Sachin Pilot raises questions on 'vote theft', demands Election Commission to conduct probe

Jaipur, Sep 2 (IANS) Congress General Secretary and former Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot, on Tuesday, once again targeted the Union government and the Election Commission of India over the alleged irregularities in the electoral process, saying that "vote theft will not be tolerated at any cost".

Pilot, who was in his native village Mohangarh in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer district, to pay tribute to Colonel Sona Ram Chaudhary, told reporters that the Congress is closely reviewing every constituency in Rajasthan.

"Rahul Gandhi has already said in his speech that he will explode a bomb on this issue -- very soon the truth will come before the people," the Congress leader said.

Pilot cited the Jaipur Rural seat, where BJP's Rao Rajendra Singh defeated Congress candidate Anil Chopra by just 1,615 votes in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Rao Rajendra Singh of the BJP secured 6,17,877 votes while Congress' Anil Chopra notched 6,16,262 votes.

The former Deputy Chief Minister said that allegations of irregularities had surfaced even then, and now that more issues are being raised, "it becomes the moral responsibility of the Election Commission to clear public doubts and order an investigation."

He also drew a sharp analogy: "It is like going to a police station to file a complaint, but the station in-charge demands an affidavit before registering the case. This is how the Election Commission seems to be functioning now."

He added that instead of answering people's concerns, the Commission appears to be siding with the ruling party.

Pilot stressed that this was not a matter of victory or defeat but of safeguarding democracy itself.

"Earlier, officials went to deserts, forests and mountains to ensure every vote was cast. Today, we are seeing votes being manipulated. This must be investigated."

Pilot asserted that under the leadership of Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, the Congress will continue to raise the issue of 'vote theft' across the country, and that the public is openly backing the demand for electoral accountability.

--IANS

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