New Delhi, Sept 23
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday once again reiterated his allegations of ‘vote chori’ against the BJP, RSS and Election Commission, dubbing alleged manipulation of electoral rolls a “direct attack” on the Constitution and saying those who organised it had committed “an act of treason”.
The Congress leader, who has been critical of the poll panel in the recent past in a post on X said, “Vote chori is a crime against the Indian people and a direct attack on our constitution.”
“The BJP, RSS and EC who organised it have committed an act of treason. Justice will be served,” he said
He also attached a small video along with his post, where he said, “I am telling the EC and election officials clearly: What you are doing is wrong. This is treason, this is against the country. Do not forget that. The time will come when we will catch you. You will not be able to escape.”
His remarks came after a media report claimed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections to the poll panel’s actions at least 14 times over the past 10 months during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The report highlighted that the election commissioners had flagged issues relating to the addition and deletion of voters as well as the handling of voter data.
The national rollout of the SIR has been under the supervision of all three election commissioners.
The Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi has been campaigning on the ‘vote chori’ issue and accusing the Election Commission of large-scale poll irregularities and working in cahoots with the ruling BJP.
Rahul Gandhi had earlier raised objections after the Haryana, Maharashtra, Bihar and West Bengal SIR exercise and had alleged of ‘vote chori’.
Even senior Congress leaders including P Chidambaram and KC Venugopal also targeted the poll panel.
Venugopal in a post on X said, “There is no doubt remaining. Mr. Gyanesh Kumar has no right to remain in office.”
“How the hell can one man, acting on His Master’s orders, strike off names at whim? How can he sideline fellow Constitutional officers to only take blatantly illegal steps that put our democracy in danger? The right to vote is an essential Constitutional power given to every citizen, the fundamental bedrock of our democracy. If it is to be taken away, due process must be followed with utmost probity,” he said.
“Today, when we are staring at crores of genuine voters being excluded and a similar number of bogus voters being added to the rolls, it is clear that Gyanesh Kumar was the Chief Architect of the nationwide Vote Chori exercise, with the the Modi top brass pulling the strings. We demand Gyanesh Kumar’s immediate removal and a Supreme Court-monitored impartial investigation to expose the rot that has destroyed the ECI’s credibility,” he said.
“If Gyanesh Kumar remains in office, the people of India will come forward and make sure that our democracy is not destroyed by a mere bureaucrat,” Venugopal added.
Chidambaram in a post on X said, “The news stories in the Indian Express today, if correct, shake the foundations of the Election Commission of India (ECI)
He said, “There are two separate points:
1. Decision; and 2. Decision-making process. The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that if the decision-making process is flawed or wrong, the decision will also be flawed or wrong. The Opposition has contended that many decisions concerning S.I.R. were wrong. Now, it is revealed that the decision-making process was also wrong.”
“If two ECs have taken a contrary view, how could the CEC make his view the ‘decision’ of the ECI? All decisions of the ECI in recent years should be reviewed by a Parliamentary Committee. Meanwhile, the S.I.R. process should be suspended immediately all over the country,” Chidambaram added.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission and the BJP have rejected the allegations.