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The Election Commission dismissed Rahul Gandhi’s cheating allegations in Karnataka’s voter list revision, urging patience for the High Court’s verdict.
Leader of the Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi (PTI)
The Election Commission on Thursday dismissed the allegations raised by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi that the poll body had allowed cheating in a constituency in Karnataka during the voter list revision process, saying that the matter should await the High Court’s verdict.
The poll body hit back to the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition’s claims asking if the petition has been filed then why “baseless” allegations are being raised now.
What Rahul Gandhi Claimed?
The Congress leader on Thursday claimed that the grand old party has “concrete 100 per cent proof” that the Election Commission allowed cheating in a constituency in Karnataka. He further warned the poll panel that it will not get away with this “because we are going to come for you”.
Gandhi alleged that the poll panel is not functioning as the Election Commission of India and is “not doing its job”.
He also criticised the ECI over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar. Gandhi also called the poll body’s justification “complete nonsense” and accusing it of failing to do its constitutional duty while addressing reporters outside Parliament after the Lok Sabha adjourned.
“Not 90 per cent, when we decide to show it to you, it is a 100 per cent proof,” the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.
“We just looked at one constituency and we found this. I am absolutely convinced that constituency after constituency this is the drama that is taking place. Thousands and thousands of new voters, how old are they? — 45, 50, 60, 65, thousands and thousands of them in one constituency. This is one thing, voter deletion, voter addition, new voters who are way above 18 (is going on)… so we have caught them,” he said.
“I want to send a message to the Election Commission — if you think you are going to get away with this, if your officers think they are going to get away with this, you are mistaken, you are not going to get away with this because we are going to come for you,” Gandhi said as quoted by news agency PTI.
His latest remarks follow similar allegations made after the Maharashtra Assembly elections in 2024, where he accused the BJP of manipulating the voter rolls to benefit electorally.
ECI’s Clarification
The Election Commission responded to the Lok Sabha LoP, saying “if an election petition has been filed, then wait for the verdict of Hon’ble High Court. If not, then why make baseless allegations now?”
“An election petition can be filed within 45 days after poll results are announced by anyone not satisfied with the verdict. Such petitions can be filed in high courts of the state of the constituency concerned,” it added.
Karnataka’s Chief Electoral Officer also issued a clarification over the allegations saying that of the electoral rolls were prepared transparently and the copies of the same were shared with recognised political parties.
“Electoral Rolls are shared with all recognised political parties. During Special Summary Revision-2024, which was taken up before the General Elections to Lok Sabha- 2024, the copies of draft and final electoral rolls of all 224 ACs were provided to representatives of all registered and recognised political parties including INC,” it said in a press statement.
Controversy Over Bihar SIR
The opposition parties, including Congress and the Samajwadi Party, have been protesting against the SIR exercise, alleging that it’s an attempt to disenfranchise voters, particularly from marginalised communities. They claim that the process is being used to remove names from the voters’ list, which could impact the outcome of upcoming assembly elections.
The Congress has alleged that the BJP is using the SIR exercise in Bihar to disenfranchise marginalised communities and opposition voters by removing their names from the rolls ahead of the state assembly elections.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission has asserted that the revision was being carried out transparently and described it as the “foundation for fair elections and a strong democracy”. It urged all citizens to rise above political ideologies and reflect on the larger democratic principles involved.
(With inputs from agencies)
Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben…Read More
Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben… Read More
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