New Delhi [India], September 29 : Key opposition leaders have backed the Leader of the Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's allegations of widespread voter deletions in Delhi's Bela Estate, accusing the Election Commission (ECI) of attempting to deprive voters of their rights and conducting a "systematic criminal activity."
Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Awadhesh Prasad said that the strength of India's democracy hinges directly on the independence of the election body.
"The government and the Election Commission want to deprive voters of their rights on a large scale. The strength of a country's democracy and how deeply rooted it is can be gauged by the independence of the Election Commission," he said.
Echoing similar sentiments, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Manoj Jha stressed that the evidence of institutional bias is now in the public domain.
Criticising the Election Commission, he called Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar a mere "puppet," whose strings are in someone else's hands.
"This has happened across the entire country, and evidence from everyone has come to light. Now it has become clear that a criminal activity has been systematically operating within the Election Commission, and whoever benefited from that criminal activity has now come before the public. Gyanesh Kumar is just a puppet. The string behind that puppet is in someone else's hands. Everyone knows who... All these things are now public. This is no longer just a matter of ruling party versus opposition," he said.
The remarks came after Gandhi targeted the ECI over the deletion of 727 out of a total 728 voter names there, alleging it was a "method of vote theft".
Earlier on Monday, Rahul gandhi visited Bela Estate in the national capital and interacted with the residents to understand their grievances.
In a post on X, Gandhi alleged, "728 people live in Bela Estate on the banks of the Yamuna. After SIR, only one name remains in the voter list - the other 727 names have been struck off. These people have been living here for decades. They have already voted in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the 2025 Delhi elections. In 2023, their homes were demolished – but they didn't go anywhere; they're still right here."
"Today I went to their jhuggi and heard directly from them what the Election Commission has done to them. On the phone with the SDM, I said exactly this – having a house or not has no connection to the right to vote. CEC Gyanesh Kumar himself has said that 'House Number 0' is for the homeless. Yet, 727 people's names have been struck off. This isn't SIR – this is a method of vote theft," he added.