New Delhi [India], August 8 : Hitting out at Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi's recent allegations against the Election Commission of India (ECI), Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Friday said that the Congress leader lectures about the poll body without any logic or basis.
Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Joshi said that on June 12, the ECI sent a letter to Rahul Gandhi asking him to visit its office and explain the facts related to his allegations. However, the Congress MP had not responded, which Joshi claimed showed his "lack of seriousness."
"They teach us about the Election Commission without any basis and logic... On June 12, the EC sent him a letter to visit their office and explain the facts, but he has not yet done so, as he lacks seriousness. The Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Haryana also asked Rahul Gandhi to submit a signed affidavit to initiate the formal proceeding in this regard; till now, he has not submitted it," Joshi said.
The Union Minister said Rahul Gandhi considered everything fine when he won elections, but blamed the ECI and EVMs when he lost.
"When we lost the Lok Sabha election in Maharashtra and they won, then everything was fine there... In 2023, they won in Karnataka, and in 2024, we won, so they are saying that the electoral roll is not correct... Is there any logic? ... This means that you lose because of the election commission, EVM, and because eligible voters were deleted, but if you win, then there is no issue," he said.
On Thursday, Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP and the ECI of "collusion" that helped Prime Minister Narendra Modi secure a third term.
"Narendra Modi became Prime Minister with just a margin of 25 seats...Election Commission is helping BJP destroy the electoral system in India...The Election Commission is not giving us the data because of what we did in Mahadevpur (Karnataka Assembly constituency); if we do it in other Lok Sabha seats, then the truth about our democracy will come out. This is the evidence, criminal evidence (pointing to the physical voter list)," Rahul Gandhi said, holding up a voter list.
The Congress leader also alleged that the poll body was "destroying evidence" through the directive on only preserving CCTV and webcasting footage of the election process for only 45 days after the whole process is completed, unless the election result is challenged in court.
"The Election Commission is looking to destroy the evidence across the country. It is the 21st century; you can store as much data as you want on a hard drive, including 10-year-old data. However, the Election Commission wants to destroy the CCTV footage within 45 days without providing the voter list. They are colluding with the BJP to destroy the election system in India," he alleged.