Lok Sabha polls not free or BJP wouldn't have reached 240 seats: Rahul Gandhi in US

Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has alleged that the recently concluded general elections in India were not fought on a level playing field, asserting that the polls have destroyed the idea of Modi.

The Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, who is currently on a four-day visit to the United States, made the remarks during an interaction session at the prestigious Georgetown University.

"I don't believe that in a fair election, the BJP would come anywhere near 240 seats. I would be surprised. They had a huge financial advantage and had locked our bank accounts. The Election Commission was doing what they wanted. The entire campaign was structured so that Mr. Modi could carry out his agenda across the country, with different designs for different states. I don’t see it as a free election. I see it as a heavily controlled election," said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during the interaction.

Elaborating on how the Congress fought the polls, Gandhi said Congress fought the general elections with its accounts frozen. He said the party still managed to destroy what he called Narendra Modi's idea of India.

"I was watching the (Lok Sabha) elections...At a point in the elections, we sat down with our treasurer, and he said, " Look, the bank accounts are frozen. The Congress party fought the elections with their bank accounts frozen and destroyed the idea of Modi," he said.  Responding to a question, Gandhi said that halfway through the campaign, Prime Minister Modi didn't think he would get anywhere near 300 or 400 seats.

Gandhi, who arrived in the US on Saturday, interacted with members of the Indian diaspora and youths in Dallas, Texas. He also plans to meet lawmakers and senior officials of the US government in Washington DC.