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Shashi Tharoor urges ECI to address questions on election credibility after Rahul Gandhi leads protest march over alleged ‘vote theft’

Statesman News Service

Photo: IANS


Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Monday urged the Election Commission of India to address concerns over the credibility of elections in the country.

The Opposition MPs, led by the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, are taking out a protest march from Parliament to the Election Commission of India office in New Delhi over the alleged “vote theft” in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the Special Intensive Revision exercise being conducted in Bihar.
Talking to ANI, Tharoor said, “For me, the issue is very simple. Rahul Gandhi has raised some serious questions; they deserve serious answers. The Election Commission not only has a responsibility to the nation, but it has a responsibility to itself that there should not be any doubts left in the minds of the public about this entire credibility of our elections. The elections matter to the whole country.”
He said, “Our democracy is far too valuable to be undermined by suspicions of duplicate voting, multiple addresses, or fake votes.”
He added that If such doubts exist in the public mind, they must be resolved.
There may already be answers to these concerns, but they need to be communicated in a credible manner,” he further stated
He concluded, “My only appeal is that the Election Commission should take these questions seriously and address them.”

As many as 300 Opposition Members of Parliament from both Houses will take part in the protest march, including those from the Aam Aadmi Party.

The march is reportedly not being held under the banner of INDIA bloc to accommodate the AAP, which has officially exited the Opposition’s alliance.

“Opposition MPs will march from Parliament to awaken this sleeping institution,” said Congress MP Sukhdeo Bhagat.

He further accused the Election Commission of India of functioning like an extension of the BJP office under the protection of the Prime Minister.

On August 7, Rahul Gandhi had alleged rigging in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, sharing what he described as “criminal evidence” to back his claim.

He gave a detailed presentation on how the election at the Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha constituency was manipulated. Rahul claimed that there are over one lakh fake voters in the constituency.

Following this, the Congress launched an online campaign to mobilise public support against what it termed as “vote chori” (vote theft).

Rahul Gandhi shared a post on his X handle, urging citizens to register on a newly launched web portal: votechori.in/ecdemand, or give a missed call to 9650003420 to support the cause.

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