The Election Commission on Sunday hit back at Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over his allegations of “vote theft” made during a press conference. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said, “The Election Commission is like a rock and always stands firm for the voters. People know that these are only political statements.”
He further said, “If anyone thinks that by showing a PPT, which is not based on Election Commission’s data, and by giving wrong figures, saying that a polling officer confirmed that a woman voted twice, such serious issues can be raised without an affidavit this is unacceptable. Even photographs of women were released.”
Answering questions from NewsX, Gyanesh Kumar said, “Voters trust the Election Commission, that is why more than 60 percent vote in elections. This is the world’s largest democracy. As far as spreading confusion about vote theft is concerned, Rahul Gandhi must file an affidavit within 7 days or apologize to the nation. Otherwise, all allegations against the Election Commission will be baseless.”
He also clarified that all 12 political parties in Bihar have time till September 1, 2025 to raise objections about errors in the voter list. After that, no objections will be accepted. On the issue of thousands of voters listed with “zero house number” raised by Congress and the INDIA bloc, he explained, “At panchayat or municipal level, if a house number is missing, zero is entered. The computer also picks zero. But this does not mean that no voter lives at that address.”
Speaking on the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, the Chief Election Commissioner said, “SIR is not being conducted in haste. It is always done before elections. Bihar has not conducted SIR in the past 20 years. Its main purpose is to clean the voter list. After several complaints from political parties, SIR is being carried out.”
He added that 22 lakh dead voters in Bihar did not die in the last six months but over several years, though their deaths were not updated in records. “When all proper election procedures were followed and no election petition was filed, why are allegations of vote theft being made? Till now, no party has officially lodged a complaint,” Gyanesh Kumar said.
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