EC's demand for declaration "utterly absurd", attempt to save its reputation: Ashok Gehlot on Rahul Gandhi's "vote theft" allegations

Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], August 10 (ANI): Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Sunday termed Election Commission's demand for a signed declaration from Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on the latter's "vote theft" allegations as "utterly absurd" and an attempt to save its reputation.
In a post on X, senior Congress leader Gehlot criticised the EC's demand, stating that Rahul Gandhi had presented evidence to the public.
"Mr. Rahul Gandhi has exposed the Vote Chori being done by the Election Commission in the voter list by presenting all the evidence before the public, and the entire country trusts him on this. The demand for an declaration by the Election Commission seems utterly absurd and appears to be an attempt to save its own reputation," he said on X.

श्री @RahulGandhi ने सारे सबूत जनता के सामने रखकर चुनाव आयोग द्वारा वोटर लिस्ट में की जा रही #VoteChori को उजागर किया है, उस पर पूरे देश को भरोसा है। चुनाव आयोग द्वारा शपथ पत्र देने की मांग एक दम बेहूदा तथा अपनी इज्जत बचाने का प्रयास लगती है।

NDA सरकार के दौरान ही 2018 में…

— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) August 10, 2025

Referring to a remark of former Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat, Ashok Gehlot suggested that the EC is obligated to "proactively investigate" the allegations made by Rahul Gandhi.
"During the NDA government, Mr. OP Rawat, who was the Chief Election Commissioner in 2018, stated that when he was the Election Commissioner, if any senior leader made allegations, the Election Commission would proactively investigate and present the facts to the public to maintain their trust in the institution," former Rajashtan CM said.
He also questioned whether EC demanded declarations from Oppositon leaders in the past when they made allegations against the poll body.
"In the past, many opposition leaders, such as Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Mr. Lal Krishna Advani, and even Mr. Narendra Modi himself, among other then-opposition leaders, had made allegations against the Election Commission. How many of these leaders have submitted affidavits to the Election Commission?" he asked.
Gehlot added, "If the revelation made by Mr. Rahul Gandhi had been made by an investigative journalist or a media organisation, would the Election Commission have conducted a fair investigation into those allegations, or would it have demanded an affidavit from them?"
Gehlot further raised concerns over the freedom of the Election Commission.
"In countries like North Korea, China, and Russia, where a single party rules, the Election Commission also conducts elections. The whole world knows the state of those Election Commissions and their elections. Is a similar attempt being made in India?" he said.
EC has asked Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to either give a declaration as per the rules or apologise to the country for his "false" allegations regarding the voter lists.
"Rahul Gandhi should either give a Declaration as per rules or apologise to the country for his false allegations," ECI said in an earlier statement.
On August 7, Rahul Gandhi held a press conference, citing internal analysis. The LoP stated that the Congress expected to win 16 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka but ended up with only nine.
He said the Congress investigated seven unexpected losses, zeroing in on Mahadevapura, where he alleged vote theft involving 100,250 votes. Presenting Congress's research on voting in the Mahadevapura Assembly in Karnataka, Rahul Gandhi alleged "vote chori" (vote theft) of 100,250 votes. (ANI)