"Why do you all take Rahul Gandhi seriously": Pralhad Joshi on Congress' allegation that RSS and BJP have "captured" all institutions

Dec 11, 2022

Hubli (Karnataka) [India], December 11 : After Rahul Gandhi claimed that the RSS and the BJP have "captured" all institutions in the country, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Pralhad Joshi on Sunday hit out at the Congress saying Rahul Gandhi's words should not be taken seriously and the grand old party whenever defeated "blames" the institutions.
"Why do you all take Rahul Gandhi seriously, all institutions are working well, if not how we (BJP) lost in Himachal Pradesh. Whenever they (Congress) is defeated they blame it on institutions (Election Commission)," said Union Minister Pralhad Joshi in Hubli.
He was speaking over the Congress leader's allegations that the RSS and the BJP have captured all institutions in the country and that the Constitution exists only in name.
A few days back, during his Bharat Jodo Yatra in Rajasthan's Kota, Gandhi had also alleged that the Lok Sabha TV, which telecasts the parliament sessions does not give enough space to the opposition.
Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha MP Jugal Thakor Lokhandwala on Sunday also hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his comment and said that capturing the institutions is the culture of Congress.
Reacting to Rahul Gandhi's allegation, the Union Minister said that all institutions are working well.
"If it was not so, how did we (BJP) lose in Himachal Pradesh?" questioned Joshi. He further alleged that whenever Congress is defeated, they blame it on the institutions (Election Commission).
Apart from putting allegations on the BJP of capturing all institutions, Gandhi, during his Bharat Jodo Yatra had also alleged that the Lok Sabha TV never turns towards the opposition during parliamentary sessions whenever they try to raise issues on demonetisation or on China. He even alleged that the mics of Congress MPs are turned off whenever they try to raise issues on important matters.
In the recently concluded Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections, the BJP has retained its hold over Gujarat with a landslide victory.
Overcoming the anti-incumbency factor, BJP registered a massive victory by winning 156 seats in the 182-seat Gujarat Assembly.
Whereas, Congress snatched victory in Himachal Pradesh from BJP by winning 40 seats in the 68-seat Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly.
Congress Leader Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu has been sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. On the other hand, Bhupendra Patel will be taking oath as the Chief Minister of Gujarat on Monday for the second time. This has been the seventh straight win for BJP in the state.