Rahul Gandhi Slams ECI as Opposition MPs Protest ‘Vote Theft’

Spread love

Congress leaders accuse Election Commission of avoiding scrutiny; demand clean and accurate voters’ list

By TRH Political Desk

NEW DELHI, August 11, 2025 — In a dramatic escalation of the “vote theft” row, several Opposition MPs, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and Mallikarjun Kharge, were detained during a protest march to the Election Commission. Rahul Gandhi accused the poll body of “being afraid of the truth” and challenged it to publish its own voter data.

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of “being so exposed that it will be difficult to hide,” as “hundreds of Opposition MPs were detained” while marching to the poll panel’s headquarters to protest alleged voter list manipulations.

The march, led by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi, was stopped by police near Parliament House. “Around 300 MPs sat on the road, chanting slogans against the government and the ECI, before being taken away in buses to the Parliament Street Police Station. All were later released,” said the Congress party in a media statement.

Kharge raised the matter in the Rajya Sabha, condemning the police action and questioning why MPs from both Houses were prevented from meeting ECI officials. Rahul Gandhi, responding to a question about the ECI’s notice asking him to file an affidavit under oath regarding his claims, said he had only cited the Commission’s own data. “Why should I submit an affidavit? The Election Commission should check its own website,” he said, adding that the demand was a diversionary tactic.

“The condition of democracy in India is such that 300 MPs want to meet the Election Commission, but the Commission says you cannot come. They are afraid of the truth,” Gandhi remarked. He described the controversy as a fight to “save the soul of the country” and uphold the constitutional principle of “one person, one vote.”

Alleging that the issue was not limited to Bengaluru, Gandhi said electoral malpractice had occurred in “many constituencies,” and that the ECI was attempting to hide data that could expose the irregularities. “This is not my data — it’s their data. The Election Commission should put it on its website,” he said, calling for a clean and accurate voters’ list.

The Opposition MPs are also protesting against the special intensive revision of the electoral roll in Bihar. They accused that genuine voters on a largescale in Bihar have been deprived from their rights to vote in the elections through the SIR.