The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday condemned Congress MP Rahul Gandhi for alleging that the Election Commission of India was “compromised”, during an interaction with the Indian diaspora in Boston, terming his remarks a slur on Indian democracy.
Taking to X, BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari accused the Congress leader of questioning India’s democratic credentials simply because he could not garner popular support at home.
“Anti Democracy, Anti India Rahul Gandhi, who could not win the trust of the Indian electorate, begins to question the Indian democratic process on a foreign soil,” Bhandari wrote.
He further alleged that Gandhi was acting at the behest of foreign interests. “Why does Rahul always defame India on foreign soil? An agent of George Soros who is fighting the Indian state – that's what Rahul Gandhi's intent today is,” Bhandari asserted.
Echoing a similar sentiment, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said the Congress leader was not only targeting the Prime Minister but also attacking India’s core institutions.
“Rahul Gandhi's identity is to humiliate Indian organisations and institutions on foreign soil. He goes abroad and makes comments on India's Constitution, judiciary, and questions the Election Commission of India (ECI). This shows how people, while going against PM Modi, have started going against the country,” Poonawalla said.
The sharp rebuke came in the wake of Gandhi’s remarks at a diaspora event in Boston, where he cited the Maharashtra Assembly elections as evidence of alleged electoral malpractice.
“More people voted in the Maharashtra Assembly elections than there are adults in the state of Maharashtra. The Election Commission provided us with a voting figure for 5:30 PM, and between 5:30 PM and 7:30 PM, 65 lakh voters cast their votes. This is physically impossible to happen,” Gandhi claimed.
“For a voter to vote, it takes approximately 3 minutes. If you do the Math, it would mean that there were lines of voters until 2 AM, but this did not happen. When we asked them for the videography, they not only refused but they also changed the law so that now we are not allowed to ask for the videography,” he added.
He concluded by stating, “It's very clear to us that the Election Commission is compromised, and there is something very wrong with the system. I have said this multiple times.”
Responding to the allegations, sources in the Election Commission said claims of manipulated voter rolls were baseless and no major challenges were raised during the statutory review process.
According to sources, during the Special Summary Revision (SSR) of 2025, just 89 appeals were filed in Maharashtra. Despite the deployment of over 1.38 crore Booth Level Agents across India, there was minimal contestation of the draft electoral rolls.
The SSR, held ahead of elections, aims to ensure transparency by verifying voter lists, enrolling new voters, and removing duplicate or deceased names.
Given the negligible number of appeals, the Commission said there was no option but to treat the final electoral rolls, published in January 2025, as uncontested and legitimate.
Also read: Election Commission is 'compromised,' says Gandhi in Boston
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