Patna: Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief and former Bihar minister Mukesh Sahani triggered a political controversy on Thursday after saying he would “shoot” chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar if he were “pardoned for one murder”, drawing sharp criticism from the BJP. The remarks came amid a political row over alleged differences in the Election Commission (EC) on the implementation of special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.Talking to reporters at Patna airport, Sahani said, “Agar ek khoon maaf hota toh sabse pahle Gyanesh ko goli maar dete (If we were forgiven for committing one murder, I would have shot Gyanesh Kumar).”He later said his remarks were intended to warn against what he described as the misuse of constitutional institutions. “What I meant to say is that if the country is run this way, there will be civil war,” he said, alleging the EC was helping in the “theft of people’s mandate”. He questioned whether elections should continue in their present form, claiming public faith in the process was declining.Sahani also alleged the NDA returned to power through the “back door” and claimed around Rs 40,000 crore was spent through various schemes, including transfers of Rs 10,000 to women entrepreneurs’ bank accounts during the elections despite the Model Code of Conduct being in force. “Inko janata ne thode chuna hai (It’s not as if the public elected them)!” he said.Alleging the EC had become an “arm” of the BJP, Sahani said those responsible would face action in the future. “In 2029, a govt will be formed in the country under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, and Gyanesh Kumar will be the very first person to be sent to prison,” he said.State BJP media incharge Danish Iqbal condemned the remarks, saying it was “highly condemnable” for a neta to talk about taking the law into his hands. “They have double standard. The EC and the EVMs go fine when they win elections but if the NDA wins, they start spitting venoms at us,” Iqbal said, adding the opposition refuses to believe that they are getting rejected by the people. “They question the EVMs, EC and even Army after losing elections,” he said.
