"Calling EC a den of thieves is an insult": JDU's KC Tyagi defends Election Commission, urges Rahul Gandhi to substantiate allegations

New Delhi [India], August 18 (ANI): Janata Dal (United) leader K C Tyagi came out in defence of the Election Commission (EC), calling allegations by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi an "insult" to the constitutional institution.
His reaction comes after EC, in a press conference on Sunday, refuted allegations of "vote theft" by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and asked him to either furnish a signed affidavit or apologise to the nation for his remarks.
Speaking to ANI on Sunday, Tyagi said, "The Election Commission is a constitutional institution; you may disagree with some of its decisions, but calling the entire Election Commission a den of thieves is an insult to it."
He addressed recent allegations levelled by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi against the poll body, urging him to provide evidence.
He said, "Rahul Gandhi has made allegations against the Election Commission, a constitutional institution, and he should substantiate them because he too holds a constitutional position as the Leader of the Opposition."
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi accused the EC of biased functioning and losing public trust following its recent press conference.
She described the EC's choice of words during the press briefing as "very unfortunate."
"Day by day, new people's names are being removed and added. Now they have been exposed. We have seen their press conference, and the words they chose are very unfortunate," Chaturvedi said while speaking to ANI.
She also accused the poll body of failing to win public confidence despite the "lack of trust" among the citizens and that the Constitutional body is busy to "trust of BJP"
"Today, there is a lack of trust in the Election Commission among the public. The public will surely ask you (Election Commission) why you are not winning their trust. You (Election Commission) are only working to win the trust of the BJP," she stated.
The reactions come after the Chief Election Commisioner of India on Sunday refuted allegations of "vote theft" by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and asked him to either furnish a signed affidavit or apologise to the nation for his remarks.
The CEC also termed the allegations of bias by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabhas as an "insult" to the Constitution of India.
"An affidavit will have to be given or an apology should be made to the country. Teesra koi vikalp nahi (There is no third option.) If the affidavit is not received within 7 days, it means that all these allegations are baseless..." CEC Gyanesh Kumar said while addressing mediapersons at a briefing at the National Media Centre in the national capital.
Rahul Gandhi had on August 7 addressed a press conference in New Delhi, in which he presented Congress's research on voting in the Mahadevapura Assembly in Karnataka, a part of the Bangalore Central parliamentary constituency. Gandhi alleged "vote chori" (vote theft) of 1,00,250 votes, including duplicate voters, invalid addresses, and bulk registrations of votes at single locations. (ANI)