New Delhi: Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi Thursday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of being “at the top” of a conspiracy to undermine India’s electoral system and said both would be investigated for their role (when the Congress came to power).
Gandhi also continued to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and asked him to turn approver while appreciating the other two election commissioners for putting their dissent on record, saying their stand marked a shift within the poll panel.
“Mr Modi and Mr Shah are both going to be investigated for what has been done, without any doubt. Both the Prime Minister and Amit Shah are at the top of this conspiracy and they are going to be investigated for what they have done to this country,” Gandhi said.
“The two election commissioners have done a wise thing and I appreciate it. They have come clean. Please understand what these two gentlemen are saying. They are saying that the vote does not exist in India anymore. That’s what they’re saying. And they’re also saying the man they believe is responsible for the vote not existing in India, Mr Gyanesh Kumar, has been appointed CEC by the Prime Minister of India.” he said
He alleged that the issue went beyond manipulation of votes, describing it as an attack on India’s democratic and constitutional framework.
“This is an act against the Indian state. This is an act against India’s people and we cannot sit silent. We refuse to sit silent while this happens,” Gandhi said.
“Mr Gyanesh Kumar should think seriously about the position he’s in and he should turn approver. That is my advice to him. That would be an act of nationalism,” he added
Gandhi said he had been raising questions over the electoral system for three years and claimed that the latest developments within the Election Commission had now strengthened his allegations.
“I have been saying from the beginning, three years now, that votes are being stolen. Elections are not fair. Now you’re saying to me that the Congress party is saying this. No, the Congress party was saying it. Now the Election Commission itself is saying it,” he said.
He said his concerns over the independence of the poll panel had also been reflected in his dissent against Kumar’s appointment as CEC in February 2025.
“The most fundamental aspect of an independent Election Commission free from executive interference is the process of choosing the Election Commissioners and the Chief Election Commissioner,” Gandhi said, recalling his dissent note.
“My view is thrown aside and the gentleman is appointed by whom? By the Prime Minister of India,” he said.
Gandhi then linked the latest developments to a sequence of allegations that he said he had raised over the past three years, beginning with the law passed in December 2023.
“21st December 2023, a strange law is passed which makes the Election Commissioner immune to investigation,” he said.
He referred to the Congress’ 7 February 2025 press conference on Maharashtra, followed by his dissent against CEC Kumar’s appointment on 17 February.
“We make it very clear that vote chori is going on and we put proof on the table,” Gandhi said.
He then listed the subsequent allegations concerning Mahadevapura, the Voter Adhikar Yatra, Aland and Haryana.
“We then show Mahadevapura. We do Voter Adhikar Yatra, 16 August to 1 September; 18 September we do Aland vote chori,” he said.
Gandhi said the objections now being raised by two Election Commissioners were significant because the concerns were coming from within the poll panel.
“I have been raising questions. Those questions were ignored. But now two Election Commissioners are saying that Mr Gyanesh Kumar is responsible for the chaos, for the damage that has taken place to our voting system,” he said.
“Earlier the institution was denying what we were saying. Now the institution has accepted what we were saying,” Gandhi added.
He further said that the manipulation of votes had consequences beyond elections because the vote was the foundation of the Constitution, laws and institutions.
“The vote is the basis of laws. If the vote has been destroyed, then our Constitution has been destroyed. It no longer has its power. It no longer functions. If our Constitution has been destroyed, our laws are illegal. And if our laws are illegal, our institutions are meaningless,” Gandhi said.
“This is not just an attack on the vote. This is an attack on the idea, on the basic infrastructure, on the expression of every single Indian person,” he added.
Gandhi also described those who, according to him, had attacked the electoral system as “deshdrohi (traitor)”.
“A person who attacks the vote, who fundamentally destroys India’s democratic institution, is nothing other than a deshdrohi,” he said.
Gandhi said he expected more evidence to emerge in the coming months. “I am certain, I have no doubt that within the next six months this will be black and white in front of you because the information is already available,” he said.
He ended by saying the opposition would continue to pursue the issue. “We are not going to let democracy be destroyed in India and sit silent,” Gandhi said.
“Our duty, our sacred duty is to protect the Constitution and the vote, which we’re going to do,” he added.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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