New Delhi [India], August 11 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday slammed the INDIA bloc leaders, including Leader of Opposition (LoP) Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, for protesting against the Election Commission (EC) amid allegations of "vote theft".
Questioning the legitimacy of the opposition's demands, Prasad cited EC's claims, saying that not even one person has raised any objections regarding the draft voter list in Bihar. He also slammed Gandhi for failing to provide "proof" regarding the alleged discrepancies during the elections.
"Is there any weightage or strength in their demand? EC has said that not one person in Bihar or political party has raised any objection till now. EC says that you can download the voter list. Everything is answered there. Rahul Gandhi isn't giving proof. They didn't provide proof in the Rafale case. This is not how a country is run. All in all, they are frustrated because they lose repeatedly," BJP MP Prasad told ANI.
Meanwhile, BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy suggested that the opposition should visit villages and rural areas to ensure that those left are added to the voter list.
"Instead of holding a march here, they (opposition) should go into villages and rural areas and ensure that those who are not on the voter list yet are added to it," Rudy told ANI.
Earlier in the day, Delhi police detained Congress MPs Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and a host of other INDIA bloc leaders. The police foiled their march to the Election Commission to protest over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar and allegations of "vote chori" (vote theft) in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut and TMC MP Sagarika Ghose were also among those detained by the police. The detained MPs were corralled into a bus to be taken to the Parliament Street police station.
While being detained, Rahul Gandhi told reporters, "The reality is that they cannot talk. The truth is in front of the country. This fight is not political. This fight is to save the Constitution. This fight is for One Man, One Vote. We want a clean, pure voters list."
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra told ANI, "Dare hue hai. Sarkaar kaayar hai" (They are scared. The Government is a coward).
Gandhi linked the INDIA bloc leaders' march to the Election Commission as a "fight to save the Constitution" and demanded a "pure" voters list. At the same time, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi accused the BJP-led Union government of being "scared".
This development came as the Secretariat of the Election Commission of India wrote to Congress MP Jairam Ramesh, granting an appointment for interaction at noon today.
"EC has granted an appointment for an interaction at 12:00 PM today. It is requested that, due to the limitation of space, names of up to 30 persons may kindly be intimated," the letter read.
On August 7, Rahul Gandhi held a press conference, citing internal analysis. The LoP stated that the Congress expected to win 16 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka but ended up with only nine.
He said the Congress investigated seven unexpected losses, zeroing in on Mahadevapura, where he alleged vote theft involving 100,250 votes. Presenting Congress's research on voting in the Mahadevapura Assembly in Karnataka, Rahul Gandhi alleged "vote chori" (vote theft) of 100,250 votes.
"We found 100,250 votes stolen in five different ways. Duplicate voters, fake and invalid addresses, and bulk voters in a single address, in a building with 50-60 people living. But when we go there, there is no record of those people living there. One family living in that house," he said.
The Election Commission on Monday said that Rahul Gandhi "still has time" to submit a formal declaration to substantiate his allegation of "vote theft" or apologise to the country. The Karnataka CEO on Sunday asked Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to submit documents to inquire into his "vote theft" allegations against the Election Commission of India.