Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], October 19 (ANI): Telangana BJP chief N Ramchander Rao on Monday said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is misleading people with his allegations of "vote theft", claiming that he had failed to provide evidence to substantiate his claims.

Telangana BJP chief said the Election Commission of India and the Supreme Court had repeatedly clarified matters related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, asserting that there had been no forced deletions or vote theft.

He also took a jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, calling him the "real thief" and saying that he had "stolen" the Gandhi surname.

Speaking to ANI, Rao said, "In spite of the Election Commission of India and the Supreme Court repeatedly clarifying matters related to the SIR, they have made it clear that there have been no forced deletions and no vote theft.' 

"Rahul Gandhi has also failed to produce any proof, either before the people, the President of India, or the Supreme Court. Therefore, Rahul Gandhi's repeated claims of vote theft are merely an attempt to mislead the people. In fact, they are the real thieves because they have stolen the Gandhi name, which they are using illegally," he added.

His remarks come amid continued protests by Opposition parties, INDIA bloc and activists against the Election Commission's SIR exercise.

Meanwhile, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Dharmendra Pradhan have accused the Congress and its allies of using youth to fuel unrest and seeking "regime change" along the lines of Bangladesh.

Earlier in the day, BJP MP Rekha Sharma warned against what she described as "anti-establishment forces" seeking to damage public property, drawing parallels between unrest in Europe and protests in India.

Sharma, a former Chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW), said in a post on X, "We have brought the boat out of the storm, children of my country, take care of it. Look at what is happening in Europe. The public properties are getting destroyed, stores are being looted, decades of development have been razed down by anti-establishment forces."

"The CJP and the likes want India to be vandalized in the same way. People on one side you have @narendramodi as creator and on other side a group of destroyers lead by @RahulGandhi. Be very very cautious," her post read. (ANI)