New Delhi, Aug 8: A day after Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of enabling “criminal fraud” and colluding with the BJP to manipulate voter rolls in Karnataka, leaders from the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) have come out in strong support of his claims, urging the Election Commission to publicly respond with evidence.
Speaking to IANS, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said the ECI’s reaction to LoP Gandhi’s Press conference showed “hesitation and unease.” He added, “The way the Election Commission felt it necessary to respond after Rahul Gandhi’s Press conference shows their hesitation and unease. They couldn’t give a pointed answer to Rahul Gandhi’s sharp questions. Now they’re asking for proof and declarations. But Rahul Gandhi already presented all the evidence publicly.”
Gogoi went on to challenge the poll panel directly: “If the Election Commission has different or contradictory facts, they should publish them. Rahul Gandhi mentioned several names, if you have data, show that he didn’t get that information from your official website…” Joining in, Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP, Priyanka Chaturvedi, also supported the allegations while drawing parallels with incidents in Maharashtra.
Speaking to IANS, she said, “Yesterday, Rahul Gandhi presented clear evidence from Karnataka showing how votes are being added and deleted. A similar case happened in Maharashtra, where around 12-13 thousand votes were found from the same university and college campuses, including students from other states voting there.”
“In the same way, Karnataka’s case reveals voter additions and deletions to manipulate elections and undermine voters,” she added. Chaturvedi also questioned the silence over BJP’s earlier promises.
“JP Nadda had raised the slogan ‘One Nation, One Election’ before the Lok Sabha polls, but it hasn’t materialised. There are over 400 such cases, and the Election Commission must respond properly instead of threatening people,” she said.
Earlier on Thursday, LoP Gandhi had stated at a Press conference that 1,00,250 fake votes were created in the Mahadevapura Assembly segment under the Bangalore Central Lok Sabha constituency, calling it part of a larger scheme to ensure the BJP’s victory through electoral fraud.
Congress MP Sukhdeo Bhagat also spoke on the matter, adding, “This is not a joke; the Election Commission must answer. This is an important matter, and as Rahul Gandhi clearly pointed out yesterday, this is an attempt to undermine democracy. Steps have already been taken in that direction, but we will continue to fight both inside and outside the House to save democracy.”
While the ECI issued a statement rejecting the allegations and asking for specific evidence, the Opposition continues to demand a comprehensive public response, urging the poll body to clarify whether the data LoP Gandhi cited was available on its own portals.
IANS