BENGALURU — The Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Friday issued a stern warning to the Election Commission of India (ECI), stating, “If you (ECI) attack the ‘One Man, One Vote’ right enshrined in the Indian Constitution, we will attack you.”
Addressing a massive ‘Vote Adhikar Rally’ in Bengaluru, organised to protest alleged election fraud, Rahul Gandhi said, “This is the voice of Hindustan.”
He added that the Election Commission had demanded his affidavit and oath in connection with the complaint of election fraud. “I have already taken my oath in the Lok Sabha — on the Constitution,” he asserted.
Rahul Gandhi emphasised that the foundational idea of the Constitution is “One Man, One Vote.” He accused ECI officials of attacking this principle and, by extension, targeting the poor.
“If you think you can get away after committing election fraud, think again. It may take time, but we will catch you. We will catch each and every one of you,” he warned.
He stated that people across the country are now questioning the functioning of the ECI after the Congress party raised several issues. “The ECI has shut down its websites in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Bihar,” the Rahul Gandhi claimed.
He guaranteed that if the ECI were to release the electronic voters’ list for the entire country along with video recordings, the Congress would prove that electoral fraud was not limited to just one seat in Karnataka but is a widespread issue across India.
He further stated that the Election Commission is supposed to work for the Constitution, not for the BJP. “We have already proven how the result of one seat in Karnataka was stolen. And there are more. Congress workers carry the DNA of the Constitution,” he said.
Referring to ‘Operation Lotus’ in Karnataka, he told the crowd, “You all know how the previous government was hijacked using money. Today, I am saying with 100 per cent conviction that electoral fraud was committed during the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP’s ideology is against the Constitution. The Constitution protects the voice of the poor, the farmers, the workers, and the voiceless. Every Congress worker will defend it.”
Rahul Gandhi said that he may be the Leader of the Opposition, but he is not alone in this battle. “Opposition parties across the country are raising these questions. The ECI must release the data,” he demanded.
He stated that the Congress began its investigation with one Lok Sabha seat — Bengaluru Central — and focussed its research on the Mahadevapura Assembly segment. “We found clear evidence that the BJP and the ECI colluded to commit fraud. Out of 6.5 lakh voters in Mahadevapura, 1.25 lakh votes were stolen. That means one in every six votes was manipulated,” he claimed.
Rahul Gandhi alleged that the fraud was carried out using five key methods. First, duplicate voters — about 12,000 people — were allowed to vote in five to six different polling booths. Second, around 40,000 voters were enrolled using fake IDs. Third, bulk voters were registered under the same address; in one instance, 40 people were shown living in a single house. “When we visited the house, no one was there, and the property belonged to a BJP leader,” he said.
Fourth, nearly 4,000 voters were listed without photos or with very unclear images. Fifth, approximately 34,000 new voters were added through Form 6, many of them aged between 89 and 95 years, which raised serious doubts.
“In total, the BJP and the ECI have stolen more than one lakh votes,” LoP Gandhi professed. He further claimed that there were duplicate voters who have cast votes in multiple cities, including Bengaluru, Lucknow, and Varanasi. — With inputs from IANS
