E-Paper
BJP claims Pawan Khera’s wife Kota Neelima has two voter IDs, demands ECI probe
The ECI has already issued a notice to Khera after the BJP alleged that he was enrolled as a voter in two assembly constituencies in Delhi.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday levelled voter fraud allegations against Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera’s wife Kota Neelima, claiming that she had two voter IDs under her name.
“Congress has once again proved that it is not concerned with democracy, as it is just concerned with getting votes,” BJP spokesperson Shazia Ilmi said, arguing that while Congress describes itself as ‘Mohabbat Ki Dukan’, in reality it is ‘a market of fakeness and fraud’.
After alleging that Congress Working Committee member and party media head Pawan Khera was found with two EPIC cards, the BJP claimed that his wife Neelima, who contested the 2023 Telangana assembly elections from Khairatabad, was also found possessing two voter ID cards.
Ilmi also criticised Congress MP Rahul Gandhi for what she described as “doxing”. She alleged that by revealing the identity of voters in a press conference, Gandhi had targeted ordinary citizens, made their identities public, and subjected them to harassment. She said that this demonstrated a lack of concern for democracy and instead reflected a focus on votes.
According to Ilmi, Gandhi’s ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ was not about voter rights but rather about power. She demanded that the Election Commission of India (ECI) investigate the matter of duplicate EPIC cards and take legal action. She also urged Gandhi to break his silence on the issue.
The ECI has already issued a notice to Khera after the BJP alleged that he was enrolled as a voter in two assembly constituencies in Delhi.
According to the District Election Office (DEO) of New Delhi, Khera’s name appears in the electoral rolls of both the Jangpura and New Delhi assembly segments. The notice has been issued under Section 17 and Section 18 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, which prohibit a person from being registered in more than one constituency or more than once in the same constituency.
Khera said the poll panel was to be blamed for his name appearing in two assembly segments. He said he had shifted out of the New Delhi constituency in 2016 and had followed the procedure to have his name deleted from there.
