New Delhi [India], September 3 (ANI): Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora on Tuesday came down heavily on Congress for alleging 'vote theft' and irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, saying the party should first address its own lack of internal democracy.

In an interview with ANI, Deora said the Congress should first put its own house in order before commenting on India's electoral system. He also dismissed Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's allegations of 'vote chori'.

'In 2014, when Congress got its lowest tally ever, 44 MPs, if I'm not mistaken, the Congress was in power. So, if the election commission was being manipulated, who was manipulating it? It's a ridiculous argument. I would tell many friends in the Congress, one day you're blaming the media, one day you'll blame the judiciary, one day you'll blame social media platforms, one day you'll blame EVMs. Now, from EVMs, you've gone to the electoral rolls. These are merely excuses, ultimately stemming from a lack of inner-party democracy. The day a particular party democratises itself, that's the day I'll be willing to listen to them comment on strengthening India's democracy,' Deora said.

The Shiv Sena MP stressed that political parties must first embrace internal democracy. 'If a party doesn't have inner party democracy, if the party doesn't conduct elections, the party doesn't allow people to rise on merit; instead, mediocrity is rewarded, nobody will trust that party to fight... for strengthening India's democracy. The first thing you have to do is fix democracy within,' he said.

Deora, who quit the Congress on January 14, 2024, ending his family's 55-year association with the party, also alleged that merit was often suppressed in his former organisation.

'In my previous party, that meritocracy, where if you are someone who's capable, you speak well in parliament, you have something unique to add, you have a following of your own, certain elements immediately see you as somebody who needs to be cut. In your place, someone who's mediocre at best is elevated. These are systems which, as I said, if you want to fix India's democracy, start by fixing democracy in your own organisation,' he said.

Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, has alleged 'vote-chori' in 48 Lok Sabha constituencies, including Bengaluru Central, claiming the Congress lost the elections to the BJP by a narrow margin. At a meeting of senior All India Congress Committee (AICC) leaders chaired by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on August 12, he said the party would release details of these seats in phases.

The Election Commission has rejected the allegations and asked Rahul Gandhi to sign an affidavit, which he refused, saying he had already sworn an oath to the Constitution.

Rahul Gandhi recently led a 16-day-long 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar to highlight his charge of 'vote theft' and alleged manipulation of electoral rolls by the BJP and the Election Commission. The Monsoon Session of Parliament also witnessed repeated adjournments over opposition protests on the SIR in Bihar. (ANI)