Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Poll authorities on Tuesday issued a notice to senior Congress leader Pawan Khera, asking him to explain how he got enrolled as a voter simultaneously in more than one Assembly constituency in Delhi. The development comes hours after the BJP said the Election Commission (EC) should investigate how “Rahul Gandhi’s close associate” has managed to get two voter IDs.
Khera claimed that BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya's “morning stunt” has left the EC “bleeding”, as the poll body has “failed to maintain the integrity of the electoral rolls” while insisting that he had applied in the prescribed Form 7 seeking the deletion of his name from the New Delhi Assembly voters’ list after shifting to Jangpura in 2016.
The Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) of New Delhi issued the notice to Khera saying, “It has been brought to my notice that you have got your name registered in the electoral roll of more than one constituency. As you may be aware, that being registered in the electoral roll of more than one constituency is a penal offence under the Representation of People Act 1950.”
Giving a deadline of 11 am of September 8, the order, a copy of which was shared on X by the District Election Office of New Delhi district, has asked Khera to “show cause as to why action should not be taken” against him in this regard.
Soon after the notice was issued, Khera said it was "yet another confirmation of how the EC functions to support the ruling regime. While our complaints of 'vote chori' are disregarded, the EC rushes to act against opposition members.”
Asking why the EC did not issue a single notice to the one lakh fake voters of Mahadevapura constituency that were "exposed" by Rahul Gandhi, he said the Congress will not stop "exposing" the EC’s “wrongdoings” in the Bihar SIR and other election processes.
Earlier, Khera said, Malviya has “tried a shot” at him “but much to his dismay, it is the EC that was left bleeding” again. He said Malviya showed “no particular interest” in thousands of cases of people having multiple voter ID cards that surfaced after Rahul Gandhi’s August 7 press conference and the allegations against him were “politically-motivated mudslinging”.
“With his morning stunt, Malviya conceded that the EC has failed to maintain the integrity of the electoral rolls. This is despite my Form 7 application to delete my name from the New Delhi constituency after shifting houses in 2016,” he said. Four Lok Sabha and Assembly elections have taken place since 2016 and four roll revisions have taken place.
“Yet, my name is still on New Delhi rolls. Which stone has the EC been sleeping under?” he said.
Earlier in the day, Malviya posted details of entries in the name of Khera in voters list of New Delhi and Jangpura seats.
“Rahul Gandhi screamed 'vote chori' from the rooftops...it has now emerged that Pawan Khera, who never misses a chance to flaunt his proximity to the Gandhis, holds two active EPIC numbers,” he said, adding that it is now for the EC to investigate how Khera holds two active EPIC numbers and whether he voted multiple times.
“As if the criminality of holding multiple votes isn’t enough, Khera is holding malicious press conferences in Bihar to mislead voters, create dissonance, and undermine India’s robust electoral process," he posted on X at 9:05 am.
Incidentally, the DEO posted the notice to Khera at 4:44 pm, while the BJP spokesperson Pradip Bhandari also held a press conference at 12 noon.
"Congress is the quintessential vote chor (vote thief). That is why they want to tarnish everyone with the same brush. For far too long, they mutilated our electoral system, stole mandates by legitimising illegal infiltrators and non-Indians, and are now worried that the Special Intensive Revision initiated by the EC will expose them further," he said.
Bhandari alleged that Rahul was running a campaign against voter-roll revision in Bihar to "protect and hide" his party's theft of votes. "Rahul Gandhi and Congress are running a voter fraud racket in which different Congress leaders, who have multiple voter IDs, are given protection," he said,
Demanding a probe into Khera possessing two voter IDs, he asked Rahul if he would take any action against Khera and remove him from the party.
"Sonia Gandhi was not a citizen of India in 1980 but her name figured in the electoral roll. After we protested, her name was removed from the voter list in 1982. Rahul Gandhi is silent on this issue till date," he claimed.
"Rahul Gandhi keeps lying because he is anti-democracy and a dangerous man. With his unrelenting lies, he wants to inject a sense of mistrust in the people's mind because people have given their mandate to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a third consecutive term," he alleged.