BJP has accused Sonia Gandhi of twice appearing on India’s voter list before gaining citizenship as Rahul Gandhi attacks the Election Commission’s voter list revision, alleging nationwide ‘vote theft’ and attempts to disenfranchise vulnerable groups.
The BJP has accused former Congress president Sonia Gandhi of being added to India’s electoral rolls twice before she became an Indian citizen. BJP leader Amit Malviya, in a post on X, said Sonia Gandhi’s name first appeared on the voters’ list in 1980, three years before she got Indian citizenship in April 1983, while she still held Italian citizenship. He claimed her name was removed in 1982 after an outcry but reappeared in 1983, months before her citizenship was granted. Malviya called this a ‘blatant electoral malpractice’.
Sonia Gandhi’s voter list violation claim by Malviya
In his X post, Amit Malviya wrote, “Sonia Gandhi’s tryst with India’s voters’ list is riddled with glaring violations of electoral law. This perhaps explains Rahul Gandhi’s fondness for regularising ineligible and illegal voters, and his opposition to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). Her name first appeared on the rolls in 1980, three years before she became an Indian citizen and while she still held Italian citizenship. At the time, the Gandhi family lived at 1, Safdarjung Road, the official residence of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Until then, the voters registered at that address were Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi and Maneka Gandhi. In 1980, the electoral rolls of the New Delhi parliamentary constituency were revised with January 1, 1980 as the qualifying date. During this revision, Sonia Gandhi’s name was added, appearing at serial number 388 in polling station 145.”
Targeting the Gandhis, Malviya added that the ‘entry was a clear violation of the law, which requires a person to be an Indian citizen to be registered as a voter. Following an outcry in 1982, her name was deleted from the list, only to reappear in 1983.’
The BJP leader added, “But even her reinstatement raised serious questions. In the fresh revision of the electoral rolls that year, Sonia Gandhi was listed at serial number 236 in polling station 140. The qualifying date for registration was January 1, 1983 — yet she was granted Indian citizenship only on April 30, 1983. In other words, Sonia Gandhi’s name entered the electoral rolls twice without meeting the basic citizenship requirement — first as an Italian citizen in 1980, and then again in 1983, months before she legally became a citizen of India. We are not even asking why it took her 15 years after marrying Rajiv Gandhi to accept Indian citizenship.”
Amit Malviya questioned at the end of his X post, “If this isn’t blatant electoral malpractice, what is?”
Rahul Gandhi voter list revision row
The row comes as Rahul Gandhi continues to attack the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Last week, he accused the EC and BJP of ‘vote theft’ through duplicate, fake and bulk voter entries. He said the SIR process could disenfranchise minorities and vulnerable groups by demanding strict documents. On Tuesday, Opposition MPs wore T-shirts highlighting a ‘124-year-old voter’ case from Bihar. Rahul Gandhi said the issue was nationwide and systematic, accusing the EC of failing to uphold the ‘One Man, One Vote’ principle. However, Minta Devi, in an interview to ANI, slammed the Opposition and the MPs who paraded wearing the T-shirts featuring her pic. She questioned, “Who are Priyanka Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi to me? Who gave them the right to wear T-shirts with my picture? This should not be done. I do not want this.”
Scroll to load tweet…