SIR row: At CWC meet, Rahul Gandhi credits Congress for EC 'revelations', gives 'oppose and resist' message

NEW DELHIL Leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday claimed that Congress's sustained campaign over alleged irregularities in elections had forced differences within the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls into the public domain, news agency PTI reported, citing sources.Speaking at a closed-door meeting of the Congress Working Committee at Indira Bhawan, Rahul Gandhi said revelations about the poll panel were now coming out because of the party's campaign, sources told PTI.He said the Congress had been consistently raising the issue of "vote chori" and highlighting alleged irregularities in the elections in Haryana, Karnataka and Maharashtra, but had initially faced scepticism."The atmosphere has changed over the last two years," Ranhul said, according to PTI sources, attributing the shift largely to the Congress's "fact-based presentations"."The issue is now being discussed in the media and in editorials," he was quoted as saying.During the meeting, Rahul Gandhi said there were two forms of "match-fixing" in elections, one involving electronic voting machines (EVMs) and the other involving alleged deliberate tampering with voter lists."So, there are two forms of match-fixing: EVM match-fixing and voter list match-fixing, both are happening," he reportedly said.The Congress leader also claimed that the 2024 Lok Sabha election was "completely fixed and rigged".He further alleged that legislation enacted thereafter, specifically the law passed in December 2023 providing immunity to the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners, was illegal, sources said.'Virodh and pratirodh': Rahul Gandhi's message to party workersRahul Gandhi also urged Congress workers not to deviate from the path of "virodh" (opposition) and "pratirodh" (resistance), from the streets to Parliament, according to PTI sources.Invoking the Lahore Congress session of 1929, Gandhi said the party had chosen the path of "Purna Swaraj" at a time when the British government had denied Congress even provincial autonomy.As the present government refuses to listen to the voice of the people of this country or heed their demands, there is only one way forward for parties that believe in democracy -- to resist, sources quoted him as saying.The comes as Congress demanded the immediate removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, suspension of the SIR, restoration of over 13 crore names struck off from the electoral rolls and the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "match-fixing" polls.The meeting comes days after The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on record at least 14 times in the past 10 months over SIR decisions and orders they said were issued without their knowledge or recommendation.Amid questions over the objections raised by the two commissioners, the EC has maintained that differing views and observations are a normal part of deliberations in any institution. It has also asserted that all its orders carry full legal sanction and follow established statutory procedures.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.