NEW DELHI: Union minister Chirag Paswan on Wednesday challenged Rahul Gandhi to resign before questioning the electoral process, invoking the Congress leader’s own victory in Raebareli to counter his criticism of the Election Commission.Paswan, however, condemned the use of force against students protesting alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, saying brutality against demonstrators was unacceptable.The remarks came amid ongoing protests in Delhi demanding action against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged voter-roll irregularities and SIR rollback. While opposing police excesses, Paswan cautioned against viewing the clashes from a single perspective, alleging that anti-social elements could infiltrate demonstrations and provoke confrontations under the cover of student protests.“I certainly do not condone brutality. I would never support the use of force in this manner against students—or anyone else, for that matter,” Paswan said.He, however, cautioned against viewing the incident from one perspective, alleging that anti-social elements sometimes infiltrate protests and use students and young people as cover to provoke confrontations with police.“But at the same time, it is also important to understand the circumstances: where it happened, what exactly occurred, and how it unfolded. Because we see visuals from both sides,” he said.“There are instances where anti-social elements infiltrate the crowd, using students and the youth as a cover. They confront the police—and let’s not forget, police personnel are human beings too; they have families,” Paswan added.He said escalation by either protesters or the administration was inappropriate, stressing that the use of force could not be justified merely by provocation.“This kind of escalation shouldn’t happen on either side,” he said. “There are anti-social elements who use such protests as a pretext to spread anarchy. And it is wrong when they raise their hands against the police.”“Equally, when the administration takes such harsh action—whether due to provocation or other reasons — that, too, is not appropriate,” he added.Paswan also criticised Rahul for repeatedly raising the issue, accusing the Congress leader of politicising the matter. He questioned the LoP’s challenge to the electoral process, pointing to the Congress leader’s victory from Rae Bareli and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s victory from Wayanad.“Rahul Gandhi often tries to find a political angle in everything,” Paswan said, adding, “But to politicize the matter to this extent and repeatedly hold press conferences about it shows that your priorities are not clearly defined.”
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“Resign yourself first—you won from Raebareli based on this very election process; your sister Priyanka won from Wayanad in the same manner; your 99 MPs won through this exact process,” he added.Rahul, meanwhile, met students allegedly injured during the protests at Sonia Gandhi’s residence in Delhi’s Janpath on Wednesday. He appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to obstruct the protesting students, describing them as “the voice of the country”, and assured them that the Congress would stand by them.Rahul also called on students to document evidence of alleged police action, “I also want to tell the police with love that I have asked every student to make videos, keep evidence with them and send it to us. When this entire episode ends, we will get justice and punish those who have beaten up our students, from top to bottom — from Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Gyanesh Kumar to all the constables who are raising their hands on our children.“