‘President didn’t challenge us’: Rahul Gandhi after meeting Murmu

• Rahul Gandhi says he was “shocked and stunned” that President Murmu did not challenge the Opposition’s ‘vote chori’ allegations.

• INDIA bloc delegation submits memorandum over SIR and alleged electoral irregularities, seeking Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.

• Kharge calls for EVMs to be replaced by ballot-paper voting.

Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Friday, 9 October said he was “shocked and stunned” that President Droupadi Murmu had not challenged the Opposition’s allegations of ‘vote chori (theft)’ during a meeting at Rashtrapati Bhavan, instead asking the delegation to submit evidence of electoral fraud.

The 10-member INDIA bloc delegation, led by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Gandhi, met Murmu on Friday evening and submitted a memorandum over alleged irregularities in the Election Commission of India (ECI) and its special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The Opposition demanded chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and called for the replacement of electronic voting machines (EVMs) with ballot papers.

The delegation included for mer West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav, CPI(M) general secretary M.A. Baby and Samajwadi Party leader Rajiv Rai, according to reports ahead of the meeting.

Speaking after the meeting, Gandhi alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah and CEC Gyanesh Kumar had conspired to undermine Indian democracy.

“The President did not deny, question or argue against anything we said,” Gandhi said, adding that Murmu had asked the delegation to provide proof of ‘election chori’. “I actually expected the President to deny that vote chori is taking place and say that India has a free and fair election system. But I was shocked and stunned that the President of India accepted what we said.”

Gandhi alleged that elections had been stolen in state after state and that the 2024 general election had also been compromised. He said the Opposition would submit the evidence it had collected when the President was ready to receive it.

Congress president Kharge said the delegation had told Murmu that Gyanesh Kumar had committed a serious error and alleged that the ECI was involved in ‘vote chori’. “We have demanded that EVMs be removed from the electoral process and elections be conducted using ballot papers,” Kharge said.

He added that the President had listened to the delegation and said she would take cognisance of its concerns and take appropriate steps. Kharge said the Opposition leaders were satisfied with the discussion.

The meeting came after three days of INDIA bloc protests in Delhi demanding Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in electoral roll revision. The Opposition has accused the poll body of undermining voters’ rights, while the ECI has defended its procedures.