Ahmedabad: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, saying that both of them do not want to protect the Indian Constitution and neither do they intend to save democracy. Kharge, who reached Junagadh in Gujarat on Wednesday, while talking to ANI said that the main objective of the opposition is to save the Constitution and democracy.
He said, “Fighting elections in democracy is a common thing. Our main goal is to save the Constitution and protect democracy. The land where people like Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel were born and gave freedom to the country – both of them are very respectable for us. The country is united because of them. However, two other people do not want the Constitution to be safe. They do not want to save democracy either.” ‘Cross-voting should be investigated’
Speaking on the Vice Presidential election, Kharge said, “We did not have the majority, we got as many votes as we were supposed to get.” Earlier, Congress MP Manish Tewari said that the alleged possibility of cross-voting should be systematically investigated by each component of the opposition alliance. “If cross-voting has taken place, it should be seriously investigated by each component of the India Alliance,” Tewari told ANI.
He said, “Cross-voting is a very serious matter. If what you are saying is correct or what is coming out in the public domain or speculation has even an iota of truth in it, then there should be a systematic and thorough investigation.”
‘All our friend MPs are united’
His remarks came after Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju took a conscience dig at the Opposition over the possibility of cross-voting by India Bloc MPs in the recently concluded vice-presidential election, where NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan emerged victorious. Rijiju said the NDA and all our friend MPs are united.
Rijiju posted on Twitter, “Special thanks to some MPs from the Indi alliance who voted ‘conscience’ for NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan in the vice-presidential election. The NDA and all our friend MPs are united. Congratulations to all for electing a humble and efficient person and a true patriot as the new Vice President of India.” Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary BL Santosh claimed that the India Block candidate got 15 votes less than their total number. Santosh posted on Twitter, “Voting was done through ballot papers and the Indi alliance got 15 votes less than their number. The Indi alliance leaders had campaigned for voting on the basis of conscience. They got this in return.”
Radhakrishnan elected 15th Vice President
Let us tell you that Radhakrishnan was elected the 15th Vice President on Tuesday. In the Vice Presidential election, Radhakrishnan defeated India Block candidate Justice B Sudarshan Reddy by 152 votes. CP Radhakrishnan got 452 first preference votes, while Justice Reddy got 300 first preference votes. 15 votes were declared invalid. Rajya Sabha Secretary General PC Modi said in a press conference, “NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan got 452 first preference votes. He has been elected Vice President of India… Justice Sudarshan Reddy got 300 first preference votes.”
Many parties did not participate in voting
The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) had abstained from voting in the vice-presidential election, while the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) had decided not to participate in the voting. The Shiromani Akali Dal had announced that it would boycott the election as people in Punjab are upset and angry over not getting any help from the central and state governments. The post of Vice President has been vacant since July 21, 2025, as Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from his post citing health reasons.
