New Delhi, Aug 2: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has hit back at Rahul Gandhi over his repeated allegations about irregularities in the Maharashtra Assembly elections held in 2024, asserting that the Congress leader has not responded to an official invitation extended to him nearly two months ago.
In a letter dated June 12, 2025, the Commission invited the Leader of the Opposition for an interaction regarding concerns he raised in a write-up that he wrote for a newspaper. The ECI clarified that similar issues had already been raised by the Indian National Congress post-elections and were addressed in detail in an official response on December 24, 2024 – available on the Commission’s website.
On Saturday, Rahul Gandhi again attacked the poll panel and said that it is no longer acting independently and described ECI as “dead.” EC sources said that allegations made by Rahul Gandhi are completely baseless and that there were no discrepancies in any elections. Sources within the Commission said that Rahul Gandhi has yet to respond to the June 12 invitation.
They dismissed his claims as “baseless” and said such statements could undermine public trust in a constitutionally independent body. “The Commission operates in a completely transparent manner. All its actions are open to scrutiny and governed strictly by the law,” a senior ECI official said. Notably, on Thursday also the poll panel reaffirmed the credibility of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), declaring them tamper-proof after a comprehensive checking and verification (C&V) exercise conducted in Maharashtra.
The process was initiated following applications from 10 candidates who had contested the 2024 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections. The exercise involved 48 Ballot Units (BUs), 31 Control Units (CUs), and 31 Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs).
The verification confirmed that all machines were in proper working condition and no mismatches were found between the EVM results and VVPAT slips. The development comes amid increasing political tension between the Congress party and the Election Commission, with Gandhi repeatedly accusing the latter of acting under pressure. The ECI’s response is being seen as a firm rebuttal to such criticism.
IANS