Congress MP from Maharashtra Praniti Shinde on Friday said that the Election Commission (EC) acts like a mouthpiece of the BJP.

Speaking at the Manorama News Conclave 2025 held at the Lulu Bolgatty International Convention Centre in Kochi on Friday, she said that the press conference by Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi exposing vote fraud was a game-changer.

"Soon after the press conference, everybody was asking for proof. In Maharashtra, four months after the general elections, there was an increase of 50,000 voters in every constituency. It is unrealistic. Normally, such a jump will not happen even in 5 years," she said.

Shinde said that all political parties have a structure in place to examine the booth voter list. "The EC has given scan-proof copies. There is no readable, editable format. We can't put a tally on how many dead voters or how many address changes," she said.

She wondered how democracy would flourish if the right to exercise the franchise were taken away. Shinde brushed aside claims that the draft voters' list is not properly scrutinised. "The onus is on the EC to prepare a draft list which is clear and transparent. It is not up to the political parties," she said.

The schemes being launched by the Centre have no takers because the criteria are extremely difficult. "People have lost faith in this government. They come up with difficult criteria for the beneficiaries, and naturally, they don't subscribe to the schemes. All the achievements of the government are only on paper. We have the PM-AWAS Yojana but there is no land left in villages to build houses," she said.

Shinde also slammed the freebies culture and said that MPs are assessed based on the work they do in the constituency. "BJP promises schemes just before the elections and once they come to power, they say that these were only promises. On top of that there is the issue of vote chori," she said.