Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, speaking at the ‘Vote Adhikar Rally’ in Bengaluru leveled serious allegations against the Election Commission of India (ECI), claiming it has colluded with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to “steal the Lok Sabha elections” and suppress public scrutiny.
Gandhi alleged that the official Election Commission websites for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Bihar had been shut down deliberately. “The EC websites have gone dark because they knew that if people started questioning the data, the entire structure of their manipulation would collapse,” he said.
Calling for accountability, Gandhi urged the Congress-led government in Karnataka to launch an investigation into what he termed a “crime of stealing the election.”
Questions Over Maharashtra Assembly Elections
Referring to the 2024 general elections, Gandhi said, “Our INDIA bloc won Maharashtra during the Lok Sabha polls. But four months later, the BJP won the Assembly elections. That was a surprising outcome.”
Gandhi alleged that approximately one crore new voters appeared in the Maharashtra assembly polls—voters who had not participated in the general elections. “Wherever these new votes were cast, the BJP won. This points to wrongdoing,” he claimed.
EC Demanded Oath, But Shuts Down When Asked for Data: Rahul
The former Congress president also criticized the EC for demanding that he submit an affidavit under oath to back his electoral fraud allegations. “I have already taken an oath inside Parliament while holding the Constitution,” he retorted.
He accused the EC of avoiding transparency by denying requests for soft copies of voter lists and surveillance footage of polling booths. “When we demanded the videos, they refused and amended the law to destroy the footage after 45 days,” he alleged.
Constitution and Electoral Rights Undermined: Rahul
Holding up a copy of the Constitution, Gandhi said it embodies the voice of historical figures such as Mahatma Gandhi, B.R. Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Sardar Patel, along with the philosophies of Basavanna, Narayana Guru, and Jyotiba Phule. “Its foundation is one man, one vote. Every citizen has an equal right to vote,” he emphasized.
He further alleged that the Modi government has undermined the Constitution and weakened key democratic institutions.
