Following an investigative report published in the English newspaper The Indian Express on Wednesday, Lok Sabha Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi held a special press conference on Thursday.
During this, Rahul Gandhi claimed that he has been raising the issue of 'vote theft' with evidence for three consecutive years and now two Election Commissioners have raised the issue of irregularities in the Election Commission.
During this, the Congress leader mentioned those press conferences and programs from February 2025 till now when he had raised the issue of alleged 'vote theft'.
Raising questions, Rahul Gandhi said that Indira Gandhi lost the elections even at the peak of her popularity, but after the last several elections, it seems as if 'anti-incumbency' has ended.
He demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and said that democracy should not be allowed to be ruined. Rahul Gandhi also demanded from Gyanesh Kumar that he should become a government witness.
What was printed in the report of The Indian Express?
After the publication of the investigative report of the English newspaper, the opposition parties are raising questions on the functioning of the Modi government and the Central Election Commission.
This newspaper report claims that two election commissioners lodged objections '14 times in 10 months' regarding the steps taken by the Election Commission.
According to the report, "These objections were lodged by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, ranging from keeping themselves in the dark to adding new voters and deleting names and raised questions over 'unauthorized, illegal' steps."
Opposition parties have already been raising questions on the role of the Election Commission.
What questions did Rahul Gandhi raise?
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that in states like Haryana, Chhattisgarh, UP, governments always changed after elections, but suddenly anti-incumbency in the elections ended.
He said, "This is because I come from a political family and I have spent more than 50 years in a political family. No political leader working in a democratic environment can make such a statement. Because in India there is a fundamental force called 'anti-incumbency' (anger against the current government), which very quickly starts opposing any government and it does not spare anyone."
"Indira Gandhi wins the Bangladesh war, is at the peak of her popularity, and then suddenly, within a year or two, faces tremendous anti-incumbency and immense pressure."
"This is exactly what happens with many leaders, one after the other. It happens with Congress leaders, it happens with regional parties, but for some reason, it never happens with Narendra Modi. It doesn't happen with Amit Shah, it doesn't happen with BJP."
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said, "Where has India's biggest political force disappeared? We were looking for the answer to this and finally we got the answer. The vote is the foundation of our country. The vote is protected by the Election Commission. It gets its strength from the Constitution. If the votes are being destroyed then our Constitution will be destroyed."
"It will have no power, it will have no use. If the Constitution is destroyed, our laws will end and institutions will have no meaning. This is an attack on our vote. This is an attack on the freedom of expression of every citizen. We are constantly saying that there is some problem with the vote. The Election Commission protects it."
'Vote theft, law theft and then institution theft'
Rahul Gandhi demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, saying, "Please understand what is happening here. What you have done is an act against the Indian nation. This is not a small rigging in the election. This is an attack on the Constitution of India, it is an attack on the legal structure of our country, and you were the one who had to ensure that the votes were safe."
"We will not allow democracy to end in India. And those who are responsible for this will definitely be punished - if not today, then tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. They will definitely be punished. Gyanesh Kumar should think seriously about his current situation and become an approver."
Showing photographs of seven people including PM Modi, Amit Shah and Gautam Adani, Rahul Gandhi said that these are the people who are destroying democracy and there is 100 percent rigging in Indian elections.
"Two Election Commissioners have raised questions on Gyanesh Kumar. I have continuously raised these questions but now two Election Commissioners have raised questions. Gyanesh Kumar has been chosen by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. Now two Election Commissioners are saying that Gyanesh Kumar is responsible for the damage being done to our voting system. After vote theft, the law is stolen and then the institution is stolen. If the vote has been stolen and an MP sitting in the Parliament makes any law. So this is illegal."
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also showed a timeline in which he told how many times he had raised the issue of irregularities and 'vote theft' in the Election Commission.
Rahul Gandhi also said that he had given a note of his disagreement to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the time of Gyanesh Kumar's selection but he selected Gyanesh Kumar.
"The pressure on the institute is increasing and we are constantly receiving reports from inside."
