SIR is 'institutionalised theft of votes', EC in 'partnership' with BJP: Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi: Top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday stepped up his campaign against 'vote chori', claiming that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is "institutionalised theft of votes" by the Election Commission, which has now "entered into a partnership" with the ruling BJP.

He said the Election Commission's stand is pretty clear for everyone to see as it did not respond to questions on how one lakh "fake voters" were added to the Mahadevapura Assembly seat in Karnataka.

Addressing a press conference in Bihar's Araria during the 'Voter Adhikar Yatra', Rahul also said the I.N.D.I.A. bloc is "working unitedly, both ideologically and politically" for the upcoming Bihar polls and the results will be fruitful. He said they would come up with a common manifesto.

Earlier at a rally in Araria, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha said, "The Modi government after privatising public sector units now wants to steal votes of the poor through the SIR with the help of the EC. The I.N.D.I.A. bloc will not allow this to happen in Bihar."

Flanked by RJD's Tejashwi Yadav, CPI(ML)'s Dipankar Bhattacharya and VIP's Mukesh Saini at the press conference, Rahul referred to the demand for a signed oath from him by the EC and said, BJP's Anurag Thakur also made similar claims but no affidavit was sought from him.

"I was doing the press conference (on Mahadevapura). Within five minutes, the EC said Rahul Gandhi has to give an affidavit and if he does not give, they will not accept the claims. Days later, Anurag Thakur made similar allegations, no affidavit was sought. I spoke about fake voters, he also did the same. I was asked for an affidavit in five minutes but till today, Anurag Thakur has not been asked to do so," he said.

"The EC is not neutral. They are stealing votes. The SIR is an institutionalised attempt by the EC to steal votes. The Opposition is complaining about deletions but the BJP is not. Why is that? It is because there is a partnership between the Election Commission, the Election Commissioners and the BJP," he alleged.

Emphasising that the EC's job is to provide "correct" voters' list and they "did not do it" in Maharashtra, Haryana and Karnataka, he said their whole effort is to ensure that the poll body changes its behaviour.

Tejashwi alleged that the EC has become "Godi Ayog" and that the poll body's credibility has hit rock bottom at the ground level. Accusing Narendra Modi of lying, he said the Prime Minister claimed that the SIR is to find out infiltrators but the EC in its affidavit submitted in the Supreme Court does not mention so.

Bhattacharya said the EC itself should be blamed for the "loss of its image". "It is not the Election Commission, but the Election Omission of India," he alleged.