Rahul Gandhi, the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, fired fresh salvo at the chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Thursday and doubled down on his vote theft allegations, this time, with the claim that votes are being systematically deleted.
When asked how far does he plan to go with his allegations and what would he do about the election commission's plans to conduct special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in other states apart from Bihar too, Rahul Gandhi said, “We are presenting criminality in front of you. Our job is to present the truth in front of you. Institutions other than the EC, judicial system needs to look into this. We have conclusively shown that the same force is deleting and adding voters.”
Also read: EC rejects Rahul Gandhi’s charge against CEC Gyanesh Kumar as ‘baseless’
He also claimed that same “force” is being used to manipulate voter lists across states.
Rahul Gandhi's fresh charges come ahead of Bihar assembly polls scheduled for later this year.
‘Not my job’
{{/usCountry}}Rahul Gandhi's fresh charges come ahead of Bihar assembly polls scheduled for later this year.
‘Not my job’
{{/usCountry}}Rahul Gandhi was also asked what actions he plans to take further about his vote theft allegations and who does he think is benefitting from all this, to which he said that it was not his job to “protect” India's democracy, it the job of the country's institutions.
Also read: ‘Someone’ plotting deletion of votes: Rahul Gandhi drops fresh explosives at press conference
“Frankly, what I am doing here is not my job. My work is to participate in a democratic process, the task of protecting India's democracy is that of the country's institutions. But because they are not doing it, I am having to."
He also said that there will be further such presentations which will take another couple of months and by the end of it, there will be no doubt that "vote chori" has been done in India “state after state and Lok Sabha after Lok Sabha”.
Gandhi said that him and his team are now receiving help from within the election commission. “I will tell you something interesting, We started getting help from within the election commission. This was not happening before. We are getting information from within the election commission. This won't stop. People of India will not accept this (vote chori),”he said.
The Congress leader has also asked Gyanesh Kumar to respond to Karnataka's Crime Investigation Department (CID) on vote deletion allegations within a week, for which the agency has reached out to the EC “18 times in 18 months”.
Will Rahul Gandhi approach court?
When asked if Gandhi would approach court if no response is received with a week, he reiterated that it was not his “work” to “save” the country's democracy.
“My job is to be the opposition leader. I, as a patriotic Indian and as someone who loves the constitution, believe it is my job to put the truth in front of the citizens. I was surprised when people from within the EC came and gave us information. What is shocking is that this has been happening for 10-15 years. India's democracy has been hijacked,” he said.
"Democracy can only be saved by the people of India. Nobody else can do it. Rahul Gandhi can only come and say this is the truth, but only people of India can save the democracy," he added.