Panchkula: Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini hit out at Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi for “misleading the nation” by claiming that there was “voter fraud” in Haryana.
Speaking to reporters in Panchkula, Saini said, “Rahul Gandhi is doing the work of misleading the nation… The way Congress has become agenda-less, they are misleading the nation by spreading lies.”
What Did Rahul Gandhi Say?
Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged that 1 in 8 voters in Haryana are fake, claiming large-scale voter fraud and pointing to unexplained differences between postal and booth votes.
Just a day before the first phase of Bihar polls, he said his team has clear proof that around 25 lakh voters in the state are either duplicate, nonexistent, or manipulated.
While addressing a press conference titled ‘H Files’, Rahul Gandhi said: “…We have crystal clear proof that 25 lakh voters (in Haryana) are fake, that they either don’t exist or they are duplicate or are designed in a way for anybody to vote…1 in 8 voters in Haryana are fake, that’s 12.5%…”
During the press conference, Gandhi claimed that a woman appeared to have voted 22 times across different booths using multiple names.
He said the image linked to her was a stock photograph of a Brazilian model and that similar cases could involve up to 25 lakh records in the state.
“…Congress lost the election by 22,000 votes…Who is this lady?… She votes 22 times in Haryana, in 10 different booths in Haryana. She has multiple names…That means this is a centralised operation…The lady is a Brazilian model. That’s a stock photograph and she is one of 25 lakh such records in Haryana,” he said.
ECI Response to Rahul Gandhi’s Claims
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has hit back at Rahul Gandhi’s claims.
In its response, the ECI said that there were no appeals against electoral rolls in Haryana and asked why the Congress party did not raise objections earlier.
“What were the polling agents of Indian National Congress party doing in the Polling Stations? They are supposed to object if the elector has already voted or if the Polling Agents doubt the identity of the elector…Only 22 Election Petitions currently pending in High Court against 90 Assembly Seats. Is Rahul Gandhi supporting SSR which removes duplicate, dead and shifted voters along with verification of citizenship or he is opposing!,” the ECI asked.
The Election body further asked: “Why were no claims and objections raised by INC’s BLAs during revision to avoid multiple names? Why were no claims and objections raised by INC’s BLAs during revision to avoid multiple names? Why were no appeals filed by INC’s BLAs during revision to avoid multiple names?”
The Chief Electoral Officer of Haryana has also issued a statement on the Haryana Assembly elections 2024. The officer shared that the number of appeals against the EROs filed with the DMs and the number of second appeals, against orders of DMs, filed with CEO was NIL. He also shared that there were no objections received by candidates on the next day of poll during scrutiny.