Should Rahul Gandhi Apologize to the Nation or File a Complaint?

New Delhi, Aug 8 (NationPress) - The Election Commission of India (ECI) has instructed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to take one of two actions: either formalize a complaint regarding the alleged electoral irregularities he asserts are valid, or issue an apology to the nation.

In a veiled reference to Gandhi's claims of ‘vote theft’ by the election authority in Karnataka, the ECI stated, “If Rahul Gandhi is confident in his assessment and believes his accusations against the electoral staff are valid, he should readily submit claims and objections concerning specific voters and sign the declaration/oath as outlined in Rule 20(3)(b) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.”

“Should Rahul Gandhi decline to sign this declaration, it would imply that he lacks faith in his analysis and conclusions, and is making unfounded allegations. In that case, he ought to apologize to the nation,” the ECI articulated.

“Consequently, either endorse the declaration on the issues raised during your press conference that you believe to be accurate or apologize to the country,” added the ECI.

The ECI highlighted that numerous allegations have been made by Rahul Gandhi, which have been circulated in the media, yet no formal complaint has ever been lodged by him. Historically, he has not personally submitted a signed letter… For instance, he brought up the issue in Maharashtra in December 2024. Following this, an advocate from AICC communicated with the ECI. Our response, dated December 24, 2024, is available publicly on the ECI's website. Despite this, Rahul Gandhi claims that the ECI has not responded,” the ECI stated.

The ECI also conducted a fact-check to counter the claims made by the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament on Friday, in a recent post on X, regarding supposed lapses and lack of cooperation from the election authority.

Accusing Rahul Gandhi of disseminating misleading statements, the ECI remarked: “The INC's request for a machine-readable voter list was denied by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Kamal Nath vs ECI, 2019.”

This clarification was issued in response to the Congress leader’s assertion that the ECI is concealing information by not providing the digital voter list to the Opposition.

Regarding his accusation about the destruction of CCTV and video evidence of polling, the ECI explained, “Any aggrieved candidate can file an election petition (EP) to contest his election in the respective High Court within 45 days. If an EP is filed, CCTV footage is preserved; otherwise, it serves no purpose unless there is an intention to violate voter privacy.”

For instance, reviewing CCTV footage from 100,000 polling stations would require 100,000 days—approximately 273 years—without any possible legal outcome, it noted.

Previously, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha took to X and posed questions to the election authority.

“Election Commission, there are five questions - the country demands answers: 1. Why isn't the opposition receiving the digital voter list? What are you concealing? 2. Why are CCTV and video evidence being erased - on whose orders? 3. Why is there fake voting and tampering with the voter list? 4. Why are opposition leaders being threatened and intimidated? 5. Clearly state - has the ECI now become an agent of the BJP?” questioned Rahul Gandhi.

“India's democracy is invaluable - the repercussions of its theft will be severe. The public is now voicing their concerns - enough is enough,” declared Rahul Gandhi.

The ECI responded by accusing the Congress of attempting to revive an issue that had previously not garnered attention.

“During the preparation of the Electoral Roll for LS-2024, there were hardly any appeals filed by INC across all 36 States & UTs under Section 24 of the RP Act 1950,” it concluded.