EC didn't serve notice to BJP's Thakur as it did in Rahul's case: Congress

New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday questioned the Election Commission for not serving a notice to BJP leader Anurag Thakur for his claims about poll irregularities, as it did in Rahul Gandhi's case.

The opposition party reiterated its demand that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections be "nullified" for being held on "fake voter lists".

Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera emphasised that if the BJP has already received the electronic data of the voters' list, then his party should as well, as this data would prove that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was losing the Lok Sabha election from Varanasi and got a "booster dose of fake voters".

"Nullify the Lok Sabha elections, which were fought on the basis of a fake voters list, as proved by the ruling party MP, Anurag Thakur. We took six months to collect data for one assembly segment of Bangalore Central called Mahadevapura. Mr Anurag Thakur got the electronic voter list of six Lok Sabha seats within six days," Khera claimed at a press conference at the AICC's 24, Akbar Road headquarters.

"If this is not collusion, what else is? And we thank Anurag Thakur and the BJP for proving the point made by Rahul Gandhi ji that the elections in this country are fought on the basis of fake voters," he added.

Khera called on the Election Commission and Anurag Thakur to make the electronic voter list data of Varanasi public since he has access to it.

Alleging that Modi managed to win the Lok Sabha seat of Varanasi in 2024 with "fake voters", Khera stated, "If we get Varanasi's electronic voter list, we will prove that Modi is sitting in the Prime Minister's chair by stealing it." "Both the ruling party and the opposition parties are questioning the Election Commission, but where is Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in such a situation?" he questioned further.

"Anurag Thakur has exposed the collusion between the BJP and the Election Commission in front of the entire country. That’s why the whole nation is now saying — 'vote chor, gaddi chhorh'. The BJP’s press conference has proven that the previous Lok Sabha election was based on a fake voter list, so shouldn’t this election be considered fraudulent? Shouldn’t this election be declared null and void?" Khera said.

Recalling how Rahul Gandhi was served with a notice from the Election Commission within hours of holding a press conference on August 7, Khera questioned why Anurag Thakur was not given similar treatment.

"The notice demanded an affidavit from him. It has been more than 24 hours since Anurag Thakur held a press conference, but he has not received any notice. It took us six months to obtain data for one assembly constituency, Mahadevapura, because we were not provided with the electronic voter list. Meanwhile, BJP MP Anurag Thakur obtained data for 6 Lok Sabha seats in just six days," Khera said.

"How did he manage to get this data so quickly? When the Election Commission has the electronic voter list, why has it not been provided to Congress? It is clear that the Election Commission has the electronic voter list, which it does not want to share with the public or the opposition," he further claimed, adding that the evidence presented by Anurag Thakur is criminal in nature.

His remarks came a day after the BJP claimed irregularities in voter registration in the Rae Bareli, Wayanad, Diamond Harbour, and Kannauj parliamentary seats, and asked Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Abhishek Banerjee, and Akhilesh Yadav to resign as Lok Sabha MPs, alleging that they secured their electoral triumphs with "vote chori".

Giving a slide-show presentation on the issue at the BJP headquarters on an "analysis" of the electoral rolls of these constituencies represented by opposition leaders, former Union minister Anurag Thakur also flagged "irregularities" in the voter registration in the Kolathur Assembly seat in Tamil Nadu and the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh, and asked Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK supremo M K Stalin and Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Dimple Yadav to resign for "rigging" their election.

Responding to the BJP's allegation that former Congress president Sonia Gandhi was registered as a voter before she became an Indian citizen, Khera said there was a 'Janata government' in place on January 1, 1980, and the BJP was self-indicting itself.

"They are unable to answer today's questions and got a piece of paper from over 40 years ago when it was their government, and put themselves in the dock. This government will now remain in the dock for the next six to eight months till it survives," Khera said.

Hitting back at the BJP for claiming irregularities in the seats contested by some top opposition leaders, the Congress on Wednesday had said the data shared by the ruling party points to its collusion with the Election Commission (EC) and demanded that the 2024 Lok Sabha polls be considered "null and void" for being held on "fake voter lists".

The opposition party had also demanded the electronic voter list of Varanasi, from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi had won the electoral contest, "so that people get to know whether he had truly won or not".