ECI's Demand Utterly Absurd, Bid To Save Reputation: Gehlot On Rahul's 'Vote Chori' A
ECI's Demand Utterly Absurd, Bid To Save Reputation: Gehlot On Rahul's 'Vote Chori' Allegations
M.U.H
10/08/202545
Jaipur: Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Sunday termed the Election Commission of India (ECI)'s demand for a signed declaration from the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on the latter's allegations of over a lakh "vote theft" as "utterly absurd" and an attempt to save the poll body's reputation.
In an X post, Gehlot censured the ECI's demand, stating that Gandhi had already presented evidence to the public. "Mr. Rahul Gandhi has exposed the 'Vote Chori' being done by the Election Commission in the voter list by presenting all the evidence before the public, and the entire country trusts him on this. The demand for a declaration by the Election Commission seems utterly absurd and appears to be an attempt to save its own reputation," the post reads.
Referring to a statement of former Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat, Gehlot suggested that the ECI is obligated to "proactively investigate" the allegations levelled by Gandhi. "During the NDA government, Mr. OP Rawat, who was the Chief Election Commissioner in 2018, stated that when he was the Election Commissioner, if any senior leader made allegations, the Election Commission would proactively investigate and present the facts to the public to maintain their trust in the institution," the Congress veteran wrote in the post.
He also questioned whether ECI demanded declarations from Opposition leaders in the past when they made allegations against the poll body. "In the past, many opposition leaders, such as Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Mr. Lal Krishna Advani, and even Mr. Narendra Modi himself, among other then-opposition leaders, had made allegations against the Election Commission. How many of these leaders have submitted affidavits to the Election Commission?" he questioned.
"If the revelation made by Mr. Rahul Gandhi had been made by an investigative journalist or a media organisation, would the Election Commission have conducted a fair investigation into those allegations, or would it have demanded an affidavit from them?" Gehlot added.
He raised further concerns over the freedom of the poll body. "In countries like North Korea, China, and Russia, where a single party rules, the Election Commission also conducts elections. The whole world knows the state of those Election Commissions and their elections. Is a similar attempt being made in India?" he asked.
ECI has asked Gandhi to either give a declaration as per the rules or apologise to the country for his "false" allegations regarding the voter lists. "Rahul Gandhi should either give a Declaration as per rules or apologise to the country for his false allegations," ECI said in an earlier statement.
On August 7, Gandhi, in a press conference, stated that the Congress expected to win 16 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka but ended up with only nine. The party investigated seven unexpected losses, zeroing in on Mahadevapura, where he alleged theft of 1,00,250 votes.
