Mumbai, Nov 5 (NationPress) The Maharashtra Congress has sharply criticized the Election Commission of India (ECI) following the recent press briefing by the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, where he highlighted the issue of alleged “vote theft” in the nation. He claimed that this vote theft represents a “coordinated crime” orchestrated by the BJP in collusion with the electoral body.

“LoP Rahul Gandhi has presented the evidence that the ECI requested. It is evidently operating under governmental pressure. A significant technical fraud has occurred in the voters’ list, and there is a coordinated crime ongoing regarding voter registration and the manipulation of names in the voters’ list, yet the ECI remains inactive,” stated Harshwardhan Sapkal, the Maharashtra Congress chief.

He accused the BJP of “stealing votes” with the assistance of the Election Commission and even “stealing” the government itself.

“LoP Rahul Gandhi has once again revealed shocking truths, illustrating how the BJP and the Election Commission are undermining democracy,” he added.

The Maharashtra Congress chief noted that LoP Rahul Gandhi provided point-by-point evidence of how votes were misappropriated in Haryana, yet as the saying goes, “shameless is always happy,” indicating that the ECI's performance has not improved.

Sapkal further claimed that a scandal involving 2.5 million votes has come to light in Haryana, and similarly, the BJP has established a government in Maharashtra through “vote theft” using a comparable strategy as seen in Haryana.

He pointed out that the number of voters in Maharashtra surged by 4.7 million in just six months, reflecting an approximate 8 percent increase in voter turnout.

“The same flawed voters’ lists are being utilized for upcoming local body elections,” he mentioned.

Sapkal noted that when opposition parties requested corrections to these lists, their pleas were disregarded, and elections were announced, all seemingly favoring the BJP.

Meanwhile, NCP SP working president and party MP Supriya Sule remarked that LoP Rahul Gandhi’s presentation was based on data and indicated that if mistakes exist, the press conference should be taken seriously.

“A woman who is not even a citizen is casting votes. We had full confidence in the EC, but it is not providing transparent data. They are letting democracy down. We have fought for fair elections,” she expressed.

Supriya Sule urged the BJP’s allies in Maharashtra to collaborate with the opposition, as they have also raised concerns about duplicate voters.

“In a fair and dynamic democracy, we require fair and vibrant elections,” concluded Sule.