Oppn to take out protest march to EC office over poll fraud allegations
He, however, said the matter of Rahul Gandhi's allegations on the Election Commission is gaining momentum and the Congress is preparing for a big fight on this issue from the streets to the House.
Addressing media persons at his residence on Sunday, Tiwari said all the MPs of the INDIA bloc will participate in the march as this was their right. "BJP should not try to stop it," he added.
Tiwari also said that they will go to the EC and ask for the papers, evidence, and facts, stating, "These are yours.
Now give us the documents, provide the data. Now you answer Rahul Gandhi's statements."
The EC will have a great opportunity as the leaders of the entire opposition will be at its door steps, he said adding that the EC should provide complete data and give clarification. He claimed that the 'theft of votes' has been caught and the EC must clarify it.
Tiwari said that if the EC wants, it can invite two or three MPs from each party and clear everything.
Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha MP Pramod Tiwari demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi to show courage and speak the truth on US President Donald Trump's claim on the ceasefire in Operation Sindoor.
Stay updated with the latest local news from your
city
on
Times of India
(TOI). Check upcoming
bank holidays
,
public holidays
, and current
gold rates
and
silver prices
in your area.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News18
24 minutes ago
- News18
Rahul has tea with dead voters from Bihar, thanks EC for experience
New Delhi, Aug 13 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said he had a unique experience of having tea with some 'dead" voters from Bihar and thanked the Election Commission for it. A group of seven voters from Bihar met the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha at his residence and shared their experience of how they were declared 'dead" by the EC and their names removed from the electoral rolls. 'There have been many interesting experiences in life, but I never got the chance to have tea with 'dead people'. For this unique experience, thank you Election Commission!" Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X. He also shared a video of his meeting with the 'dead" voters. In it, Gandhi is heard telling them to move around and see Delhi as the 'dead" cannot even be charged tickets. In the video, some of them told Gandhi that they came to know that they were 'declared dead" by the EC during the special intensive revision (SIR), and were among the 65 lakh voters whose names have been removed from the electoral rolls of poll-bound Bihar. The group also told Gandhi that they appeared before the Supreme Court on Wednesday to get their voting rights back. The apex court is hearing petitions against the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. In a statement, the party later said that seven voters from Bihar, all very much alive, shared tea with Rahul Gandhi today, even as the Election Commission's SIR list had them as 'dead". Ramikbal Ray, Harendra Ray, Lalmuni Devi, Vachiya Devi, Lalwati Devi, Punam Kumari, and Munna Kumar all belong to Tejashwi Yadav's constituency, Raghopur. 'They have been removed from the electoral rolls despite having completed the requisite paperwork for the SIR. 'The Election Commission has not openly published lists of the people whom it has declared dead, migrated, etc. Our teams on the ground were able to identify these people only because they managed to informally get EC's internal report in two to three polling booths," the Congress said. These seven represent only a fraction of 'unjustly" deleted voters in two to three polling booths in the constituency, it added. 'This is not a clerical error — it is political disenfranchisement in plain sight. 'After 'Vote Chori' was exposed in Bengaluru, it is clear that the Bihar SIR exercise is also compromised. When the living are struck off as dead, the death certificate is issued to democracy itself," the Congress said. PTI SKC SKC NSD NSD view comments First Published: August 13, 2025, 19:15 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Hans India
an hour ago
- Hans India
BJP Launches Counter-Attack On Congress Over Electoral Irregularities, Questions Sonia Gandhi's Voter Registration Timeline
The Bharatiya Janata Party has responded to Congress allegations of electoral misconduct with counter-accusations of their own, claiming that opposition leaders have secured parliamentary victories through the support of unauthorized voters while simultaneously questioning the legitimacy of Sonia Gandhi's voter registration timeline. At a press conference held on Wednesday, BJP leader Anurag Thakur alleged that Congress and other opposition parties have benefited from what he termed "infiltrator voters" to win crucial seats. The allegations come as a direct response to Rahul Gandhi's recent claims of widespread electoral fraud, creating a heated exchange between India's two major political parties. The BJP specifically criticized Congress for its opposition to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls currently being conducted by the Election Commission in Bihar. Thakur accused the Grand Old Party of engaging in divisive politics by focusing on specific demographic groups to secure their electoral base, suggesting this approach constitutes appeasement politics. The saffron party presented alleged evidence of electoral irregularities in several high-profile constituencies, including instances of duplicate voter registrations, fraudulent addresses, age manipulation, and coordinated voting patterns. These allegations targeted seats held by prominent opposition figures, including Raebareli represented by Rahul Gandhi, Diamond Harbour constituency of TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee, and Kannauj seat held by Akhilesh Yadav. The controversy intensified when BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya raised specific concerns about Sonia Gandhi's voter registration history. Malviya alleged that the former Congress president's name appeared on electoral rolls in 1980, which he claimed was three years before she obtained Indian citizenship while still holding Italian nationality. According to the BJP's claims, Sonia Gandhi's name first appeared on the New Delhi parliamentary constituency's voter list during a revision process with January 1, 1980, as the qualifying date. The registration allegedly occurred at 1 Safdarjung Road, which served as the official residence of then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, where other family members including Rajiv Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi, and Maneka Gandhi were already registered voters. Malviya characterized this registration as a violation of electoral law, which requires Indian citizenship as a prerequisite for voter eligibility. He further alleged that following public criticism in 1982, Gandhi's name was removed from the rolls, only to be reinstated in 1983, which he claimed was still before her citizenship was formalized. When approached for comment on these allegations, Congress MP Tariq Anwar suggested that responsibility lay with the Election Commission rather than with Sonia Gandhi herself, stating that the electoral authority had made the decision to include her name on the rolls. The Gandhi family has not immediately responded to these specific allegations, while the controversy continues to escalate as part of a broader dispute between Congress and the Election Commission that began following Rahul Gandhi's explosive press conference on August 7. During that earlier presentation, Gandhi had leveled serious accusations against the electoral process, claiming to possess evidence of systematic irregularities including mysterious voter additions, destruction of surveillance footage, fraudulent voter registrations, and the Election Commission's alleged refusal to share voter-related data. His allegations particularly focused on anomalies in states like Maharashtra and Karnataka. The Election Commission subsequently requested that Rahul Gandhi provide his purported evidence under oath, to which he responded by suggesting that the commission could verify the information through its own records rather than requiring additional documentation from him. This latest exchange represents an escalation in the ongoing confrontation between India's major political parties regarding electoral integrity, with both sides now presenting counter-allegations of misconduct. The controversy has brought renewed attention to voter registration processes and citizenship requirements, while highlighting the contentious relationship between political parties and electoral authorities. The dispute occurs against the backdrop of the Election Commission's ongoing Special Intensive Revision exercise in Bihar, which has become a focal point for disagreements about electoral roll accuracy and voter eligibility verification procedures across various states.
Hans India
an hour ago
- Hans India
EC not answering questions raised by Rahul Gandhi: Siddaramaiah's Legal Advisor on ‘election theft'
Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's Legal Advisor and Congress MLA A.S. Ponnanna said on Wednesday that the Election Commission (EC) is not answering the questions asked by the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and instead is asking him to give oath along with his complaint regarding the 'election fraud.' 'They (EC) are not coming out clean and are not answering questions raised by the LoP Rahul Gandhi. Instead of answering the grave questions which touch upon the very basics of Indian democracy, the ECI has taken an approach which not even the students of law can accept,' Ponnanna told media persons in Bengaluru. He said that in response to the grave allegation of gross illegalities, discrepancies in the voters' list made by LoP Rahul Gandhi, the Election Commission came up with the shocking reply, and demanded that the LoP Rahul Gandhi should come on oath in terms of Rule 20 (3) of the Registration of Electors' Rule 1960, and also threatened that the action would be taken if he does not abide by the instructions. 'These rules, the Electors' Rules 1960, have no applicability whatsoever to the allegations made by Rahul Gandhi. To extract one subclause of a rule and quote that in a general response is absurd. The electoral rules deal with the registration of electors, objections to these registrations and claims,' he said. Ponnanna point out that these rules can't be taken in a subclause form and shown in defence. 'Rules 12 to 20 deal with this entire process. It deals with individual voters who request to be added, objectors who object to such actions and objectors who want voters to be deleted,' he said. He said that the Election Registration Officer is entitled to deal with such objections and such claims by either accepting or rejecting without any enquiry, and added that he has the power under Rule 70. 'If he feels that an enquiry is to be initiated, he can start a summary inquiry, issue a notice to the claimant or the objectors. In the process of that inquiry, in his discretion under subclause 3 of Rule 20, he can ask either the claimant or the objector to come out on oath,' he said. Ponnanna said that this is the procedure for the inclusion and deletion of voters. 'If I want to be a voter in Bengaluru, this is the procedure. Now, how does this apply to the allegations of illegalities and total misuse of machinery under an unclean electoral list, as mentioned by LoP Rahul Gandhi? There is no applicability,' he further pointed out. He claimed that it is appalling that the ECI, which is a Constitutional body entrusted with maintaining the sanctity of the election process and electoral list, is coming up with absurd defences. 'This entire response of EC shows that they are trying to hide something,' claimed Ponnanna. Earlier, Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) V. Anbukumar had issued a notice to LoP Rahul Gandhi asking him to produce relevant documents regarding his charges of election fraud. The CEO also underlined in the notice that the document shown in the press conference by LoP Rahul Gandhi is not official.
