Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], August 10 : The Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has asked Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to submit documents to inquire into his "vote theft" allegations against the Election Commission of India.
In a letter dated August 10, the Karnataka CEO stated that Rahul Gandhi has claimed to have documents presented during his August 7 press conference from the Election Commission of India records, alleging that a voter, Shakun Rani, voted twice based on data shown by a polling officer.
The polling body further stated that upon preliminary inquiry, Shakun Rani has denied voting twice. The CEO's office also found that the tick-marked document presented by Rahul Gandhi was not issued by the polling officer, raising questions about the authenticity of the claim.
The letter read, "In your Press Conference, you have stated that the documents shown in your presentation are from the records of the Election Commission of India. You have said: "This is EC data". You have also stated that as per the records given by the polling officer, Smt. Shakun Rani has voted twice. You have said; "Es ID card per do baar vote lagahai, wo jo tick hai, polling booth ke officer kihai"."
"On inquiry, Smt. Shakun Rani has stated that she has voted only once and not twice, as alleged by you. Preliminary enquiry conducted by this office also reveals that the tick marked document shown by you in the presentation (copy enclosed) is not a document issued by the polling officer," it added.
The Karnataka CEO requested Rahul Gandhi to provide the relevant documents that form the basis of his allegation so that a detailed investigation can be conducted by the Karnataka electoral authorities.
The letter stated, "Therefore, you are kindly requested to provide the relevant documents on the basis of which you have concluded that Smt. Shakun Rani or anyone else has voted twice, so that a detailed inquiry can be undertaken by this office."
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 of India (ECI) on Saturday again asked Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to either give a declaration as per the rules or apologise to the country for his "false" allegations regarding the voter lists.
"Rahul Gandhi should either give a Declaration as per rules or apologise to the country for his false allegations," ECI said in a statement.