New DElhi, Jan 16 : Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday, accusing the poll panel of “gaslighting citizens” and undermining public trust in democracy. His criticism came amid the counting of votes for 29 civic body elections in Maharashtra, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), with Congress raising concerns over alleged voter fraud.
In a post on X, Gandhi wrote, “Election Commission gaslighting citizens is how trust has collapsed in our democracy. Vote Chori is an anti-national act.” His comments echoed long-standing opposition claims of irregularities in the electoral process, intensified by controversies surrounding the indelible ink used to mark voters.
The row began when videos surfaced suggesting that the ink applied on voters was easily erased, with opposition leaders alleging that markers, rather than genuine indelible ink, were used in some booths. Congress and other opposition figures claimed that the marks were wiped off with sanitiser, raising questions about the credibility of the civic polls.
The BJP swiftly countered Gandhi’s allegations, accusing the opposition of deflecting attention from an expected defeat. Party spokespersons labelled the move as a tactic to discredit the ECI rather than address electoral outcomes. Shehzad Poonawala said, “Accepting defeat before counting ends? Rahul is back to doing what he does best discredit, distort & disinform.” Pradeep Bhandari added that opposition parties regularly fabricate allegations to evade scrutiny, noting that no incidents of voter fraud were reported during polling.
Responding to the controversy, the State Election Commission confirmed it would conduct a detailed probe into the viral videos. Officials clarified that there had been no deviation from standard practices and that the same indelible ink had been used across the BMC elections.
As the vote counting continues, the ink row has sparked a heated political debate, with the opposition questioning the integrity of the elections and the ruling party defending the EC’s conduct.