Congress general secretary Sachin Pilot on Wednesday alleged that the BJP was defending the Election Commission instead of allowing it to respond independently to serious concerns regarding irregularities in the voter lists.

Speaking to reporters here, the former deputy chief minister of Rajasthan said that rather than answering the issues raised by the Congress and Rahul Gandhi, the BJP had stepped forward to shield the poll authority.

"The government should not interfere. The Election Commission has a constitutional and moral responsibility to ensure that every vote is genuine and no manipulation takes place," he said.

Pilot accused the BJP of targeting opposition leaders while avoiding an investigation into alleged voter fraud.

"Instead of probing the matter, the government is demanding an affidavit from Rahul Gandhi. Notices are being issued and over 200 MPs were detained. Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge were taken into custody. This is not how a democracy functions," he said.

He said that in several constituencies, thousands of votes had either been deleted or manipulated deliberately.

"Fake votes, fake addresses and deletion of genuine names --” all point to a deliberate attempt to disenfranchise voters. Tampering with the voter list is a serious crime," he said.

Pilot claimed that a former chief justice of India, who was a member of election-related panel, was removed without explanation.

He alleged that the silence of the EC after Rahul Gandhi exposed the "voter fraud" raised further suspicion.

"Why is the EC not responding? Why is the BJP speaking on EC's behalf? The poll body is the soul of democracy and its transparency and independence must be protected," Pilot said.

The Congress leader said that the party did not make baseless accusations but it presented documented evidence of irregularities.

"We have simply demanded an impartial investigation. If the Commission remains silent, it raises serious questions," he said.

Pilot said the Congress would continue its campaign on the issue.

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