New Delhi, Sep 18 (IANS) The BJP and JD(U) on Thursday hit back sharply at Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi after he launched a fresh offensive against the Election Commission of India (ECI), accusing it of mass deletion of votes from Congress-supporting booths through fake logins and a “centralised system.”
Calling the allegations baseless and politically motivated, BJP leaders said that Rahul Gandhi’s remarks were less about the ECI and more about discrediting the democratic mandate given by people of the country.
Speaking to IANS, BJP spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain said, “They claimed they would drop ‘hydrogen bombs,’ but all they deliver are damp squibs. When will this so-called bomb explode? This is just another excuse to blame the Election Commission for their impending defeat. They have a history of targeting institutions whenever the tide turns against them.”
He further claimed that Congress leaders were trying to divert attention from the implementation of the SIR (Systematic Identification and Removal) initiative.
“The names of people with duplicate voter IDs—like Pawan Khera’s kind—will be removed. Infiltrators and those who’ve shifted residences should not remain on electoral rolls. That’s the real issue they’re avoiding.”
BJP’s Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi also slammed Rahul Gandhi and said, “He carries around metaphoric hydrogen bombs and thinks it will shake the foundation of democracy. But democracy in India is too mature for such theatrics. The Congress, a party that once ruled for five decades, is now resorting to insulting the people’s verdict under the garb of questioning the Election Commission.”
Naqvi added, “Instead of motivating voters, they are sowing doubt. This is the first time a national party is openly discouraging voter participation. If they lose, they cry ‘vote theft.’ This is not dissent—it’s an assault on democracy itself.”
JD(U) senior leader K.C. Tyagi also reacted and dismissed the ‘vote theft’ narrative.
“I don’t believe in this ‘Vote Chori’ story. If votes were being stolen, how did Congress win in Himachal, Kerala, and Karnataka? How does Mamata Didi keep winning? These are just convenient excuses. The ECI should certainly respond with transparency, but wild accusations against constitutional bodies are not acceptable,” he told IANS.
Meanwhile, the ECI rejected Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of mass voter deletions in Karnataka’s Aland Assembly constituency as ‘baseless and incorrect’.
It also questioned Rahul Gandhi and Congress’ understanding of the electoral process, and said that the latter’s claims of vote deletion by any ‘online tool’ were a mere misconception.
Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi, in a special press conference, claimed mass vote deletions, particularly in Congress strongholds, through fake logins and using phone numbers from outside the state. Claiming a ‘systematised and organised’ style of voter deletions, he alleged that 6,018 votes were deleted in Karnataka’s Aland constituency.
The ECI, in a quick rebuttal to Rahul Gandhi’s charge of vote deletions, said that no deletion of votes could be done by any member of the public, and it couldn’t be done online, as “misconceived by Shri Rahul Gandhi”.
“No deletion can take place without giving an opportunity of being heard to the affected person,” said ECI.
The poll panel also informed that in 2023, certain unsuccessful attempts were made for the deletion of electors in the Aland Assembly constituency, and an FIR was also filed by the authority of ECI itself to investigate the matter.
–IANS
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