The Election Commission on Friday denied claims that its websites in different states were down and electoral rolls were not available, a day after Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi used the data provided by the poll body to substantiate his allegations of "vote theft" in the 2024 general elections.
Responding to claims by Rahul Gandhi and several others regarding the websites of the state chief electoral officers facing disruptions and electoral rolls missing from these sites, the EC in a statement said, "No issues with Election Commission of India's website. Functioning seamlessly since its launch."
In a fact check post on X, the EC wrote, "Anyone can download the Electoral Roll for any of 36 States/UTs through this link: https://voters.eci.gov.in/download-eroll"
Several users had earlier complained of the EC websites for various states being down, which was also taken up by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Responding to EC's demand for a written declaration about his claims on wrongful entries in the voters' list, Rahul Gandhi said he has already taken oath in Parliament to uphold the Constitution.
Addressing a Vote Adhikar rally in Bengaluru on Friday, Gandhi said, "The EC asks me to file an affidavit and give information under oath. I have taken oath inside the Parliament holding the Constitution. Today when the people are questioning the Election Commission based on data I released, the EC has shut its website."
At a press conference on Thursday, Rahul Gandhi cited EC's data to claim that over 1 lakh votes were stolen in an Assembly constituency in Karnataka, with 11,965 duplicate voters in the segment, 40,009 voters with fake and invalid addresses, 10,452 bulk voters or single address voters, 4,132 voters with invalid photos and 33,692 voters misusing Form 6 of new voters.
Responding to his allegations, the chief electoral officers of three states on Thursday asked Gandhi to share the names of electors he claimed were either included or excluded wrongfully from the voter lists, along with a signed declaration for the poll authorities to initiate "necessary proceedings" in the matter.
The poll panel said if he believes in his analysis and feels that his allegations against it are true, he should have "no problem" in signing the declaration.
Sources in the poll authority said that if Gandhi is not able to give the declaration, he should "apologise to the nation for his absurd allegations," reported PTI.
