The Congress MP claimed he had "open-and-shut" proof of vote theft.
- The Election Commission said the allegations were being made on a daily basis
- Poll officials, it said, should continue to work in a fair and transparent manner
- The Congress MP claimed he had "open-and-shut" proof of vote theft
Pushing back against fresh allegations of "vote theft" made by Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, the Election Commission of India has termed them "baseless".
The Election Commission (EC) also said an email and a letter had been sent to Mr Gandhi in June, inviting him to meet and discuss the voter roll issue, but he had not responded. The Congress MP had, instead, made "wild allegations" and even threatened the EC and its staff, the poll panel said.
Speaking to reporters about the Bihar Special Intensive Revision on Friday, the Congress leader had said the Commission was involved in the "vote theft" to benefit the BJP.
"Votes are being stolen. We have open-and-shut proof that the Election Commission is involved in this vote theft. And I'm not saying this lightly, I'm speaking with 100% proof. And when we release it (proof), the entire country will come to know that the Election Commission is enabling vote theft. And who are they doing it for? They're doing it for the BJP," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Mr Gandhi said the Congress had investigated and found enough evidence to constitute an "atom bomb".
"We had suspicion of voter theft, and we got into its granularity. Since the Election Commission was not helpful in the investigation, we did our own. It took six months and the things we found are an 'atom bomb' and when this atom bomb explodes, you won't see the Election Commission in the country," the Congress MP said.
"Most importantly, whoever in the Elections Commission is involved in this exercise, right from top to bottom, we will not spare you. You are working against India, and this is no less than treason. Wherever you are, even if you are retired, we will find you," he added.
'Threats'
In a statement later in the day, the Election Commission said it ignores such "baseless allegations", adding that they were being made on a daily basis.
"Despite the daily threats being given, we ask all election officials to ignore such irresponsible statements and work in a fair and transparent manner," the panel said.
It pointed out that the Congress leader had been invited to discuss the voter rolls issue, but had not even responded.
"EC sends a mail to him 12 June 2025. He does not come. EC sends him a letter on 12 June 2025, he does not respond. He has never sent any letter to EC on any issue whatsoever. It is very strange that he is making wild allegations and has now even started threatening EC and its staff. Deplorable!" it said in the statement.
"EC ignores such irresponsible statements and asks all its staff to continue working impartially and transparently," it added.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju also objected to Mr Gandhi's claims and accused him of making "anti-India" remarks.
"Rahul Gandhi is not a child. He is the Leader of the Opposition. Giving anti-national statements and disrupting Parliament is unacceptable," the Parliamentary Affairs minister said.
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