Maharashtra CEO Asks Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi For Signed Declaration On Voter List Irregularity Claims

Mumbai: The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Maharashtra on Thursday asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to submit a signed declaration with the names of ineligible persons allegedly included in voter lists and eligible voters who were excluded, so that necessary action can be taken.

The Congress in Maharashtra did not file any appeal against the draft and final voter lists published before the November 2024 assembly elections, the letter signed by CEO Chockalingam said.

It contained a declaration/oath to be signed by Gandhi with names of persons allegedly included or excluded in the wrong way.

The CEO's letter said Gandhi will have to give a declaration that the statement made by him, under rule 20 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, is true to the best of his knowledge, and he is aware that making a false declaration in connection with electoral rolls is punishable under section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis hit back at Gandhi over his voter fraud claim in Maharashtra. “I feel that, may be, he (Gandhi) should get it (brain) checked,he said.

“Either his brain has been stolen or chip in his brain is missing. That is why he is making such statements often,” opined Fadnavis.

Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde slammed Gandhi for what he described as a habitual and baseless attempt to discredit India’s democratic institutions.

Speaking to journalists in New Delhi, Shinde said, “With defeat in Bihar now apparent, Rahul Gandhi has once again resorted to crying foul, making false allegations of EVM tampering and vote theft”.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spokesperson Mukund Kirdat said, “VVPAT machines are an independent vote verification system, which allows a voter to see whether their vote was cast correctly. So we want VVPATs to be used for local body elections. Because the EVM has loopholes. We want fair voting rights”.

Maharashtra Minister Ashish Shelar targeted Rahul Gandhi over his renewed attack on the ECI , calling it the 'arrogance of the defeated'. He said when the EC declared final electoral rolls ahead of the Maharashtra assembly polls, neither Gandhi, the Congress party nor the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi raised concerns about alleged irregularities in them. He said the EC only received 3,900 objections at that time, of which just 98 went into appeal.