Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday slammed Congress MP Rahul Gandhi for his "ill-researched" comment on BJP candidate Mukesh Dalal's unopposed win on the Surat Lok Sabha seat. Singh pointed out that this wasn't the first time a candidate had won an election unopposed and that the list of such winners was filled with Congress leaders.
After the BJP's Mukesh Dalal was declared winner from the Surat Lok Sabha seat, Rahul Gandhi on Monday posted on Social media: "The true face of the dictator is once again in front of the country! Taking away the right of the people to choose their leader is another step towards destroying the Constitution of Baba Saheb Ambedkar."
Reacting to this, Hardeep Singh Puri cited media reports that listed political leaders who won the elections unopposed. "Surat is not the first time that a candidate has been elected unopposed to Parliament. 35 candidates have been elected unopposed in general elections & bypolls since independence. With yet another ill-researched comment, this time on the unopposed election of Sh Mukesh Dalal Ji in Surat, the ‘young’ & aspiring Congress leader continues to live up to his famous nickname," Hardeep Puri made a jibe at Rahul Gandhi on X, while pointing out the previous instances.
Hardeep Puri Slams Congress's Goa Candidate
Hardeep Puri further slammed Gandhi for fielding a candidate who believed the "Constitution was thrust upon Goans". "His belief in conspiracy theories will be shaken when he realises that this list includes his alliance partners Sh Farooq Abdullah Ji in 1980 & Smt Dimple Yadav Ji in 2012," Puri said.
Hardeep Puri also slammed Rahul Gandhi over the Congress candidate from Goa Capt Viriato Fernandes, who advocated dual citizenship with Portugal for Goans. "His lament, one must say, is highly selective because he has apparently not heard of a certain Capt Viriato Fernandes, the I.N.D.I.Alliance candidate from South Goa who is demanding dual citizenship for people of Goa stating that the Constitution was thrust upon them," Puri further said.
Fernandes on Monday said Former PM Jawaharlal Nehru had said that Goans would decide their own destiny, which did not happen. "When Goa was liberated in the year 1961, the Indian Constitution was forced upon us," Fernandes was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Goa CM Pramod Sawant also hit out at the Congress over Fernandes's comments. He said: "Their candidate dares to undermine the Indian Constitution. Congress must stop this reckless Bharat Todo [Break India] politics immediately. Congress is a threat to our democracy."