Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi escalated his criticism of the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday, accusing it of induling in "vote chori" (vote theft) for the BJP.
Speaking to reporters at the Parliament, Rahul claimed that he had "open and shut proof" of ECI's involvement in vote theft when asked about the contentious Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in poll-bound Bihar.
"We have said that there is a theft of votes happening and now we have open and shut proof that the Election Commission is involved in theft of votes. I am not saying it lightly, I am saying it with hundred percent proof. As soon as we release it, the entire nation will come to know that Election Commission is working for the BJP to steal votes," Rahul said.
Stepping up his attack, the Lok Sabha LoP alleged that the Congress had uncovered an "atom bomb" after investigating evidence of electoral misconduct by the EC, calling it an act of treason.
"We had suspicion in Madhya Pradesh elections, Lok Sabha elections, our suspicion grew during Maharashtra elections. We conducted our own investigation for six months and what we got is an atom bomb. The Election Commission won't be visible in the country when this atom bomb will explode. Whosoever is doing this in the Election Commission, right from the top to bottom... we won't spare them because they are working against India. This is treason and nothing less than that," he added.
Notably, the Congress leader has repeatedly accused the Election Commission of election fraud and of aiding the BJP in the process.
As demands for discussion on the SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar have brought the Parliament to a standstill, Rahul on July 23 said that the Congress has figured out how "votes are being stolen" in India. Speaking to reporters at the Parliament House complex, Gandhi had asserted that he would put before the people and the Election Commission in "black in white" how the "theft of votes" is being done.
Earlier, the Congress MP had also alleged that the BJP and the EC were "hatching a conspiracy to steal" the assembly elections in Bihar.
Rahul had also drawn parallels between Bihar and Maharashtra accusing the poll body of vote manipulation. "In Maharashtra, the mandate was stolen. Now in Bihar, the right to vote is under threat an old conspiracy in a new form. We will continue to expose these anti-Constitutional forces. Together with the people and the youth, we will give a fitting reply," he had said at a protest march in Patna against the SIR exercise.
The Lok Sabha LoP had also shared his opinion piece published in a newspaper in June, writing "How to steal an election?", describing the Maharashtra polls as "a blueprint for rigging democracy" and outlining, step by step, how he claims it was done.
