New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) hit back at Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over his allegations of electoral manipulation, challenging him to either sign a formal declaration affirming his claims or apologise to the nation.
“If Rahul Gandhi believes what he is saying is true, then he should sign the Declaration/Oath as per Rule 20 (3)(b) of the Registration of Electoral Rules 1960 and submit the same to CEO of Haryana by today itself so that necessary proceedings can be initiated,” ECI sources said. “If Rahul Gandhi does not believe in what he is saying, then he should stop arriving at absurd conclusions and mislead the citizens of India.”
The response comes a day after Gandhi, at a press conference and later during a meeting of INDIA bloc leaders, presented what he claimed was “proof” of alleged poll rigging by the BJP and the Election Commission.
The ECI maintained that Gandhi now has “two options: either sign the Declaration or apologise to the nation for raising absurd allegations against ECI.”
The ECI move comes after Rahul Gandhi levelled serious allegations of "criminal fraud" against the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the collusion of the poll body with the BJP to steal elections and claimed that 1,00,250 “fake votes” were created in the Mahadevapura Assembly seat under the Bangalore Central Lok Sabha constituency in order to ensure a win for the BJP.
He went on further, saying, “The judiciary needs to get involved in this because the democracy that we love so much does not exist.”
“I want the nation to know that there is a huge criminal fraud being perpetrated on this country. It is being done by the Election Commission and the party in power and we have given you undoubtable proof,” Gandhi said. “If the Election Commission now does not give us electronic voter data of the last 10 to 15 years, and if it does not share the CCTV footage, they are partaking in the crime,” he added.
