New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hit back at the Election Commission after sources in the poll panel dismissed his allegations of rigging in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, reported PTI.

Gandhi said evasion would not protect the EC’s credibility, but telling the truth would. In an article titled “Match-fixing Maharashtra”, published in an English daily, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha alleged large-scale manipulation in the Maharashtra polls and claimed that similar tactics would be used in Bihar and other states where the BJP fears defeat.

Reacting to the EC's reported denial, Gandhi posted on X, "Dear EC, You are a Constitutional body. Releasing unsigned, evasive notes to intermediaries is not the way to respond to serious questions." He demanded transparency from the EC by asking it to publish digital, machine-readable voter rolls for recent elections, including Maharashtra, and release all post-5 pm CCTV footage from polling booths. “Evasion won’t protect your credibility. Telling the truth will,” he said.

Earlier, EC sources had rejected Gandhi’s claims, saying such misinformation undermines the integrity of the electoral process and disrespects polling staff and political party representatives. Gandhi, however, outlined what he called a step-by-step rigging pattern: rigging the panel that appoints EC members, adding fake voters to rolls, inflating voter turnout, enabling bogus voting in key areas, and hiding evidence.

He likened this to match-fixing, saying that while cheating may help one side win, it ultimately damages institutions and erodes public trust in democracy. He added that while he does not question every election outcome, he believes that institutional-scale manipulation is becoming more frequent.

Gandhi said that records like voter rolls and CCTV footage should be used to uphold democracy and not be locked away, stressing that Indians have the right to demand answers and judge for themselves.

TAGS

The comments posted here/below/in the given space are not on behalf of Onmanorama. The person posting the comment will be in sole ownership of its responsibility. According to the central government's IT rules, obscene or offensive statement made against a person, religion, community or nation is a punishable offense, and legal action would be taken against people who indulge in such activities.