‘Glad all EVMs are safe now’: Chirag Paswan counters Rahul Gandhi’s charge of 25 Lakh fake votes

Union Minister Chirag Paswan on Thursday dismissed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of large-scale irregularities in the voter list of the Haryana Assembly polls, asserting that all electronic voting machines (EVMs) are safe and secure. “Glad that at least all EVMs are safe now,” Paswan remarked, taking a swipe at Gandhi’s repeated claims of electoral malpractice.

On the previous day, Rahul Gandhi had accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of “stealing votes” in 2024 Haryana at the behest of the ruling BJP, alleging that nearly 25 lakh bogus votes had been included in a state with around two crore voters, amounting to “one in every eight voters” or roughly 12.5 per cent fake entries. He claimed that exit polls had projected a Congress victory, but the BJP managed to retain power through alleged rigging, duplicate voter entries, and “bulk voting”.

Responding to these charges, ECI sources dismissed the allegations as “baseless and misleading”, stating that robust checks and verifications are carried out before every election.