New Delhi, Oct 13: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday accused the Congress of “undermining the impartiality” of the Election Commission of India (ECI) by “politically rewarding” Chief Election Commissioners, Election Commissioners and Electoral Officers and even bestowing the Padma Vibhushan on a sitting CEC, during the previous UPA government.

Addressing a press conference, Union Minister and BJP leader Piyush Goyal asserted that the NDA government, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has granted the Election Commission complete autonomy to function independently in the national and public interest.

“The NDA government has never attempted to offer political benefits to any appointed Election Commissioner. It has allowed them to work honestly and has never committed the wrongdoing of offering them political positions in violation of the legal provisions,” Goyal said.

The Union Minister also added: “The Congress appointed a Chief Election Commissioner as a candidate on its party ticket, inducted another into the Union Cabinet, and appointed two Chief Election Commissioners as Governors. On one occasion, despite the Chief Election Commissioner’s complaint that an Election Commissioner working under him was acting entirely like a Congress agent, the Congress government refused to remove that official.”

“We have rarely seen such a degree of bias in any government’s conduct as the Congress has demonstrated,” Goyal remarked.

The Union Minister said that during T.N. Seshan’s tenure as the Chief Election Commissioner, the Congress used to praise his integrity and fearlessness, “but in 1999, it gave him the opportunity to contest on a Congress ticket against L. K. Advani.”

Goyal asked that if Seshan had been administering the electoral system with such integrity as an Election Commissioner, was fielding him as a party candidate in such an important election, against a leader like Advani, not a way of rewarding him?

“M.S. Gill served as the Chief Election Commissioner for five years, from 1996 to 2001. Interestingly, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan. In 2000, while he was still the sitting Chief Election Commissioner when he was conferred India’s second-highest civilian honour. Was this not a kind of reward for sycophancy?” the Union Minister asked.

“M.S. Gill joined the Congress three years after retirement. He was elected to Rajya Sabha in 2004 and was made the Union Minister in 2008,” Goyal said while accusing the Congress of misusing Election Commissioners.

“This also appears to be a case of some kind of deal-making,” he remarked.

Noting that R.K. Trivedi’s tenure as the Chief Election Commissioner ended on December 31, 1985, the BJP leader said: “Within two months, on February 26, 1986, the Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress government appointed him Governor of Gujarat.”

Recalling that in 2005, the then UPA government “repeatedly claimed” that Sonia Gandhi had appointed Naveen Chawla as an Election Commissioner, Goyal asked: “How could Sonia Gandhi appoint him without holding any government position? Who was running the government at that time?”

The Union Minister also said: “In 2009, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) N. Gopalaswami appealed the government to remove Naveen Chawla due to the latter’s partisan conduct and had accused him of favouring the Congress. But despite the appeal, the then government made him the CEC, due to his loyalty to the Congress and Sonia Gandhi.”

Goyal added that Congress’ track record is not limited to Election Commissioners.

“Tika Ram Meena was the Chief Electoral Officer of Keralam. A year later, he was brought into Congress’ manifesto team in Rajasthan and made a member of the Congress party. Similarly, Ratan U. Kelkar was the Chief Electoral Officer of Keralam during the recent state elections. Within a month of the elections, in May 2026, the current Chief Minister V. D. Satheesan, appointed him as his Secretary,” the Union Minister said while asking: “Isn’t this a case of political quid pro quo, where the message is, ‘Help us in the elections, and we will immediately appoint you to a position?'”

Goyal alleged: “In this way, Congress has repeatedly misused Chief Election Commissioners, Election Commissioners and election officers, encouraged bias, and ultimately rewarded them with positions — appointing them as Governors or Union Ministers, inducting them into the party, or giving them election tickets to contest polls.”

Maintaining that earlier the governments appointed Election Commissioners without consultation or discussion with anyone, the Union Minister said: “It was the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that introduced a new law in 2023. Under this law, the Leader of Opposition was also made a member of the selection committee. Now, the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition sit together to decide who should become an Election Commissioner and who should become the Chief Election Commissioner.”

Jammu, Oct 13: At least four people were injured in a road accident in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district, officials said on Tuesday.

Officials said the four people, including two women, were injured after a vehicle they were travelling in overturned near Shenai in the Bhalla area of the district.

Union Minister of State (PMO), Dr Jitendra Singh, said on X, “Just now spoke to DC Doda Sh Krishan Lal after learning about an unfortunate road accident involving a mini-bus, on way from Doda to Bhaderwah.”

“The injured passengers have been shifted to hospital for medical aid, and their condition is reported to be stable. Thankfully, no casualty reported. All necessary assistance being provided. My office is in touch with the district administration,” the Minister said.

The injured were identified as Ashiq Hussain (35), son of Ghulam Rasool, a resident of Gotha in Bhaderwah; Mohd Javed (48), son of Talib Hussain; his wife, Rubina Begum (46), both residents of Brassu in Bhalla; and Insha (35), wife of Rashid Ahmed, a resident of Bhaderwah.

Meanwhile, police have taken cognisance of the incident, and further details are being verified.

Road accidents in the hilly districts of Jammu and Kashmir (such as Ramban, Doda, Kishtwar, Udhampur, and parts of Budgam) are caused by a combination of challenging geography, extreme weather, and human or infrastructural factors.

Treacherous terrain and poor road geometry, narrow carriageways, sharp bends, steep gradients, and limited sight distances make manoeuvring difficult on mountain highways and link roads.

A lack of essential safety infrastructure, such as crash barriers, parapet walls, and proper road signage, frequently turns minor slips into fatal plunges into deep gorges.

Monsoon rains, melting snow, and heavy fog trigger frequent landslides, rockfalls, and road-surface erosion, drastically reducing grip and visibility. July and monsoon months experience a notable spike in crashes as wet roads and mudslides compromise vehicle control.

Drivers often exceed safe speeds relative to the winding, unpredictable nature of hill roads. Overtaking on blind curves and ignoring lane discipline are major contributors to head-on collisions and vehicles skidding off-road.

Passenger vehicles and goods carriers are frequently overloaded beyond capacity, making navigation on steep slopes dangerous.

Commercial operators sometimes bypass strict permit or maintenance checks on link roads.

Limited police or traffic regulation presence on remote rural and hill link roads allows unsafe driving behaviours to go unchecked. Delayed road repairs and poor drainage systems further accelerate the deterioration of mountain paths.

Jaipur, Oct 13: Security agencies have recovered a consignment of suspected explosives and weapons from the Rawla Mandi area of Rajasthan’s Sri Ganganagar district, near the Pakistan border.

Two youths from Punjab have been arrested in connection with the case, while a search operation is underway in the surrounding areas.

According to preliminary information, the consignment was allegedly dropped by a drone from across the Pakistan border on Monday night.

The recovered material reportedly includes RDX, two pistols, four magazines, around 650 cartridges, four pairs of batteries and two remote-control devices.

The exact nature and quantity of the seized material are yet to be officially confirmed.

The operation was conducted by teams from the Border Security Force (BSF), the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) and Rawla police following an intelligence input about suspicious packets being dropped near Chak 4 KNM W Tail, under Gram Panchayat 12 KND in the Rawla area.

According to officials, the ANTF had received information that three packets had been dropped by a suspected Pakistani drone in a field near a canal at around 10 p.m. on Monday. Initially, the packets were suspected to contain narcotics. Acting on the input, security personnel searched the area and recovered the suspicious packets. The contents reportedly included weapons and explosive material. Two youths were apprehended during the operation.

Preliminary information suggests that one is from Jalandhar and the other from the Firozpur area of Punjab. Their alleged roles and links to the consignment are being investigated.

ANTF Inspector General Vikas Kumar said a large quantity of ammunition and suspected explosives had been dropped in Rajasthan using drones. He said security agencies were investigating who had sent the consignment and what its intended purpose was.

The entire matter was under investigation, and further details would emerge as the probe progressed. The IG confirmed that two accused had been arrested in connection with the case.

Following the recovery, security agencies have tightened surveillance in the border region. Search operations are underway in agricultural fields, along canal banks and in nearby areas to determine whether any additional packets or suspicious material were dropped.

Investigators are also questioning the arrested youths to establish their alleged connections, identify those behind the consignment and determine where the weapons and explosives were intended to be delivered.

A specialised team has reportedly been called from Jaipur to examine the seized material and establish its precise composition and quantity. Security agencies are continuing their investigation, and further details are awaited.