Ongoing plot to add voters in states going to polls: TMC's Kunal Ghosh supports Rahul Gandhi's claims
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], June 7 (ANI): Following Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's allegations that Maharashtra assembly election held in November 2024 was 'rigged' and the same will be repeated in Bihar, TMC leader Kunal Ghosh claimed that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had caught the rigging in West Bengal and there is an ongoing plot to add voters from other states to the state going to polls.
Kunal Ghosh said, 'The voter list had several irregularities. Mamata ji caught this in Bengal. Voters of other states were added to Bengal's voter list. When this happened in Maharashtra, at the time of election, it was the responsibility of the Opposition there to catch this. But they could not identify it at that time. This happened in Delhi. But in Bengal, Mamata Banerjee and TMC identified this, and we protested. We told the Election Commission about this. This was a plot. We had been making these allegations for much longer. Mamata ji was the first in the country to protest against this. There is an ongoing plot to add voters from other states to this one.'
He further said that the TMC party is scrutinising voters' list on booth level by visiting every houses.
'The survey is going on. Following the process of the Election Commission, whatever is required to check the voters' list legally, we are doing it,' he added.
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Maharashtra assembly election held in November 2024 was 'rigged', and claimed that the same will be repeated in Bihar assembly polls due later this year.
In a post on X, Gandhi shared his article published in a newspaper, explaining the 'rigging' in the Maharashtra assembly polls.' Maharashtra assembly elections in 2024 were a blueprint for rigging democracy. My article shows how this happened, step by step,' Gandhi said on X.
The former Congress President explained a five-point process. He said that step one includes rigging the panel that appoints the Election Commission, followed by adding fake voters to the electoral roll.
He further claimed that the next steps include inflating the voter turnout, targeting the bogus voting exactly where the BJP needs to win and hiding the evidence.
'Step 1: Rig the panel for appointing the Election Commission; Step 2: Add fake voters to the roll; Step 3: Inflate voter turnout; Step 4: Target the bogus voting exactly where the BJP needs to win; Step 5: Hide the evidence,' Gandhi said.
He further labelled rigging as 'match-fixing', saying that the side cheats might win the game but damage institutions and destroy public faith in the result.
'It's not hard to see why the BJP was so desperate in Maharashtra. But rigging is like match-fixing, the side that cheats might win the game, but will damage institutions and destroy public faith in the result. All concerned Indians must see the evidence. Judge for themselves. Demand answers,' the Rae Bareli MP said.
Gandhi warned that the 'match-fixing' of Maharashtra would come to Bihar next, where the polls are due later this year, and then 'anywhere' the BJP was losing elections. 'Match-fixed elections are a poison for any democracy,' he added. (ANI)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Print
an hour ago
- The Print
Rahul slams EC's ‘unsigned' rebuttal of his Maharashtra poll rigging charge—'show voter rolls'
Earlier in April this year, ECI sources termed similar claims made by Rahul in the United States—first, in his address before the Indian diaspora in Boston, and second, at Brown University—as 'absurd'. In a social media post, the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) retorted that responses to 'serious questions' through 'unsigned, evasive notes' were unbecoming for a constitutional body such as ECI. 'Evasion won't protect your credibility. Telling the truth will,' Rahul posted on X. New Delhi: Not for the first time, Rahul Gandhi clashed with the Election Commission of India (ECI) Saturday over his allegation of 'industrial scale-rigging' during the Maharashtra assembly elections. The ECI indirectly clapped back at the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition, reiterating that his charges were 'absurd', on the same day. However, this time, Rahul countered on X, saying: 'If you have nothing to hide, answer the questions in my article and prove it by: Publishing consolidated, digital, machine-readable voter rolls for the most recent elections to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas of all states, including Maharashtra.' He also demanded the release of CCTV footage from inside the polling booths recorded from 5 pm on the counting day before the Maharashtra assembly election results. But, ECI is not required to do what he says under the law. In December 2024, the Centre amended the Conduct of Election Rules, effectively removing electronic footage—earlier open to public inspection—from the polling process by stamping it out from the definition of 'election papers'. On earlier occasions, Rahul Gandhi has represented the amendment as indicative of the ECI becoming 'compromised'. In opinion pieces published in different languages in different newspapers, the LoP Saturday repeated the allegations he has been making against the ECI for some time now. Rahul laid out a 'step-by-step' playbook of election rigging in his pieces. 'Step 1: Rig the panel for appointing the Election Commission. Step 2: Add fake voters to the roll. Step 3: Inflate voter turnout. Step 4: Target the bogus voting exactly where BJP needs to win. Step 5: Hide the evidence,' he wrote. Sharing his write-up on X, Rahul also appealed to people to go through the 'evidence', judge for themselves, and demand answers. 'Because the match-fixing of Maharashtra will come to Bihar next, and then anywhere, the BJP is losing.' Assembly elections are due in Bihar later this year. The LoP, through his writing, also sought to substantiate his allegation of rigging in the Maharashtra assembly polls by raising questions on the increase in registered electors in the state from 9.29 crore during the LS polls to 9.70 crore during the assembly polls. 'A crawl of 31 lakh in five years, then a leap of 41 lakh in just five months,' Rahul wrote. 'So incredible was this leap that the registered voter total of 9.70 crore was even greater than the 9.54 crore adults in Maharashtra according to the government's own estimates.' He also raised suspicions about the rise in total voter turnout between 5 pm and the final figures released by ECI, calling the huge difference a major red flag. 'The polling turnout at 5 pm was 58.22 percent. Even after voting closed, however, [the] turnout kept increasing more and more. The final turnout was reported only the next morning to be 66.05 percent … The unprecedented 7.83 percentage point increase is equivalent to 76 lakh voters—much higher than previous Vidhan Sabha elections in Maharashtra,' Rahul stated. Hours after the piece came out, the ECI, without naming anyone, relayed through its sources that 'defaming the poll panel after receiving an unfavourable verdict from the voters is absolutely absurd'. The ECI sources said the rise in total voter turnout is not abnormal in the slightest way and that Rahul's allegations about the electoral rolls had no substance. 'After the finalisation of the electoral rolls for the Maharashtra election, as against the 9,77,90,752 (over 9.77 crore) electors, only 89 appeals were filed before the first appellate authority—the district magistrate concerned—and only one was filed before the second appellate authority—the state chief electoral officer,' according to the sources. Therefore, the ECI sources added, it was amply clear that the Congress or any other political party had no grievance before the Maharashtra assembly elections, which it supervised in 2024. Asserting that the ECI has replied to all the allegations levelled by the Congress earlier on 24 December 2024, the ECI sources added that over one lakh booth-level officers of Maharashtra are waiting for the 'wild allegations' to turn into 'at least one single real appeal before district magistrates' in line with the election laws that exist to avoid discrepancies in the list of electors. (Edited by Madhurita Goswami) Also Read: Time to 'retire lame horse'—Rahul Gandhi hints at massive revamp of MP Congress unit
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
Bengal: ‘How can PM take credit for Operation Sindoor' — Hakim's remarks spark row, BJP says ‘insult'
KOLKATA MAYOR and State Urban Development and Municipal Affairs minister Firhad Hakim sparked a controversy on Saturday after his remarks targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in connection with Operation Sindoor. The BJP reacted sharply, alleging that the TMC leader 'insulted' the PM and tried to 'downplay' Operation Sindoor. The TMC did not immediately respond to Hakim's remarks. While speaking to mediapersons, Hakim claimed, 'The Indian armed forces gave a befitting answer to Pakistan. How can the PM claim that he has done anything big? How can he take credit for Operation Sindoor?' In a post on X later on Saturday, the BJP wrote, 'Firhad Hakim — Mamata's loudest mouthpiece and the same man who once called parts of Kolkata 'mini Pakistan' — has now crossed every line. He downplayed Operation Sindoor, insulted PM Modi…this isn't political opposition — this is verbal treason. And Mamata Banerjee? Silent…' The BJP's state president Sukanta Majumdar said, 'Basically, Hakim has never taken a stance against Pakistan. During the erstwhile UPA government's tenure, no such steps were taken against Pakistan. That is why Hakim and some others are now finding it tough to accept that it was done.' Attaching a video of Hakim's purported remarks, BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya accused the senior TMC leader of making a 'disgraceful attack' on the PM. Atri Mitra is a Special Correspondent of The Indian Express with more than 20 years of experience in reporting from West Bengal, Bihar and the North-East. He has been covering administration and political news for more than ten years and has a keen interest in political development in West Bengal. Atri holds a Master degree in Economics from Rabindrabharati University and Bachelor's degree from Calcutta University. He is also an alumnus of St. Xavier's, Kolkata and Ramakrishna Mission Asrama, Narendrapur. He started his career with leading vernacular daily the Anandabazar Patrika, and worked there for more than fifteen years. He worked as Bihar correspondent for more than three years for Anandabazar Patrika. He covered the 2009 Lok Sabha election and 2010 assembly elections. He also worked with News18-Bangla and covered the Bihar Lok Sabha election in 2019. ... Read More
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Election Commission of India says absurd to defame us after electoral loss in Maharashtra
On a day when the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, levelled allegations of irregularities in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly election yet again, the Election Commission (EC) said it was completely 'absurd' to 'defame' the poll body after 'any unfavourable verdict by the voters'. In articles published in different languages in various publications on Saturday, the Congress MP claimed that the outcome of the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly election was 'glaringly strange', and the 'scale of rigging' was so desperate that, despite all efforts to conceal it, tell-tale evidence has emerged' from official statistics. He also claimed he was 'not talking about small-scale cheating but of industrial-scale rigging involving the capture of our national institutions'. The Leader of the Opposition had raised the issue earlier in the Lok Sabha as well as at a joint press conference with other Opposition parties, and during his tour to the United States. The poll body, on December 24, 2024, wrote to the Congress explaining its position. In April also, it had rebutted similar allegations made by Gandhi in the U.S. EC sources on Saturday said that the poll body has already elaborated the procedure behind the updation of electoral rolls. Any deletion and addition in the electoral roll is strictly as per the given framework under Article 324 of the Constitution, provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and the Registration of the Electors Rules, 1960, as well as the extant instructions issued by the commission from time to time. The process was undertaken in the full glare of 1,03,727 booth-level agents appointed by the political parties, including 27,099 agents by the Indian National Congress (INC) themselves. After the finalisation of the electoral rolls during the Maharashtra election, out of the 9,77,90,752 electors, only 89 appeals were filed before the first appellate authority (District Magistrate) under Section 24(A) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and only one appeal was preferred before the second appellate authority (Chief Electoral Officer) under Section 24(B) of the same Act. Section 24 of the Representation of People Act, 1961, says that appeals can first be filed with the District Magistrate (DM) and then with the Chief Electoral Officer. As per Rule 27 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, the first appeal to the District Magistrate can be filed within 15 days of the order of the Electoral Registration Officer, and the second appeal to the Chief Electoral Officer can be filed within 30 days of the order of DM. However, the delay in filing appeals can be condoned by the DM and/or Chief Electoral Officer as per the proviso of Rule 27. Partners should understand India's zero tolerance for terror policy, not put India and Pakistan on par, says Jaishankar India expects its partners to understand its 'policy of zero tolerance' on terrorism, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar told visiting British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, adding that the country could not 'countenance' equating 'perpetrators of evil' with their victims. The stern statement from the External Affairs Minister came at the beginning of talks during Lammy's one day visit to Delhi on Saturday, and follows a few weeks after Lammy's visit to Pakistan, where he said that the U.S. and the U.K. were working with India and Pakistan to ensure 'an enduring ceasefire', dialogue, and Confidence-Building Measures (CBMs) between India and Pakistan. The comments, in an interview to Reuters in Islamabad on May 17, had ruffled feathers in New Delhi as India has repeatedly denied any third country's role in the four-day conflict between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack. 'We practice a policy of zero tolerance against terrorism and expect our partners to understand it, and we will never countenance perpetrators of evil being put at par with its victims,' Jaishankar told Lammy, while thanking the U.K. government for its condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack, and support for India's fight against terrorism. In a statement ahead of the visit, the U.K. High Commission had said that Lammy would address the 'recent escalation in tensions following the Pahalgam terrorist attack and how welcomed sustained period of peace can be best supported in the interests of stability in the region'. Jaishankar's strong words are part of a diplomatic pushback by the government against other countries over what is seen as India's 'hyphenation' with Pakistan in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor, where many countries expressed concern and offered to help stop the military escalation during the four-day conflict. The government has faced criticism from the Opposition over U.S. President Donald Trump's claim that he mediated the crisis, a claim seemingly bolstered by Russian Presidential Aide Ushakov and Lammy in their respective statements. In addition, the Opposition has claimed that the government has failed diplomatically to stop Pakistan, which is a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), from becoming the Chair of the Taliban Sanctions Committee and the Vice-Chair of the Counter Terrorism Committee for the year, despite India's ties with permanent members the U.S., the U.K., France, Russia, and others on the council. Official sources said that 'India will be working closely with its friends' in the UNSC to keep a watch on Pakistan's activities on the council, given that Pakistan will also assume the Presidency of the UNSC in July. The sources said that Pakistan had requested Chairpersonship of four committees dealing with terrorism, and had only been nominated to the top of two, and Co-chair of some informal working groups (IWGs) due to a move by the Council to 'reign in Pakistan'. They added that at least 50 of 343 individuals and entities that have been designated by the UNSC as terrorists are linked to or reside in Pakistan, and many globally wanted terrorists, including Osama Bin Laden had lived and trained there. The Ministry of External Affairs did not respond to requests for a comment on whether the issue of Pakistan's role in the UNSC terror committees had been discussed between Jaishankar and Lammy. Lammy met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday morning, the second time he was accorded the meeting, after his previous visit in July 2024. He is also meeting Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to take forward discussions on the India-U.K. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that was finalised in May, and discussions over signing could be held between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the U.K. PM Keith Starmer when they meet in Canada in mid-June on the sidelines of the G7 summit, where India is a special invitee. In his opening remarks, Jaishankar also referred to the India-U.K. FTA, as a 'milestone' in ties, and the potential of other bilateral agreements, including the Technology Security Initiative (TSI) for Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the Strategic Exports and Technology Cooperation Dialogue to 'propel' ties forward. 'Signing a Free Trade Agreement is just the start of our ambitions — we are building a modern partnership with India for a new global era,' Lammy said in a statement ahead of his visit to India, pointing to cooperation in growth, technology, tackling the climate crisis, delivering 'migration priorities', and security issues. Musk deletes post claiming Trump 'in the Epstein files' Tech billionaire Elon Musk has deleted an explosive allegation linking Donald Trump with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein that he posted on social media during a vicious public fallout with the U.S. President this week. Musk, who exited his role as a top White House advisor just last week, alleged on Thursday that the Republican leader is featured in secret government files on former associates of Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while he faced sex trafficking charges. The Trump administration has acknowledged it is reviewing tens of thousands of documents, videos and investigative material that his 'MAGA' movement says will unmask public figures complicit in Epstein's crimes. 'Time to drop the really big bomb: (Trump) is in the Epstein files,' Musk posted on his social media platform, X, as his growing feud with the President boiled over into a spectacularly public row on Thursday. 'That is the real reason they have not been made public,' he said. Musk did not reveal which files he was talking about and offered no evidence for his claim. He initially doubled down on the claim, writing in a follow-up message, 'Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out.' However, he appeared to have deleted both tweets by Saturday morning. Supporters on the conspiratorial end of Trump's 'Make America Great Again' base allege that Epstein's associates had their roles in his crimes covered up by government officials and others. They point the finger at Democrats and Hollywood celebrities, although not at Trump himself. No official source has ever confirmed that the President appears in any of the material. Trump knew and socialised with Epstein but has denied spending time on Little Saint James, the private redoubt in the US Virgin Islands where prosecutors alleged Epstein trafficked underage girls for sex. 'Terrific guy,' Trump, who was Epstein's neighbour in both Florida and New York, said in an early 2000s profile of the financier. 'He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.' Just last week, Trump gave Musk a glowing send-off as he left his cost-cutting role at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). But their relationship imploded within days as Musk described as an 'abomination' a spending bill that, if passed by Congress, could define Trump's second term in office. Trump hit back in an Oval Office diatribe and from there the row detonated, leaving Washington and riveted social media users alike stunned by the blistering break-up between the world's richest person and the world's most powerful. With real political and economic risks to their row, both then appeared to inch back from the brink on Friday, but the White House denied reports they would talk. India central to key supply chains; must be part of G7 discussions: Canadian PM Carney India is the fifth largest economy in the world, and it is central to a number of critical global supply chains, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said, arguing that the leadership of the country must be part of discussions at the upcoming G7 summit. Carney's comments came after some of his political opponents in Canada criticised him for inviting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 summit in view of a probe into allegations of Indian links to the killing of a Khalistani separatist in 2023. Prime Minister Modi accepted Carney's invitation to attend the G7 summit during a phone conversation on Friday. Canada is hosting the G7 summit in the Alberta province from June 15 to 17 in its capacity as the current chair of the grouping. To a specific question on the case of killing of pro-Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in 2023, Carney told reporters that it is not appropriate for him to comment as the legal process in the case is underway. The Canadian Prime Minister said the G7 summit will deliberate on a range of key issues including energy security, digital future, critical minerals and on partnerships in building infrastructure in the emerging and developing world. Carney suggested that he extended the invitation to Modi after talking to other G7 member countries. 'There are certain countries that should be at the table for those discussions,' he said when asked why PM Modi was invited when there have been allegations of Indian links to the Nijjar case. 'India is the fifth largest economy in the world; effectively the most populous country in the world. [It is] central to a number of those supply chains; [it is] at the heart of a number of those supply chains, so it makes sense,' he said. Without elaborating, Carney noted that India and Canada have agreed to continue law enforcement dialogue. 'Bilaterally, we have now agreed importantly to continue law enforcement dialogue. There has been some progress on issues of accountability,' he said. Canada's NDP party slammed Carney for extending the invitation to Modi. 'This decision is profoundly troubling,' it said. The India-Canada relations hit rock bottom following then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations in 2023 of a potential Indian link to the killing of Nijjar. In October last year, India recalled its High Commissioner and five other diplomats after Ottawa attempted to link them to the Nijjar case. India also expelled an equal number of Canadian diplomats. However, Liberal Party leader Carney's victory in the parliamentary election in April triggered hopes for reset of the relationship. In the last few months, the security officials of India and Canada resumed contacts and both sides were looking at the possibility of appointing new high commissioners. India had accused Trudeau's government of allowing pro-Khalistani elements to operate from Canadian soil. After Trudeau's exit, New Delhi said it hoped to rebuild ties with Canada based on 'mutual trust and sensitivity'. Five Maoists gunned down in encounters in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district Five Maoists were killed in two encounters with security forces in an ongoing operation in the Indravati National Park area of Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, police said on Saturday. With the latest casualties, seven Maoists, including top leaders Sudhakar and Bhaskar, were neutralised in the operation in the last three days, they said. 'Security forces have recovered the bodies of seven Maoists during the ongoing anti-Naxal operations in the Indravati National Park area of the district,' a senior police official said. On Saturday, two bodies were recovered following a gunfight, while three were found after the exchange of fire on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, he said. The official said the operation involving personnel from the state police's Special Task Force (STF) and District Reserve Guard (DRG) as well as the CRPF's specialised unit CoBRA, was launched on June 4 based on input about the presence of Maoist leader Sudhakar, Telangana State Committee member Bandi Prakash, Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) member Pappa Rao, and a few other armed cadres. On Friday, security forces neutralised Bhaskar, alias Mailarapu Adellu, a special zonal committee (SZC) member of the Telangana State Committee (TSC) of Maoists who carried a reward of Rs 45 lakh in Chhattisgarh and Telangana, and Maoists' central committee member Narasimha Chalam, alias Sudhakar, who had a bounty of Rs 40 lakh in Chhattisgarh, was killed on Thursday, he said. The official said the identity of five more killed Maoists, two of them women, is yet to be ascertained. A huge cache of arms and ammunition, including two AK-47 rifles, has been seized in the operation, he said, adding that search and area domination operations were underway in the surrounding forested terrain to track remaining Maoist cadres and ensure complete sanitisation of the region. A few security personnel have suffered injuries due to snakebite, honeybee sting, dehydration and other operational injuries during the operation and were provided medication, the official said. The outlawed CPI (Maoist) general secretary Nambala Keshav Rao, alias Basavaraju (70), was neutralised in the Bastar region on May 21, 2025. In brief: At least 76 army personnel were on Saturday airlifted from Chaten in north Sikkim, where road connectivity has been snapped due to multiple landslides triggered by heavy rain, officials said. This marks the 'completion of coordinated evacuation efforts', which included the rescue of all stranded tourists earlier, they said. 'Altogether 76 army personnel were airlifted by three MI-17 helicopters. The air evacuation operation from Chaten has concluded today with the helicopters transporting army personnel from Chaten to Pakyong Greenfield Airport,' an official said. The state government continues to closely monitor the overall situation and remains committed to providing all necessary support in the disaster-hit region and assistance to those affected by natural calamities, another official said. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.
