Congress Accuses Election Commission of 'Voter Fraud' Cover-Up

In a fiery statement, Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala has accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of concealing 'voter fraud' with what he terms 'lame duck excuses.' These allegations arise after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was asked by the Haryana chief electoral officer to provide documents supporting his claims of electoral roll discrepancies in the upcoming 2024 State assembly elections.

Surjewala's remarks echo the sentiment that the difference in vote count during the Haryana elections was minuscule, with only 22,779 votes separating victory from defeat for Congress. He criticized the ECI for its alleged 'malicious stonewalling' when confronted with evidence of what is being described as 'mass manipulation' of voter rolls, asserting it to be a 'crime' against democracy.

The controversy was exacerbated when Election Commission officials demanded an evidence-backed declaration from Gandhi to validate his claims or issue a public apology for what they termed 'fake' allegations. According to Congress, over one lakh votes were allegedly manipulated in different manners during the recent Karnataka assembly segment elections, highlighting the need for electoral reforms.

(With inputs from agencies.)