The Election Commission today debunked yet another recent assertion made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi about alleged election rigging, which has become a point of contention between him and the poll body.
Rahul Gandhi’s Presentation Alleges Vote Theft
On Thursday, Rahul Gandhi shared a presentation with explosive claims alleging “vote theft”. Among the many allegations, he shared the story of a 70-year-old woman who he claimed registered as a voter twice in two months, misusing Form 6, meant for first-time voters.
“Let me tell you the story of Shakun Rani. She became a first-time voter. She is 70 years old. She used Form 6 once and a few months later, she used Form 6 again. She had been listed in the voter list twice. And she is listed as a first-time voter. So did Shakun Rani vote or did someone else vote for Shakun Rani? To hide this, CCTV data is not being given to us. And, Shakun Rani’s case is not the only case like this. There are thousands of people who have used Form 6 to put their names 2-3 times in the voter list,” he alleged.
Poll Panel Refutes Double Voting Allegation
However, the poll panel today trashed the claim and said, “In the Election Commission inquiry, it was found that Shakun Rani only voted once, not twice as claimed by Rahul Gandhi”.
During the presentation, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said that two votes were cast using Ms Rani’s ID card, showing a document with tick marks, allegedly by a polling booth officer.
However, in its 5-point reply, the Election Commission (EC) said that the document shown by him “is not a document issued by the polling officer”.
“You have also stated that as per the records given by the polling officer, Smt. Shakun Rani has voted twice. You have said: ‘Is ID card per do baar vote lagi hai, wo jo tick hai, polling booth ke officer ki hai (two votes were cast with this ID card. The tick that you see on the paper is by the polling booth officer)’… Preliminary enquiry conducted by this office reveals that the tick-marked document shown by you in the presentation is not a document issued by the polling officer,” it said.
The EC has now sent a notice to Mr Gandhi and requested him to provide the relevant documents on the basis of which he made the claim that Ms Rani “or anyone else, has voted twice, so that a detailed inquiry can be undertaken by this office”.
Opposition Plans March and Strategy Against Electoral Roll Revision
Rahul Gandhi posted a presentation with bombshell allegations of “vote theft” on Thursday. One of the several accusations included the tale of a 70-year-old woman who, he alleged, registered as a voter twice in two months by abusing Form 6, reserved for first-time voters.
The EC has now issued a notice to Mr Gandhi and asked him to submit the documents relevant to the basis on which he made the assertion that Ms Rani “or anyone else, has voted twice, so that a detailed inquiry can be undertaken by this office”.
On Monday, the opposition coalition led by Mr Gandhi will take out a march from Parliament House Complex to the Delhi office of the Election Commission of India, sources added.
The same evening, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge will invite MPs from the INDIA bloc for a dinner, sources added, as the opposition coalition stepped up its bid to show a united face against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar and even large-scale rigging of elections.
Rahul Gandhi had alleged that his party had requested a digital voters list and CCTV coverage of the polling booth from the EC, but they purportedly refused to give the details.
