LDF and UDF ratchet up their demand for Suresh Gopi to clarify voter list fraud accusations
Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] general secretary, M.A. Baby, dismissed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) former State president K. Surendran's averment that Mr. Gopi owed no explanation and the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) were grousing belatedly about Election Commission of India (ECI) officials in Thrissur stacking the odds in favour of the Union Minister.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Mr. Baby said: 'Belated reporting of a theft did not absolve the perpetrator of the crime. The BJP's voter fraud in Thrissur is a microcosm of what the BJP-engineered in other States. The modus operandi, including identity theft, reflects a pattern. The Election Commission of India (ECI) should retrieve its lost credibility by conducting a thorough investigation', he said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Gopi, who arrived after a long hiatus in Thrissur early Wednesday, appeared to maintain a sphinx-like silence. When mobbed by reporters, Mr. Gopi quipped: 'Thank you for the favours done'.
Congress speak
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan said Mr. Gopi's reticence was a deliberate attempt to cock a snook at the Thrissur electorate and civil society.
'Mr. Gopi has the right of reply, given the gravity of the accusations of voter fraud swirling around him and the BJP in Kerala. His speechlessness lends credibility to Congress's accusations of massive voter list fraud in Thrissur each passing hour,' Mr. Satheesan said.
Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala adduced evidence of what he claimed was massive voter list fraud by CPI(M) and BJP since 2021. He said the BJP appeared to have taken a page from the CPI(M) 's playbook on rigging elections. 'It included persons appearing in multiple voters' lists across districts and fictitious voters using phoney addresses and identity proof', he added.
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