'Vote Chori' row: EC reiterates ultimatum to Rahul Gandhi — 'still has time to give declaration'
The Election Commission's statement came a day after a notice was issued by the Karnataka CEO and the reminder from the CEO of Haryana, news agency ANI reported.
The Karnataka CEO asked Rahul Gandhi to submit documents to initiate inquiry into his "vote theft" allegations against the Election Commission of India.
During a press conference on August 7, Rahul Gandhi levelled 'vote chori' allegation against the EC and BJP-ruled Centre, citing the Congress' internal analysis. The LoP stated that the Congress expected to win 16 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka but ended up with only nine.
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 Election Commision reportedly 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.
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.
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