Reiterating his objection to the demand of the Election Commission of India (ECI) for a ‘statements-on-oath’ from Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi being raised, former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot said several BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi had, in the past, made serious allegations against the ECI but it never asked for affidavit.
The senior Congress leader issued a press note on Sunday expressing discontentment over the approach of the Commission in the issue of “vote theft” raised by LoP. “In the past, several Opposition leaders, including Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Shri Lal Krishna Advani, and even Shri Narendra Modi himself, had made serious allegations against the Election Commission. How many of them were asked to submit affidavits,” Gehlot asked in the note.
On the positon taken by the ECI in such situations in the past, the three-time ex-CM said former chief election commissioner O P Rawat, who served during the NDA government in 2018, has clearly stated that during his tenure, if any senior leader made an allegation, the election commission would suo motu investigate the matter and present the facts before the public, in order to maintain people’s trust in the institution.
Gehlot said, “By presenting all the evidence before the public, LoP Gandhi has exposed the #VoteChori being carried out by the Commission in the voter list. The entire country trusts Rahul ji on this”.
“Thus, the election commission’s demand for an affidavit is utterly absurd and appears to be nothing more than an attempt to save face,” he asserted.
Expressing concerns over the possibility of loss of credibility of the ECI in the wake of such situations, the former chief minister said, “In countries like North Korea, China, and Russia, where a single party or leader rules, the election commission conducts elections merely as a formality. The world is well aware of the credibility of those commissions and their elections. Is India now being pushed in the same direction?”
Meanwhile, in a post on X, Gehlot sought the people’s support to the demand of making public the clean digital electoral rolls so that political parties themselves get it audited. The demand is being made by the Congress and LoP Gandhi. “Vote theft is the violation of the fundamental principle of ‘one person – one vote’, this fight is for defending democracy,” he added to his post.