After the Congress MP gave a detailed presentation on Thursday to the media on how “vote theft” happened, the ECI asked him to send a signed declaration under oath to that effect, through the CEO of Karnataka. CEOs of Haryana and Maharashtra have also sought written declarations from him detailing his allegations
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday repeated his allegation of “vote theft” against Election Commission and demanded the full electronic voter list at a rally in Bengaluru. Speaking at the ‘Vote Adhikar Rally’ in Bengaluru, Gandhi said the EC is asking me to take an oath on the vote theft, it “knows that if people start asking them questions, their entire structure will collapse”
“The Election Commission demands an affidavit from me. It says that I’ll have to take an oath. I have taken the oath of the Constitution in Parliament. Today, when people are asking questions to the Election Commission, it has closed its website – MP, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Bihar…The Election Commission knows that if people start asking them questions, their entire structure will collapse,” he said speaking at the rally
Notably Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) from at least three states have asked him to submit names of electors he claimed were wrongfully included or excluded from the voter rolls. The EC also asked for a signed declaration so that “necessary proceedings” could be initiated. Officials say if what Gandhi is saying is true, then there should be no issue in signing a declaration saying that. “He should either submit a signed declaration of his charges under oath or apologise to the nation,” they add.
After the Congress MP gave a detailed presentation to the media on how “vote theft” happened, the ECI asked him to send a signed declaration under oath to that effect, through the CEO of Karnataka. CEOs of Haryana and Maharashtra have also sought written declarations from him detailing his allegations
The Karnataka Election Commission asked Gandhi to submit a formal declaration supporting his “vote chori” claim, along with the names of electors allegedly wrongfully included in the voter list, in order to initiate necessary proceedings.
Specifically citing an example of a Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka in the 2024 elections, Gandhi claimed “huge criminal fraud perpetrated by BJP through EC,” describing it as a “crime” against the Constitution.
They were stolen in five different ways—duplicate voters, fake and invalid addresses, bulk voters in a single address, invalid photos, and misuse of Form 6, which is given to first-time voters for enrolment, he said. Yesterday also he slammed the EC for demanding from him a signed declaration on his claims, saying that he had made the remarks publicly and they can “take it as an oath.”
“I am a politician, what I say to the people is my word. I am saying it to the people publicly, take it as an oath. Interestingly, they haven’t denied the information,” he said
Speaking at the Vote Adhikar Rally he again made the said allegations—fake and invalid address; no address or House No; up to 80 people shown living in one-bedroom houses, and the house owners being BJP leaders; either no photo or such small-size photo that face can’t be recognized; and misuse of Form 6, meant for first-time voters. There were about 34,000 such voters with age up to 80-90 years using Form ^, he said.
