Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched a blistering attack on the Election Commission on Monday, accusing the poll body of colluding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and warning its top officials of “strict action” once the INDIA bloc forms the government at the Centre and in Bihar.
Addressing a massive crowd during his Vote Adhikar Yatra in Gaya, Rahul Gandhi declared: “All three Election Commissioners, listen carefully. Right now, you are working for Narendra Modi’s government. But the day INDIA alliance forms the government in Delhi and Bihar, action will be taken against you. We will deal with all three of you.”
His comments came just a day after the Election Commission directed him to submit a signed affidavit to back his allegations of vote theft. Defiant, Rahul responded: “The Election Commission’s theft has been caught, and now they want an affidavit from me. But remember, one day the entire country will demand an affidavit from you. We will expose your theft before the people of India.”
Escalating his attack, he added: “When Narendra Modi and the Election Commission steal votes, they attack Bharat Mata and the Constitution. Vote theft is an attack on the soul of Hindustan. We will not allow Modi and the EC to insult our Constitution.”
Rahul Gandhi’s fiery remarks coincided with his symbolic gesture of handing over the keys of a new house to Bhagirath Manjhi, son of the legendary “Mountain Man” Dashrath Manjhi, fulfilling a promise made during his earlier visit.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar also sharpened the Opposition’s offensive against the poll body. Speaking at a press conference in Gaya, Kumar alleged massive irregularities in the electoral rolls. “All BLOs are not conducting door-to-door verification. Dead people are still on the voter list, while many living voters are missing. The Election Commission is only interested in numbers, not accuracy,” he said.
Kanhaiya challenged the EC to prove the integrity of its electoral rolls in the Supreme Court: “First, give an affidavit in the Supreme Court that your voter list is clean. Then we will file our affidavit showing the irregularities we have found.”
