New Delhi, Sep 30 (IANS) Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare and Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday criticised the Congress and the INDIA bloc, accusing them of refusing to introspect after successive electoral setbacks and instead resorting to confusion, falsehoods and fabricated allegations. Addressing a press conference at the Bharatiya Janata Party's Central office here, Chouhan said the country had expected the Congress to apologise for its mistakes and engage in self-reflection. "Instead, both (Congress President) Mallikarjun Kharge and (Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition) Rahul Gandhi continue to spread confusion and make unfounded charges."

He pointed to the INDIA alliance meeting held on the same day, noting that several key allies were absent. "Akhilesh Yadav, MK Stalin and Arvind Kejriwal did not attend, while Uddhav Thackeray joined only virtually and there was no information about Hemant Soren. The DMK has even indicated it will not sit with the Congress wherever the latter is present." Chouhan described the INDIA bloc's condition as fragmented, quoting the line "Ek dil ke tukde hazaar hue". The Union Minister asserted that the INDIA alliance is not prepared to accept Rahul Gandhi as its leader, calling the current effort the LoP's "50th attempt" to relaunch himself.

He noted that at the Congress Working Committee meeting, Rahul Gandhi had repeatedly said "Trust me, believe in me", which, according to Union Minister Chouhan, showed that even the Congress lacks confidence in him. Chouhan termed the proposed 'Save Democracy March' from October 2 to 8 a 'Save Dynasty March' aimed at protecting dynastic politics. He said the people are no longer willing to accept 'Parivarvaad' (dynasty politics).

Referring to the Congress' double standards, Chouhan added that the party raises the slogan "Loktantra Zindabad" when it wins and "Chunav Aayog Murdabad" when it loses. Defending the purification of electoral rolls, Union Minister Chouhan said a clean voter list is the soul of democracy. He questioned how opposing the removal of names of deceased persons, duplicate entries and non-citizens could serve democratic interests.

He recalled that the Congress had dismissed elected governments more than fifty times, imposed the Emergency and changed Chief Ministers of various states frequently. He said that people now vote on the basis of performance and work, not for those involved in corruption. "Constitutional institutions, including the Election Commission and the Judiciary, function independently, and it is the people who decide who becomes Prime Minister or Chief Minister, not any individual leader."

--IANS