Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], August 13 : In the wake of the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's allegations of "fake votes" against the Election Commission of India (ECI), Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Thursday demanded answers from the EC on what happened in Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha constituency.
Speaking to reporters, Kharge said, "We have put forward our point on the basis of what Rahul Gandhi had said earlier that the Election Commission is not free and fair. We have cited many local sources and provided new evidence of discrepancies in the Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha. All we ask is that the EC act right and stop intimidating opposition leaders."
"We have submitted certain evidence. Instead of verifying it, reviewing it, and coming out in front of the public and telling the truth, they are intimidating us. But we are not going to yield to this. We demand answers from the EC on what happened in Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha constituency," he added.
Congress MP KC Venugopal on Tuesday announced that the party will hold a 'Vote chor, gaddi chhodd' rally at 8 pm on August 14, in all districts across the country.
The protest is being organised in response to the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar and Congress' allegations of "vote theft" by the BJP, which the Congress claims the poll body has failed to address.
The announcement came after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday chaired a meeting of General Secretaries and In-Charges at the party headquarters in New Delhi.
Venugopal informed that the Congress party will also launch a nationwide signature campaign from September 15 to October 16, with a target of collecting five crore signatures to be submitted to the Election Commission of India.
"On 14th August, we will do a night march all over India, a district-level night march. 'Vote chor, gaddi chhodd' rally at 8 pm on 14th August, in all districts. Then from August 21 to September 7, we will do state-level 'Vote chor, gaddi chhodd' rallies...From September 15 to October 15, a massive signature campaign will take place with the same slogan. We will submit 5 crore signatures to the EC, KC Venugopal told ANI.
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi said 1,00,250 "fake votes" were created in the Mahadevapura Assembly segment in the Bangalore Central Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka to ensure a win for the BJP.
Taking the reporters through a detailed presentation of the 'fraud' at the Congress headquarters in Delhi, the LoP alleged that "collusion" had happened between the Election Commission of India and the BJP, which resulted in Prime Minister Narendra Modi securing his 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.