By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday stepped up his attack on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, demanding his immediate resignation and calling for an investigation against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for what he alleged as “vote theft” conspiracy.
In a post on Facebook, Gandhi said he had been exposing alleged “vote theft” for the past three years and claimed that the latest developments within the Election Commission had vindicated his allegations.
“I have been exposing vote theft for three years. Now the Election Commissioner himself is accepting it and exposing the truth,” Gandhi said in the post.
Gandhi directly targeted CEC Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that he had committed “treason” and asking him to resign immediately and become an “approver” in the matter.
“Gyanesh Kumar has committed treason. He should resign now and become an approver,” Gandhi said.
He also called for a probe into Modi and Shah, alleging their involvement in what he described as a conspiracy to manipulate votes.
“There will be a full investigation into Narendra Modi and Amit Shah in the conspiracy of vote theft,” Gandhi said.
The Congress leader’s post came amid a political row over reported differences within the Election Commission concerning electoral-roll revisions and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. A recent Indian Express report said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections on several occasions over decisions concerning electoral rolls.
Gandhi and the Congress have used the reported internal objections to renew their allegations against the Election Commission and demand greater scrutiny of its functioning.
The Election Commission, however, has maintained that differences of opinion and written observations among commissioners are part of institutional deliberations and do not indicate any wrongdoing. The poll panel has also defended the electoral-roll revision process.
Gandhi’s latest remarks mark a further escalation of the Congress’ campaign against the Election Commission. His demand that the CEC resign and become an approver also comes as Opposition parties step up calls for action against Kumar and seek parliamentary scrutiny of the poll panel’s functioning.
The allegations against Modi, Shah and Kumar in Gandhi’s post are political allegations and have not been established as findings by a court or investigating agency.