Vote Chori Biggest Anti-National Act, PM Granted ‘Gift of Immunity’ to Election Commissioner: Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi: Leader of opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday (December 9) said that “vote chori (theft) is the biggest anti-national act” while accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of a complete capture of the Election Commission (EC) and questioning why Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah had changed the law to grant a “gift of immunity” to the election commissioner that “no other prime minister had done before”.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha during the discussion on the electoral reforms, Gandhi said that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) had attempted to capture every institution in the country including the EC, as the treasury benches erupted in protest. Further, he mentioned that through vote-chori the BJP was destroying the fabric of the country and the idea of modern India.
"Our most powerful asset, the entire concept of modern India that stitches together the fabric of this nation, is being attacked by these people. They are destroying it. You know they are destroying it and I know they are destroying it and they know they are destroying it. The biggest anti-national act that you can do is vote chori because when you destroy the vote, you destroy the fabric of this country, you destroy modern India and the idea of India. Vote chori is an anti-national act and those across the aisle are doing an anti-national act,” he said.
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Gandhi also posed three questions and asked why the Modi government had changed laws to “choose” the chief election commissioner, and grant “gift of immunity” through which no action can be taken against him for any action taken in office.
“Why is the PM and HM so keen to choose who will be the election commissioner? No PM has done this in the history of India. In December 2023 this government changed the law to make sure no election commissioner could be punished for any action that they take in office. Why would the PM and HM give this gift of immunity to the election commissioner that no PM has ever been given before?” the Congress MP questioned.
“Why was the law with regard to CCTV and the data they contain changed?” asked Gandhi in reference to the EC’s directive earlier this year to state election officers to destroy CCTV, webcasting and video footage of the election process after 45 days, if the verdict is not challenged in courts within that period, in a bid to curb what it says are “malicious narratives” using its electronic data.
“The answer given is that it is a question of data,” said Gandhi. “It is not about data, it is about stealing the election.”
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The Congress MP also raised the allegations he had made last month when he said that the 2024 Haryana assembly elections were stolen and presented as evidence a photo of a Brazilian model whose photo is registered in the Haryana electoral rolls 22 times in ten booths with multiple names. As members of the Congress raised a photograph of the model, treasury benches erupted in protest, while Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said raising placards was not allowed.
Further, Gandhi pointed out that the EC had not provided any answers to the questions he had raised about the Haryana elections, the Maharashtra assembly elections (2024) and the Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka.
"The election commission has no answer to these questions. That is the result of the complete capture of the election commission by the people across the aisle," he said.
The LoP also stressed that electoral reforms were "simple" but the government does not want to do it.
"Give machine-readable voter lists to all political parties one month before the election. Take back the law that allows the destruction of CCTV footage. While you're doing that, also tell us what the architecture of the EVM is. Give us access to the EVM. Let our experts go and see what is inside the EVM. Till today, we have not had access to the EVM. Change the law that allows the Election Commissioner to get away with whatever he wants to do. That's all the electoral reforms you need," he said.
This article went live on December ninth, two thousand twenty five, at thirty-seven minutes past six in the evening.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
