ECI dismisses allegations on voter list as ‘incorrect’
New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Monday detained INDIA bloc leaders, including Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Trinamool Congress’ Sagarika Ghose and Shiv Sena(UBT’s) Sanjay Raut along with others, who were en route to the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Leaders of the INDIA bloc, including Rahul Gandhi, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and Priyanka Gandhi, staged a protest march from Parliament to the ECI headquarters, opposing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections and raising allegations of “vote theft” during last year’s Lok Sabha polls.
Many were detained by the police while they tried to breach the barricades on the route to the ECI office.
Speaking to reporters after detention, Rahul Gandhi said, “They (ECI) cannot talk, and this is the reality. The truth is in front of the nation. This protest march is not political; it is a fight to protect the Constitution; it is a fight for ‘One man, one vote’. This is why we want a clean and pure voter list.”
Questioning the ECI’s “inaction”, Akhilesh Yadav said, “Why did the Election Commission not take action against officials involved in the vote theft? We are relieved that, at least in Karnataka, there is a Congress government. If we had been in power in UP, we would have taken action against the Election Commission officers. We hope Congress takes action against dishonest officers in Karnataka.”
Shiv Sena(UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi accused the Election Commission of working with the BJP during the elections. She said that the Opposition is raising its voice for the “rights of the people.”
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jebi Mather stated that the march of 300 Opposition MPs to the Election Commission shows “how grave the issue is”.
Responding to the protest by the Opposition MPs, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday dismissed as “incorrect” statements issued by agitating Opposition leaders over alleged “voter list manipulation”.
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi made a detailed presentation to reporters of the alleged fraud at Congress headquarters. “The Congress won all the Vidhan Sabhas [six out of seven] except Mahadevapura, where the BJP swept and secured a victory margin of 1,14,046 votes. This seat significantly contributed to their election win, and the Lok Sabha result went in their favour on that seat,” Gandhi said.
Rahul Gandhi listed out five different ways through which the alleged vote chori (theft) was done: duplicate voters, fake and invalid addresses, bulk voters at a single address, invalid photos, and the misuse of Form 6.
In his message to the ECI, the Congress leader said: “You are not in the business of destroying Indian democracy, you are in the business of protecting it. This is a crime that is being committed against the Indian Constitution, against the Indian flag.” (IANS)
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