If Rahul Gandhi Cannot Substantiate His Claims Under Oath, He Must Apologise To The Nation, Says Election Commission

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has firmly responded to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s claims of widespread manipulation in the voter list, urging him to either substantiate his allegations under oath or apologise to the nation.

According to sources within the Commission, if Gandhi genuinely believes in the evidence and analysis he shared during a media briefing on Thursday, he should willingly sign the statutory declaration mandated by election laws.

Sources added, “If he does not sign the declaration, it would imply he lacks confidence in his own claims and conclusions, which the Commission considers absurd. In that case, he must apologise to the nation.”

The Commission’s statement follows Gandhi’s press conference, where he accused the Mahadevapura Assembly segment in Karnataka’s Bangalore Central Lok Sabha constituency of ‘systemic voter fraud’, presenting what he described as ‘irrefutable proof’ from an internal Congress investigation.

Gandhi asserted that while Congress led in all other Assembly segments under Bangalore Central, fraudulent practices caused their defeat in Mahadevapura.

After the press meet, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Karnataka wrote to Gandhi, requesting a signed declaration under Rule 20(3)(b) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, along with the names of specific voters involved in the alleged irregularities.

The CEO’s letter emphasised that resolving election result disputes requires filing a petition in the High Court.

The letter noted that during the press conference on 7 August, you mentioned including ineligible electors and excluding eligible electors from the Electoral Rolls.

It further added, “You are kindly requested to sign and submit the declaration/oath under Rule 20(3)(b) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, along with the name(s) of such electors so that necessary proceedings can be initiated.”

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