E-Paper
'Declare under oath...': On Rahul Gandhi's 'vote chori' charge, EC's counter
Karnataka and Maharashtra chief electoral officers asked Rahul Gandhi to sign and return a declaration acknowledging the allegations he made on Thursday.
Chief electoral officer of Karnataka and Maharashtra on Thursday wrote a letter to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over allegations he made in a press conference on Thursday against the Election Commission (EC) of colluding with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to steal polls.
Karnataka and Maharashtra chief electoral officers asked Rahul Gandhi to share names of excluded voters and added ineligible ones with signed declaration/oath.
Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi cited an analysis of data from a Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka from the 2024 general elections to allege that the Election Commission is colluding with the BJP to "steal elections" and called it a "crime" against the Constitution.
Also Read | Rahul Gandhi claims Bangalore Central Lok Sabha seat ‘example of vote chori’: What he claimed, how EC retorted
Rahul Gandhi claimed there was "vote chori" of 1,00,250 votes in a constituency with 11,965 duplicate voters in one assembly segment, 40,009 voters with fake and invalid addresses, 10,452 bulk voters or single address voters, 4,132 voters with invalid photos and 33,692 voters misusing Form 6 of new voters.
The CEOs asked Rahul Gandhi to sign and return a declaration/oath enclosed in the letter, along with the names of electors to initiate necessary proceedings.
“It is understood that during a press conference held today you had mentioned about the inclusion of ineligible electors and exclusions of eligible electors in the electoral rolls…,” the letter by chief electoral officers of both the states read.
Also Read: Rahul Gandhi alleges ‘Election Commission colluded with BJP’ to ‘steal’ Maharashtra polls
"... It is understood that during a Press Conference held today, you had mentioned about the inclusion of ineligible electors and exclusion of eligible electors in the Electoral Rolls cited at Para 3. You are kindly requested to sign and return the enclosed Declaration/Oath under Rule 20(3)(b) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, along with the name(s) of such elector(s) so that necessary proceedings can be initiated...," the letters read.
Here's the declaration/oath that Karnataka, Maharashtra CEO requested Rahul Gandhi to sign and return.
DECLARATION / OATH
1. 1, Rahul Gandhi, Member of Parliament, do hereby solemnly affirm and state on oath that the statement I am about to make under Rule 20 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, concerning:
-Name of person(s): [Whose name is proposed for inclusion/exclusion]
-Part No.: [Part number of electoral roll)
-Serial No.: [Serial number in the electoral roll, if available] is true to the best of my knowledge and belief.
2. 1 am aware that making a false declaration in connection with electoral rolls is punishable under Section 31 of the RP Act, 1950.
3. I also understand that giving false evidence is punishable under Sections 227 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Samhita, 2023.
4. I further declare that, although lam not/ l am an elector of the said constituency, I have personal knowledge relevant to this case and am making this statement voluntarily.
Rahul Gandhi responds
On the Election Commission's response to Rahul Gandhi, Lok Sabha LoP and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said, “I'm a politician. What I say to the people is my word. I'm saying it publicly to everybody. Take it as an oath. This is their data, and we are displaying their data.”
"This is not our data. This is Election Commission data. Interestingly, they haven't denied the information. They haven't told the voter list that Rahul Gandhi is talking about are wrong. Why don't you say they wrong? Because you know the truth. You know that we know that you have done this across the country...," ANI quoted Rahul Gandhi as saying.
