Congress' 'Spanking' Swipe Over PM Modi's 'Tight Slap' Remark On SC's EVM Order

Congress stated that it was not a party, directly or indirectly, in either of the petitions on VVPATs, rejected by the Supreme Court on April 26.

Congress stated that it was not a party, directly or indirectly, in either of the petitions on VVPATs, rejected by the Supreme Court on April 26. ( Image Source :PTI )

Congress, in a reply to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Tight slap" remark after the pleas seeking directions to tally all VVPAT slips was rejected by the Supreme Court, has clearly stated that it was not a party, directly or indirectly, in either of the petitions on VVPATs. Responding to PM Modi's remarks, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, while clarifying Congress' non-involvement in the pleas, reminded the PM of the "spanking" by the Supreme Court, when it termed the electoral bonds as illegal.

In a post shared by him on X, the general secretary in-charge of Congress' communication, said, "The Indian National Congress was not a party, directly or indirectly, to the petition on VVPATs which has been rejected by the Supreme Court today."

The Congress leader then reacted to the "tight slap" remark and said, "a few weeks ago the Supreme Court had given the PM a tighter slap - in fact, a spanking - by declaring the corruption-ridden electoral bonds scheme not just illegal but also unconstituional."

The Indian National Congress was not a party, directly or indirectly, to the petition on VVPATs which has been rejected by the Supreme Court today.

Nevertheless, the Prime Minister says that the Supreme Court verdict on VVPATs is a tight slap to the Opposition and that we should…

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) April 26, 2024

Ramesh further stated in the post that PM Modi should aplogise to the country for "amassing Rs 8200 crore over the last five years through his well-documented Chaar Raaste". 

Enumerating them in detail he named the channels of collecting money from the people as "Chanda Do, Dhanda Lo; ⁠Theka Lo, Ghoos do; ⁠Hafta Vasooli; and ⁠Farzi Companies"

The apex court in February this year had struck down the electoral bonds scheme, calling it "unconstitutional".

After VVPATs plea was rejected by the Supreme Court on Friday, Jairam Ramesh had tweeted: "We have taken note of the verdict of the 2-judge bench and our POLITICAL campaign on the greater use of VVPATs to increase public trust in the electoral process will continue."

Apart from the VVPATs pleas, the apex court also struck down petitions which sought turning back to ballot papers in elections.