National movement needed to demand probe into EC's functioning: Gaurav Gogoi

Deputy Leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi on Thursday called for a "national movement" demanding an inquiry into the functioning of the Election Commission, following allegations of vote theft raised by party leader Rahul Gandhi. Gandhi alleged on Wednesday that the 2024 Haryana Assembly polls were "stolen", citing electoral rolls data to claim that 25 lakh fake entries had been made and accused the Election Commission of colluding with the BJP to ensure its victory. "The inaction of the EC on 'vote chori' is akin to admission of guilt and is a feeble attempt to cover up this injustice against the people of India," Gogoi said in a post on X. "There must be a national movement to demand an inquiry into the functioning of the Election Commission and reform of this important institution," the Assam Congress president said. According to Gandhi, the 'centralised plan' included the use of a Brazilian woman’s photograph 22 times in 10 polling booths in the Rai Assembly constituency, under names such as “Seema, Sweety and Saraswati.” The BJP dismissed the allegation of mass vote theft as "false and baseless" and accused the Congress leader of raising questions on the EC to hide his failures and defame the country's democracy.