Sachin Pilot, the general secretary of the Congress, claimed on Wednesday that the BJP was supporting the Election Commission rather than letting it address grave concerns about irregularities in the voter lists on its own.
Speaking to reporters here, the former deputy chief minister of Rajasthan claimed that the BJP had come forward to defend the poll authority rather than address the concerns brought up by Rahul Gandhi and the Congress.
"The government should not interfere. The Election Commission has a constitutional and moral responsibility to ensure that every vote is genuine and no manipulation takes place," he said. Pilot accused the BJP of targeting opposition leaders while avoiding an investigation into alleged voter fraud.
"Instead of probing the matter, the government is demanding an affidavit from Rahul Gandhi. Notices are being issued and over 200 MPs were detained. Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge were taken into custody. This is not how a democracy functions," he said. He claimed that thousands of votes had been purposefully manipulated or removed in a number of constituencies.
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"Fake votes, fake addresses and deletion of genuine names -- all point to a deliberate attempt to disenfranchise voters. Tampering with the voter list is a serious crime," he said. According to Pilot, a former Indian chief justice who served on a panel pertaining to elections was abruptly dismissed.
He claimed that additional suspicion was aroused by the EC's silence following Rahul Gandhi's revelation of the "voter fraud." "Why is the EC not responding? Why is the BJP speaking on EC's behalf? The poll body is the soul of democracy and its transparency and independence must be protected," Pilot said.
The Congress leader said that the party did not make baseless accusations, but it presented documented evidence of irregularities. "We have simply demanded an impartial investigation. If the Commission remains silent, it raises serious questions," he said. Pilot said the Congress would continue its campaign on the issue.
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