The political temperature soared on Saturday as the Opposition escalated its attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI), accusing the constitutional body of functioning under the influence of the ruling BJP-led government. The Congress party, in particular, intensified its campaign, with Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi claiming to possess explosive evidence of voter list manipulation.
Speaking at a legal conclave focused on constitutional challenges, Gandhi claimed that his party had uncovered what he described as an “atom ”bomb”—documentary proof that large-scale voter fraud had taken place. He alleged that in one Karnataka assembly constituency alone, 150,000 fake votes had been identified in a voter pool of 650,000. Gandhi insisted that the data had been collected physically, voter-by-voter, through the Congress’ internal survey and scrutiny.
Rahul Gandhi’s Explosive Allegations
With a confident tone, Gandhi declared that the “truth is that the election system in India is already dead.” He further stated that the current Prime Minister may not have won a majority if even 10 to 15 Lok Sabha seats had been tampered with, suggesting that the real number could be closer to 100.
Gandhi said he would release the details of the alleged voter list anomalies at a public event on August 5. “This is not speculation anymore,” he said. “I have seen the proof, and everyone I’ve shown it to has been left stunned.”
He also took aim at the ECI, stating that it had “been obliterated” and no longer functioned as an impartial institution meant to safeguard the Constitution.
ECI Pushes Back, BJP Dares Rahul
The Election Commission, in response to the growing political storm, issued a rebuttal calling the statements “misleading and baseless.” Senior BJP leaders also hit back, with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh ridiculing Gandhi’s claims and daring him to “detonate the atom bomb” if he truly had the evidence.
The BJP accused the Congress of spreading disinformation in the wake of electoral setbacks and questioned the timing of these allegations.
Kharge Targets Electoral Roll Purge in Bihar
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge echoed Gandhi’s sentiments, taking the charge further by questioning discrepancies in Maharashtra and Bihar. Kharge claimed that these irregularities indicated systemic manipulation and gave instances of rooms with an unusually high number of voters. Additionally, he charged that the Election Commission was merely a puppet of the governing party.
In Bihar, Kharge alleged that the recently released draft electoral rolls were part of a targeted effort to disenfranchise the poor, minorities, and marginalized communities. He said the omission of 6.5 million names from the voter rolls wasn’t an administrative error but a “calculated decision.”
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A Muffled Parliament and a Muted Democracy
The Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha also spoke about the stifling of dissent within Parliament. “Our microphones are switched off the moment we speak. This isn’t democracy; it’s domination,” he said, accusing the government of cheering over the silencing of opposition voices.
As tensions rise ahead of state elections and amid a fragile trust in electoral institutions, the country awaits the release of Gandhi’s alleged evidence, a moment that could either validate the opposition’s claims or backfire spectacularly.
