Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 13 : Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Wednesday dismissed any allegations of vote theft, accusing the Congress party of "spreading false propaganda" over the issue, and simply targeting the Election Commission of India.
Hitting out at the Congress party for being hypocritical, he said that despite holding rallies in front of the ECI office, they are not ready to go when they are called for a meeting to address the issues.
"There is absolutely no truth in the allegation that votes are being stolen...In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, they (Congress) had also spread such false propaganda. If they want to protest, let them, but they are trying to create a narrative and are presenting a negative role before the people. They have no other issue, so they are targeting the Election Commission," Athawale told ANI.
Saying that the Opposition has "no substance" for their allegations, he added, "Rahul Gandhi and the opposition are raising this issue without any substance... They (Rahul Gandhi) go to hold rallies in front of the Election Commission office, but when the Election Commission calls them for discussion, they do not go."
Earlier today, BJP leader Boora Narsaiah Goud slammed the Opposition parties for their protests over special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the poll-bound Bihar and "vote theft" in the elections, accusing them of "working with the support of foreign powers and the funding agencies that are bent upon stalling the progress of India."
Meanwhile in Patna, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav alleged that the Election Commission of India is working with the Bharatiya Janata Party to manipulate the voter list in Bihar by issuing two Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers to its leaders and workers.
"Before we had talked about Bihar's deputy chief minister, Vijay Sinha. Now you call it a crime, a mistake, or an expose, we had said it before too, but today I want to tell you that EC is helping the BJP, and cutting the votes of the Opposition. The people of the BJP are being given not one, but two EPIC numbers for themselves, in one Vidhan Sabha only," the Bihar Assembly's Leader of Opposition said during a press conference.
A day earlier, Lok Sabha LoP and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi sharply criticised the Election Commission of India, alleging it has failed to enforce the principle of "One Man, One Vote," which he described as the foundation of the Constitution.
Gandhi further accused the Election Commission of neglecting its duty, asserting that the Congress party is committed to protecting the Constitution and will continue to do.
Meanwhile, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge joined fellow INDIA bloc members in staging a protest in Parliament over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) issue. Several Opposition MPs arrived wearing white T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan '124 Not Out'.