Answer my questions if you have nothing to hide: Rahul Gandhi to Election Commission

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi directly addressing the EC in a post on X said that such “evasive” action will not protect the EC’s credibility. File | Photo Credit: ANI

Hours after the Election Commission (EC) rejected Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi’s claim of “match-fixing” in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly election, the Congress MP asked why the poll panel issued an “unsigned statement” in response.

Mr. Gandhi, directly addressing the EC in a post on X, said that such “evasive” action will not protect the EC’s credibility.

‘Evasive notes’

“Dear EC, you are a constitutional body. Releasing unsigned, evasive notes to intermediaries is not the way to respond to serious questions,” the Opposition leader said.

The Congress leader said it should answer the questions he raised in his news article earlier. “If you have nothing to hide, answer the questions in my article and prove it by: Publishing consolidated, digital, machine-readable voter rolls for the most recent elections to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas of all States, including Maharashtra.”

He also demanded the release of all post-5 p.m. CCTV footage from the Maharashtra polling booths. “Evasion won’t protect your credibility. Telling the truth will,” Mr. Gandhi said.

His colleague, Pawan Khera, added more questions to the poll panel. “How did 41 lakh new voters get added in five months in Maharashtra whereas in five years there were just 31 lakh new voters?” Mr. Khera asked.

“How did the provisional turnout of 58.22% go up to 66.05% in the final turnout and where is the videography of voting post 5 p.m.,” he asked

“What’s the explanation for the targeted increase in voters in 12,000 booths across 85 constituencies where the BJP performed badly in the Lok Sabha but won in the Vidhan Sabha election?” he asked.

Published - June 07, 2025 10:49 pm IST