Money is distributed indiscriminately. Government employees engaged in an election campaign. You create the election drama, your family ruins the country, and you will not get the liberty to loot the elections anymore." On Saturday, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Maharashtra assembly election held in November 2024 was 'rigged", and claimed that the same will be repeated in Bihar assembly polls due later this year. In a post on X, Gandhi shared his article published in a newspaper, explaining the 'rigging" in the Maharashtra assembly polls. 'Maharashtra assembly elections in 2024 were a blueprint for rigging democracy. My article shows how this happened, step by step," Gandhi said on X. The 2024 Maharashtra Assembly Election resulted in a sweeping victory for the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, which clinched 235 seats in a commanding performance. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) solidified its dominance by emerging as the single-largest party, securing 132 seats. First Published:
New Indian Express
38 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Congress never flagged discrepancies: EC sources on Rahul Gandhi's charge of rigging in Maharashtra poll
Underscoring that match-fixed elections are a "poison" for any democracy, Gandhi wrote that the side that cheats may win the game, but it damages institutions and destroys public faith. In a post on X, the Congress leader outlined the alleged electoral irregularities in a stepwise manner -- fake voters added, the voter turnout inflated, bogus voting facilitated and evidence subsequently hidden. Rejecting the claims, the sources underlined that 6,40,87,588 (over 6.4 crore) voters who reached the polling stations between 7 am and 6 pm exercised their franchise in the Maharashtra polls. About 58 lakh votes, on an average, were polled every hour, they said. Going by the average trend, nearly 1.16 crore voters could have voted in the last two hours, the sources added. "Therefore, the casting of 65 lakh votes by electors in two hours is much below the average hourly voting trend," an EC functionary pointed out. The sources noted that the voting progressed in the presence of the polling agents formally appointed by the candidates or political parties at every polling booth. The Congress candidates or their authorised agents had not raised "any substantiated allegation" regarding any kind of abnormal voting at the time of scrutiny before the returning officers and election observers the next day, they pointed out. On the issue of alleged fudging of electoral data, the sources said voter lists in India, including in Maharashtra, were prepared according to the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. According to the laws, either just before an election or once every year, a special summary revision of the electoral rolls is conducted and its final copy handed over to all national or state political parties. After the finalisation of the electoral rolls for the Maharashtra election, as against the 9,77,90,752 (over 9. 77 crore) electors, only 89 appeals were filed before the first appellate authority -- the district magistrate concerned -- and only one was filed before the second appellate authority -- the state chief electoral officer. "Therefore, it is amply clear that there was no grievance of the Congress or any other political party before the conduct of the Maharashtra Assembly election in 2024," the EC functionary said. During the voter-list revision, for more than one lakh polling booths, along with the 97,325 booth-level officers appointed by the electoral registration officers, 1,03,727 (over 1.03 lakh) booth-level agents were also appointed by all political parties. These included the 27,099 booth-level agents appointed by the Congress. The sources said more than one lakh booth-level officers of Maharashtra are still waiting for such "wild allegations" to be converted into at least one single real appeal before district magistrates in accordance with the election law against discrepancies in the voters' list.
