Kishan Reddy Asks Rahul Gandhi, Congress to Introspect Over Repeated Poll Defeats

Union Coal Minister G. Kishan Reddy on Sunday criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his repeated allegations against the BJP, the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. He said the Congress should introspect on the reasons for its repeated electoral defeats instead of blaming the BJP and election authorities.

Addressing reporters in Hyderabad, Kishan Reddy accused Rahul Gandhi of lacking political understanding and alleged that he followed a “double standard” towards the Election Commission. He said the ECI was considered credible when the Congress won elections but was accused of “match-fixing” when the party lost. He was responding to Rahul Gandhi’s recent allegation that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was acting at the direction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Kishan Reddy also questioned the Congress’ position on SIR, citing Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala’s remarks that the exercise had helped remove alleged fake votes in Kerala. He asked why SIR was acceptable when the Congress won in Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala, but was criticised when the BJP benefited. He alleged that the Congress credited its victories to Rahul Gandhi while describing BJP victories as “vote theft”.

The Union minister contrasted the NDA’s 12-year tenure with previous Congress-led governments, claiming that crores of people had moved out of poverty and that there had been no corruption taint involving the Prime Minister or Union ministers. He alleged that the UPA period was marked by repeated corruption scandals and said the previous Prime Minister was effectively controlled by others.

On national security, Kishan Reddy said the BJP had never compromised on the issue for political gains and reiterated its “nation first” approach. He also asked the Congress to examine why it had remained out of power for long periods in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.

Kishan Reddy accused Congress governments in Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana of facing financial difficulties, corruption allegations and difficulties in fulfilling poll promises. He also questioned the Telangana government's handling of protests.

He further alleged that Rahul Gandhi had targeted several constitutional institutions and national organisations, including the armed forces, Supreme Court, Lok Sabha Speaker, ED, CBI, Income Tax Department, GST and RSS. Kishan Reddy said such criticism amounted to an attempt to weaken democratic and constitutional institutions.

He maintained that Indian voters were politically mature and accused Rahul Gandhi of making inappropriate remarks against Modi and the BJP out of frustration over repeated election defeats.