BJP Accuses Sonia Gandhi of Voting Fraud in 1980, Claiming Voter Misconduct
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has raised concerns over the inclusion of former Congress president Sonia Gandhi's name on the electoral roll in 1983, a year before she officially became a citizen of India.
A black and white single paper document titled "100 questions about Ms Sonia Gandhi," shared by BJP's IT-cell head Amit Malviya, shows that Sonia Gandhi's name was on the 1980 voter list for the address - Safdarjung Road. This, according to Malviya, was a clear violation of the law, which requires a person to be an Indian citizen to be registered as a voter.
In 1980, Sonia Gandhi's name was added to the New Delhi parliamentary constituency's electoral rolls, appearing at serial number 388 in polling station 145. However, she was still an Italian citizen at that time. Following public outcry, her name was removed from the rolls in 1982.
In 1983, Sonia Gandhi's name reappeared on the rolls, this time with January 1, 1983, as the qualifying date. However, she did not officially become an Indian citizen until April 30, 1983. This suggests that her name was added to the electoral rolls before she was legally eligible to vote.
Malviya has accused Rahul Gandhi of having a fondness for regularizing ineligible and illegal voters, and opposing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The battle between the Centre and the opposition parties arises from the SIR being done by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in Bihar.
The opposition claims the SIR is meant to reduce the number of voters to benefit the BJP-led NDA, while the ECI states the exercise is necessary to identify illegal voters and those who have either died or not staying in the state any longer.
Malviya has also used the opposition's "vote chori" claim against the Congress, referring to the alleged electoral violations by Sonia Gandhi. He questioned the delay in Sonia Gandhi accepting Indian citizenship, stating it took her 15 years after marrying Rajiv Gandhi.
The matter is currently before the Supreme Court. Malviya alleged that Sonia Gandhi's name appeared twice on the voter roll, both times while she was not a citizen of India as she held onto her Italian citizenship. The BJP has framed this as electoral malpractice, questioning how Sonia Gandhi's name appeared on the voter rolls without meeting the citizenship requirement.
- The controversy surrounding Sonia Gandhi's inclusion on the electoral rolls in 1983 has sparked discussions in the realm of policy-and-legislation, with the BJP accusing her of possible electoral malpractice due to her Italian citizenship at the time.
- Amidst the ongoing battle between the Centre and opposition parties over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) conducted by the Election Commission of India, the BJP's IT-cell head, Amit Malviya, has used the issue of Sonia Gandhi's alleged unlawful voter registration to question the opposition's stance on defi (democratic financial integrity).
- As the matter regarding Sonia Gandhi's repeated voter registrations before becoming an Indian citizen is currently under investigation by the Supreme Court, the general news landscape is tracking the politics behind this, with implications for future policy-making and elections.
