Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], August 11 : Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar questioned the Election Commission for issuing a notice against Congres MP Rahul Gandhi, asking the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha to submit the documents backing his "vote theft" allegations.
Speaking with reporters, Deputy CM Shivakumar said, "Who are they to give notice? I have given them notice. We have the power to give notice. We have won the election legally. In a democracy, the elections should be held legally..."
Shivakumar's statement came in response to the notice issued by the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Karnataka, asking Congress MP to submit the documents for a detailed investigation into his allegations.
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 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.
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.