Youth dies after alleged beating at South Garia drug rehab, family vandalizes centre in protest
Election Commission officials inspected the bag of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday as he arrived for an Assembly election campaign in Maharashtra’s Amravati. The incident, which took place on the same day the Congress party lodged a formal complaint about the alleged grounding of Gandhi's helicopter in Jharkhand, has sparked a fresh political controversy.
A video of the inspection shows Election Commission officials thoroughly searching the bag while Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, stood by. He was later seen engaging with other party leaders, unaffected by the check. The inspection comes at a time when the opposition parties, particularly those in the INDIA bloc, have accused the poll body of selectively targeting their leaders.
The Congress has raised concerns about the fairness of the elections, especially after the alleged restriction on Rahul Gandhi’s helicopter in Jharkhand, which reportedly caused delays and cancellations of his public meetings. Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that the chopper was grounded due to political interference and urged the Election Commission to intervene to ensure a level playing field.
The incident with Rahul Gandhi follows similar allegations made by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, who shared a video questioning whether similar bag checks would be conducted for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP leaders. While opposition leaders have cried foul, accusing the Election Commission of selective action, BJP leaders have defended the move as part of routine checks to ensure free and fair elections.
The BJP also posted videos of the Election Commission inspecting the bags of several NDA leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, and others, in a bid to counter the opposition's accusations of bias.
In a rally in Amravati, Rahul Gandhi mocked Prime Minister Modi’s recent speeches, which he said mirrored opposition statements. He humorously suggested that Modi may be suffering from memory loss, comparing the Prime Minister’s speech style to that of former US President Joe Biden.
Maharashtra will vote in a single-phase election on November 20, with the Mahayuti alliance—comprising the BJP, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar’s NCP—facing off against the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which includes Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, Sharad Pawar’s NCP, and the Congress. Vote counting will take place on November 23.