EC demands 'voter theft' proof from Rahul Gandhi again: 'Provide relevant documents...'

Rahul Gandhi

Karnataka's chief electoral officer, on Sunday, asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to provide relevant documents to prove the "voter theft" allegations that he levelled on the poll body.

This has come a day after the Election Commission told Rahul Gandhi to either give a signed declaration or apologise for the voter thefty allegations. The chief electoral officer of Karnataka said that a detailed probe will be conducted basis the proof provided by Gandhi.

The Karnataka CEO also brought up the case of Shakun Rani, who Gandhi said had voted twice and said that as per the initial probe into the matter, that is not the case and the document that Gandhi used to make the claim has not been issued  by a polling officer.

“In your ibid Press Conference, you have stated that the documents shown in your presentation are from the records of the Election Commission of India. You have said: ‘This is EC data’," the Karnataka CEO wrote in its letter dated August 10, addressed to Rahul  Gandhi.

“You have also stated that as per the records given by the polling officer, Smt. Shakun Rani has voted twice. You have said: ‘Es ID card per do baar vote lagahai, wo jo tick hai, polling booth ke officer kihai’," the letter further said.

The letter further said that Shakun Rani has negated Rahul Gandhi's claim and stated that she has indeed voted only once. "On inquiry, Smt. Shakun Rani has stated that she has voted only once and not twice, as alleged by you. Preliminary enquiry conducted by this office also reveals that the tick-marked document shown by you in the presentation (copy enclosed) is not a document issued by the polling officer," the letter said.

The letter further said that the Congress leader should hece provide documents that are in his possession to prove his claims so that a detailed inquiry can be conducted in the matter.

“Therefore, you are kindly requested to provide the relevant documents on the basis of which you have concluded that Smt. Shakun Rani or anyone else has voted twice, so that a detailed inquiry can be undertaken by this office," the letter said.