Bengaluru: Stepping up his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Election Commission of India (ECI), Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that he would prove that Modi has become Prime Minister through stolen votes if he gets the electronic data (of voters’ list).Speaking at the protest rally organised by the Congress in Bengaluru against the alleged voters’ list manipulations, Rahul Gandhi said that he has already proved the vote-theft in one Lok Sabha seat (Bengaluru Central). If the ECI gave him the electronic data of the voters’ list of all constituencies, he would prove that vote-heft happened in several seats.”You remember, Modi has become Prime Minister with a margin of just 25 seats. The BJP’s winning margin is 35,000 or less in about 25 seats. If we get the electronic data, we will prove that India’s Prime Minister has become Prime Minister by stealing votes,” Rahul Gandhi said.Rahul on Thursday had accused that over one lakh fake votes have been added in Mahadevapura assembly segment falling under the Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha seat due to which the BJP won the seat.Rahul also accused the Election Commission of refusing to answer people’s questions on voters’ list manipulations. “After my yesterday’s press conference, several people started asking questions to ECI on its website based on our documents. Instead of replying to the questions, ECI has shut down its websites in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar. They (ECI) know if people continue to ask such questions, their entire system will collapse,” Rahul said while appealing to continue to question ECI until it releases machine readable voters list.He also took a swipe at ECI for asking him to file a complaint and affidavit or oath. “The Election Commission has been demanding an affidavit from me. I am an MP and I have taken oath inside the Lok Sabha by placing my hands on the Constitution,” he said.Reiterating his demand for machine readable voters’ list and video footage of voting of all elections that took place in 10 years, Rahul said if the ECI did not give him the data, he would release proof of vote-theft in other constituencies as he did in the case of Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha seat.”We have the voters’ list of several constituencies in the physical (documents) form. If ECI denies us electronic data, we will manually analyse and expose them. It may take time but the opposition parties will definitely reach ECI one day,” he said.
He also warned ECI against destroying evidence. “Voters’ list and video footage are like evidence. If you destroy them, it means you are committing a crime. It also amounts to attacking our constitution. If you attack the constitution, we will attack you,” he said.Meanwhile, the ECI refuted Rahul Gandhi’s allegation against it of vote theft and massive fraud in the voter list.Sources in the ECI on Friday said, “If Rahul Gandhi believes in his analysis and believes that his allegations against ECI are true, he should have no problem in signing the declaration. If Rahul Gandhi does not sign the declaration, it would mean that he does not believe in his analysis and resultant conclusions and absurd allegations. In which case he should apologise to the nation.””Therefore, he has two options: either sign the declaration or apologise to the Nation for raising absurd allegations against ECI,” the poll panel sources added.