'Detonate it': Rajnath dares Rahul Gandhi over ‘atom bomb’ vote theft claim

Rajnath Singh

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for claiming to possess an “atom bomb” of evidence against the Election Commission, challenging him to go ahead and “detonate” it.

“Rahul Gandhi says he is in possession of an atom bomb. If it is so, he should detonate it at once. He should just ensure that he is himself out of harm's way,” Singh said, speaking at a media event in Patna on Saturday.

The Congress leader had on Friday alleged that the party had an "atom bomb" of proof to establish “vote chori” by the Election Commission in favour of the BJP, a charge that drew strong criticism from the poll panel.

The Election Commission called the remarks “baseless and wild allegations”.

Singh said the Election Commission was known for its “unquestionable integrity” and accused Gandhi of making “frivolous statements” against a constitutional body. “It is pulling out all the stops to ensure that the upcoming assembly polls in the state are held in a free and fair manner. It does not behove the leader of the opposition to make frivolous statements about a constitutional body,” the BJP MP from Lucknow said.

The defence minister also recalled Rahul Gandhi’s past comments, saying, “Rahul had threatened Parliament with an earthquake, but when he spoke, it turned out to be a damp squib.”

He said the country had not forgotten the Congress’s own record. “The leader of the opposition must remember that his party had tried to murder democracy in 1975 with the imposition of the Emergency,” Singh said.

He further criticised the opposition bloc for questioning the recent Operation Sindoor and said that instead of saluting the bravery of Indian soldiers, Congress was trying to politicise the issue.

Singh also accused the Congress of going soft on insurgency and spinning the “saffron terror” theory for vote bank politics.