“If Gyanesh Kumar is dishonest, how did Awadhesh Prasad become MP?”: Acharya Pramod Krishnam

Sambhal (Uttar Pradesh) [India], October 4 (ANI): Former Congress leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam on Sunday called for introspection within the opposition over its criticism of the Election Commission and demands for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Krishnam's remarks came in response to Samajwadi Party MP Awadhesh Prasad's proposed foot march against the Election Commission.
Speaking to ANI, Krishnam said, "Before labelling the Election Commission and the Election Commissioner as thieves, all these MPs should resign from their respective posts. If Gyanesh Kumar is a thief, if he is in the wrong, if he is dishonest, then how did Awadhesh Prasad become an MP? How did he become a member of the Lok Sabha?"
He further questioned how Prasad could have won the election if the Chief Election Commissioner was responsible for alleged irregularities.
"In that case, Awadhesh Prasad should have lost. So, I feel the opposition needs to look within," he said.
Krishnam alleged that the opposition was not losing elections because Gyanesh Kumar was the Chief Election Commissioner, but because of its political positions.
"You are losing because you are engaging in politics against the country. You are losing because you are engaging in politics against Sanatan Dharma. You are losing because you have made a non-serious and immature leader like Rahul Gandhi the Leader of the Opposition," he said.
He said opposition leaders were free to protest against Gyanesh Kumar but should first resign from their Lok Sabha memberships if they considered the Election Commission dishonest.
"You cannot remain Lok Sabha members while calling the Election Commission dishonest or thieves; that is hypocrisy. In India, this is called hypocrisy, and there is no place for hypocrites in the country's politics," Krishnam said.
Krishnam also made a reference to a hypothetical 50-50 population split, alleging that Owaisi would then stop speaking about democracy and democratic values and echo sentiments he attributed to Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
"The day the country's population reaches a 50-50 split, Owaisi will no longer speak of democracy; he will no longer talk about democratic values. On that day, he will echo the very sentiments once expressed by Mohammad Ali Jinnah," he told the reporter. (ANI)