Senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi while addressing the overseas Indians in Boston alleged that the Election Commission (EC) is “compromise” in India and there is something very wrong in the system.
Giving the example of Maharashtra election, the senior Congress leader said that the name of 65 lakh voters was added to the voter list in two hours, which was impossible.
Addressing the meeting, he claimed, “More than the total number of people in Maharashtra voted and this is a fact … The Election Commission gave us a figure at around 5:30 pm and 65 lakh voters voted at around 7:30 pm in two hours, which is physically impossible.”
He added, “It is absolutely clear for us that the Election Commission has compromised, there is something very wrong in the system.”
Earlier, sources in the Election Commission had said that the allegations of rigging in the voter list by political parties are baseless. According to sources, during the recent special summary amendment published on 6-7 January 2025, there is hardly any first or second appeal under Section 24 of the Representation of the People Act, or an entry in the voter list has improved (Section 22) or Inclusion (Section 23).
The Special Summary Amendment (SSR) includes reviewing the voter list and releasing the draft of the voter list. It is often held before the elections and aims to maintain a justified and transparent voting process by adding new eligible voters, including those who have reached the age of 18 or who have changed their constituency. This also includes duplicate and removal of dead voters
According to sources, only 89 appeals were registered in Maharashtra. While there were 13,857,359 booth level agents (BLA) in the country, only 89 appeals were made to change the voter list. Therefore, sources said that after the completion of SSR in January 2025, there was no option but to accept the voter list published by all uninterrupted.
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi while addressing the migrant community in Boston also talked about the relations between India and the US and hoped that the two countries would continue to work together. Rahul Gandhi said, “We have a partnership with America and hopefully we will continue working together.”
Expressing his gratitude, he thanked the people for taking the ideology and flag of the Congress to the United States. He said, “You believe, you listen to other people and respect them. This is what goes on in the Congress party and our family. Thank you for bringing the flag here, this is a very powerful job.”
Leaders of Opposition in the Lok Sabha will also address Brown University during their visit to America on Monday.