Congress leaders accuse BJP of conspiracy to "murder democracy", hail SC verdict on Chandigarh Mayor election

New Delhi [India], February 20 (ANI): Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of "dirty election manipulation and "institutional sabotage", Congress leaders on Tuesday said that the Supreme Court has saved democracy with its verdict in the Chandigarh Mayor election case.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi made a scathing attack on BJP after the Supreme Court verdict which quashed the election result and said that AAP's Kuldeep Kumar is the winner in the election for Chandigarh Mayor.
Rahul Gandhi said that Returning Officer Anil Masih, who was the Returning Officer for the election, was just a pawn in the conspiracy.
"In the BJP's conspiracy to murder democracy Masih is just a pawn, behind it is 'face' of Modi," Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X.
A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra quashed the decision by Anil Masih by which be declared BJP candidate Manoj Kumar Sonkar as Chandigarh Mayor on January 30.
The order of the apex court came as it found that the Returning Officer had deliberately defaced eight ballots that were cast in favour of Kuldeep Kumar to make them invalid.
The apex court today physically examined the ballot papers and found that they are not defaced. It directed that Kuldeep Kumar be declared as mayor with 20 votes (12 votes which he received and 8 which were for him and were defaced by Masih).
Kharge said all Indians must fight the "onslaught on the Constitution" collectively.
"The Supreme Court has saved Democracy from the fangs of an autocratic BJP, which resorted to dirty election manipulation. The institutional sabotage in the Chandigarh Mayor Polls is only the tip of the iceberg in Modi-Shah's devious conspiracy to trample Democracy. All Indians must fight this onslaught on our Constitution, collectively. Never forget. Our Democracy shall be at a crossroads in the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections!" Kharge posted on X.
Supreme Court further directed the Registrar Judicial to issue notice to Anil Masih for perjury proceedings under Section 340 CrPC for making a false statement before the court that the mark was made on eight ballots as they were defaced.
The bench slammed Masih saying he had "unlawfully altered the course of the mayoral election". (ANI)