New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday dismissed Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of irregularities in the electoral rolls as “baseless” and accused him of attempting to “sensationalise” the issue instead of using the legal remedies available.

‘Tired Script’ Repeated

In a statement, the ECI said Gandhi was echoing a “tired” narrative similar to that used in 2018 by then MP Congress chief Kamal Nath, who cited a private website to allege duplicate voters. The poll body noted that the defects had been rectified months before and that the Supreme Court had rejected the demand for searchable PDF rolls at that time.

Claims Already Rectified

Referring to Gandhi’s recent press conference, the ECI said the case of a voter named Aditya Srivastava appearing in three states had also been corrected months ago. It alleged Gandhi was trying to mislead the public after realising the claims could not stand scrutiny in court.

Call for Apology or Declaration

Accusing the Congress leader of showing “no respect” for the Supreme Court’s decisions, the ECI urged him to either sign the declaration by the Chief Electoral Officers of Maharashtra and Karnataka affirming his claims or apologise to the nation for making “absurd” allegations.

Follow the Law, Says ECI

The commission stressed that the law prescribes a specific process for objections and appeals related to voter rolls, and insisted Gandhi should adhere to it rather than raising unverified claims in the media.