ECI remained 'silent' when Congress bank accounts were frozen: Pilot

Congress leader Sachin Pilot hit the campaign trail from Kathua in Jammu on Tuesday as one of the party's star campaigners, and attacked the Election Commission of India (ECI) for "remaining silent" when the bank accounts of the country's main Opposition party were frozen, and elected chief ministers sent to jail.

Campaigning for Congress candidate Choudhary Lal Singh from the Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency, Pilot accused the BJP government at the Centre of playing "religious politics to divert attention from its failures" on the development front.

"The Election Commission is watching as a mute spectator. In connection with the Chandigarh mayoral elections, we had to move the Supreme Court for justice, and we got it. They sealed the accounts of the Congress, put elected chief ministers in jail, and tried to muzzle the Opposition," Pilot said while addressing a rally.

He also criticised the BJP leaders for "using religion" for political gain and said, "They centre their politics around issues like mandir-masjid, Hindu-Muslim, Hindustan-Pakistan. However, they show little interest in issues concerning schools, colleges, hospitals, economy, employment, women, youth, farmers, and inflation."

Pilot claimed that there is a wave of change sweeping the entire country. "I went to Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Harayana, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh. I want to tell you — what the media and social media are projecting is not true. The truth is that the 10-year rule of the BJP government is being questioned by people. People on the ground are seeking a report card for the government," he said.

Highlighting the Congress manifesto, Pilot mentioned five major announcements, including a guarantee that women from poor families would receive Rs 1 lakh in their accounts annually.

"Under the rule of the (Jammu and Kashmir) lieutenant-governor, outsiders are encroaching on land. Land that is under cultivation is being snatched from the people and given to outsiders," he further alleged.

Hitting out at BJP leaders over their remarks on Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, he said, "I want to tell you that elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held before September this year. It is not the government saying so but the order of the Supreme Court."

Pilot said that in a similar way, the Ram temple was built after the Supreme court's judgment. "It was a judgement of the Supreme court that the Ram temple be constructed in Ayodhya. It was an order of the Supreme Court that electoral bonds are illegal. These things have been done on orders of the Supreme court", he said.

Udhampur is set to go to polls on 19 April. The BJP has fielded Union minister Jitendra Singh from the constituency, seeking to retain the seat for the third time. Along with the Congress' Choudhary Lal Singh, the entry of former minister G.M. Saroori on a Democratic Azad Party (DPAP) ticket has made this a three-cornered contest.