New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday launched a blistering attack on the BJP-led government, accusing it of orchestrating “vote chori” — which he described as the gravest anti-national act — and alleged that the Election Commission has been compromised to influence electoral outcomes.
Participating in a Lok Sabha debate on electoral reforms, Gandhi, the leader of the opposition, claimed the ruling party was systematically undermining India’s democratic institutions, with the poll watchdog at the center of what he called an exercise in “institutional capture.”
Gandhi questioned recent changes to laws governing the appointment and functioning of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners, saying they eroded the independence of the Election Commission.
He flagged the removal of the chief justice of India from the selection panel for election commissioners, arguing the revised panel effectively sidelines the opposition. “On one side sit the prime minister and the home minister. On the other, the leader of the opposition, without any real voice,” Gandhi said, alleging that the process allows the ruling party to decide appointments unilaterally.
He also took aim at the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, which grants legal immunity to election commissioners for actions taken while in office. “Why would any government offer blanket immunity to the Election Commission unless it wants unaccountability?” he asked.
Raising concerns over transparency, Gandhi questioned the Election Commission’s decision to allow destruction of CCTV footage and election-related visual data 45 days after results are declared if no election petition is filed. “This is not about data storage. This is about protecting evidence,” he said, alleging that the move enabled election manipulation.
Citing alleged irregularities in the Haryana elections, Gandhi claimed a foreign national appeared multiple times on voter rolls. As Congress members attempted to display photographs in the House, Speaker Om Birla intervened, urging lawmakers to maintain decorum. Gandhi said he did not support displaying images inside the House but maintained that the Haryana election was “stolen with the Election Commission’s consent.”
“The destruction of the vote is the destruction of India,” he said. “There is no act more anti-national than vote theft.”
Gandhi opened his address with an extended metaphor drawn from Mahatma Gandhi’s emphasis on khadi, describing India as a fabric woven from millions of equal threads. “The strength of this country lies in every thread being equal,” he said, adding that democratic institutions exist only because of the vote.
He accused the RSS of promoting hierarchy over equality and alleged that institutions across sectors — education, investigative agencies and the bureaucracy — had been reshaped to serve a particular ideology. He claimed appointments were being made on ideological loyalty rather than merit and alleged misuse of agencies such as the CBI, ED and Income Tax Department against political opponents.
Laying out proposed electoral reforms, Gandhi said the Election Commission should provide machine-readable voter lists to political parties well in advance of polls, reverse the decision on destruction of election footage, allow greater transparency in the use of electronic voting machines and amend the law governing the appointment of election commissioners.
Warning of future consequences, Gandhi said laws granting immunity to election officials would be changed retrospectively if the Congress returned to power. “No one should assume they are beyond accountability,” he said.
His remarks drew repeated interruptions from BJP lawmakers, who accused him of straying from the subject. Gandhi countered by accusing the RSS of rejecting the principle of equality that underpins India’s democracy, and claimed the capture of institutions began after Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination in 1948.
The Lok Sabha took up the debate on electoral reforms a day after discussions marking 150 years of “Vande Mataram.”
