'Taken oath in Parliament on Constitution': Rahul to EC; says Karnataka govt should probe vote theft

Slamming the Election Commission for demanding an affidavit under oath from him over his "vote chori" (theft) claims, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday asserted that he has taken the oath inside Parliament on the Constitution. Addressing the ‘Vote Adhikar Rally’ at Bengaluru, he also said the Karnataka government should probe the inclusion of fake voters in the state during the 2024 Lok Sabha election. A day after, he alleged that the Election Commission and the BJP colluded to "steal" the LS election from the people, and that there was "vote theft" in at least three states, Gandhi upped the ante and also warned officials involved, saying that it may take time, but "we will catch you, we will catch each one of you." "The EC asks me to file an affidavit and give information under oath. I have taken oath inside Parliament, in front of the Constitution, on the Constitution," he said. Launching a counter-attack, EC sources said the Congress leader should have "no problem" in signing a declaration under electoral rules and submitting names wrongfully added or removed from the voters' list if his allegations are true.  If Gandhi does not sign the declaration, he should apologise to the nation, poll panel sources added. 

Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer V Anbukumar ordered a probe into Gandhi’s allegations of election fraud in Mahadevapura constituency during the Lok Sabha election and asked state deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar to submit documents to support the claims with a declaration or oath as per the rule. Gandhi said if the EC did not provide data, his party would carry out an exercise similar to what it had conducted in Mahadevapura Assembly constituency in Karnataka, by diving deep into 15 to 25 seats where the victory margin in the LS polls was just 35,000 or so. "In the last election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP leaders assaulted the Constitution. Indian institutions were destroyed...I am telling you with conviction and proof that the Lok Sabha election was also stolen," he alleged. "Neither can you cover up nor can you hide. You will have to face the opposition one day. Every officer and the election commissioner should understand this properly," he said, warning officials who allegedly colluded with the BJP.  "If such officials thought that they could attack the Constitution and still escape, they must rethink. Taking action against them may take time, but they will be caught one by one. Mark my words, because if you attack the Constitution, then we will attack you," he said. He also described the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls as an "institutionalised chori."

Gandhi claimed that the EC websites in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar have been shut down, and said they know that if people started questioning based on data, then their entire structure would collapse. Gandhi's charge was rejected by the Election Commission. Holding a copy of the Constitution, he said it has the ideology of thousands of years of history. "It has Mahatma Gandhi, Ambedkar, Nehru, and Sardar Patel's voice resonating along with the sayings of Basavanna, Narayana Guru, and Jyotiba Phule. Its foundation is one man, one vote. Every Indian citizen has the right to one vote," he added. During the rally, which was attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Chief minister Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar among others, the former Congress chief also posed five questions to the Election Commission and said that instead of "threatening" him, the poll panel must answer such questions.  "Why are you not giving voter lists in a digital machine-readable format to the people of India? Why are you destroying video evidence? Why is EC committing massive fraud in the voter lists? Why is EC threatening opposition instead of answering our questions, and why is EC behaving like an agent of the BJP?" he said.       

The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha claimed Narendra Modi is "a Prime Minister with a margin of 25 Lok Sabha seats," and that "if we get the electronic voter data from across the country, then we will prove that the Indian Prime Minister is holding the post by theft." Gandhi drew attention to contrasting poll outcomes in Maharashtra, as the INDIA bloc won the LS polls and the BJP and its allies the Assembly election just months later. Supporting her brother, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra asked the poll body to probe his poll rigging claims, while Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said these are "serious questions" and urged the Election Commission to act urgently.    The ruling BJP, however, mocked Gandhi, saying his allegation of rigging in the Maharashtra assembly polls was like someone cutting the very branch he sits in, as Congress and its allies won most of their seats where the number of voters had increased.        Union Minister Bhupender Yadav accused Gandhi of using a language unbecoming of the Leader of Opposition. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed Rahul Gandhi makes allegations of wrongdoing whenever the BJP emerges victorious.       "If the opposition leader was blaming EVMs for Congress’ electoral defeats earlier, he is now pointing the finger at ‘vote chori’ (stealing of votes). When Rahul Gandhi wins elections, everything is okay. When the BJP wins, he says there is some ‘gondogol’ (wrongdoing)."      "There is no ‘vote chori’ in Karnataka or Telangana (where Congress is in power). When we win, ‘vote chori’ happens,” Sarma told reporters on the sidelines of a programme in Udalguri.