Mumbai, Oct 30 — BJP leader Ram Kadam on Friday criticised the INDIA Bloc's 'People's Impeachment' programme against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, calling it a political drama and accusing the Opposition of undermining constitutional institutions while claiming to uphold the Constitution.
Kadam said impeachment was a serious constitutional process and challenged Opposition leaders to present evidence if they had concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission or electoral procedures.
"Impeachment is a serious constitutional process. You cannot turn it into a political drama. If you have any objections, approach the judiciary or submit evidence to the Election Commission," he told IANS.
Referring to the Opposition's demand for ballot papers, Kadam pointed to the recent elections to 28 Legislative Council seats across Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka, which were conducted using ballot papers. He said the Congress won only one seat in these elections, arguing that the party blamed the Election Commission after electoral defeats irrespective of the voting method.
"You talk about ballot papers, but elections to 28 Legislative Council seats across four states were held using ballot papers, and Congress won only one seat. Whether elections are conducted through EVMs or ballot papers, you lose and then blame the Election Commission," he claimed.
The BJP leader also cited his party's electoral setbacks in the past, recalling that it won only two seats in the 1984 Lok Sabha elections and that former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had also faced defeat.
"Look at us, we were defeated in 1984; we just got two seats; former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee was defeated. We did not blame the EVMs; we did not blame the Election Commission," Kadam said.
In a separate attack on the Opposition, Kadam alleged that its leaders were damaging the reputation of constitutional institutions, including the judiciary and the Election Commission, through political pressure despite professing faith in the Constitution.
He said those with objections to voter list revisions should come forward with evidence and suggestions instead of misleading the public. Kadam also pointed out that the deadline for submitting claims regarding electoral roll revisions had been extended, giving people whose names were missing from voter lists an opportunity to raise their concerns.
"They have no evidence or suggestions and are only trying to mislead people. You cannot win in politics by misleading people," he said.
Rejecting allegations that trains had been stopped to affect public participation in political events, Kadam said no trains had been halted and described the claims as false. He also referred to the Emergency, asserting that the country had not forgotten the period when democratic rights were curtailed.