Directly challenging the Election Commission, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched a verbal attack on the poll body on Thursday. He said the Commission can’t continue with its actions without being held accountable, and that the Opposition will confront it. His comments came just hours after Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar defended the ongoing revision of voter lists in Bihar. Kumar responded to criticism by asking whether the Commission should allow names of dead people to remain on the list.
After the Lok Sabha was adjourned, Rahul Gandhi while speaking to the media outside Parliament, sent out a clear message to the EC. “If you think you are going to get away with it, you are mistaken. We are going to come for you,” Gandhi commented over the SIR exercise being carried out in Bihar. He added that EC failed to do its job and that their statement is “complete nonsense”.
Gandhi added that his party had closely studied one Lok Sabha seat in Karnataka and discovered how votes were being misused. He said the Congress would soon present clear evidence to both the public and the Election Commission showing how this alleged vote manipulation is being done.
Gandhi also claimed this issue was not limited to Bihar. He said similar cheating took place in Maharashtra, where one crore new voters were added, but the party was not shown the voter list or given access to video records. He believes this is how the election was stolen in that state.
“It is not just about 52 lakhs. It is not just about Bihar, they cheated in Maharashtra. We have asked questions to the Election Commission, asked them to show us the voters’ list, they did not show us the voters’ list; we asked for videography, they changed the law. One crore new voters had come in Maharashtra and the election was stolen,” Gandhi said.