EC gaslighting citizens: Rahul on indelible ink row in Maharashtra civic polls

Amid the row over the quality of indelible ink used in marker pens in Maharashtra civic elections 2026 Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday asserted that vote chori is an antinational act and accused the Election Commission of gaslighting citizensState Election Commission orders probe into ink qualityMaharashtra State Election Commission SEC on Thursday evening said it would conduct a thorough probe into the quality of the indelible ink in marker pens used for the Maharashtra civic elections 2026 after opposition leaders alleged that the mark on a voters finger could be removed easily enabling bogus votingAmid polling for 29 municipal corporations including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC social media was flooded with videos claiming to demonstrate how the ink could be removed using chemicals such as acetone even as Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis dismissed the claimsRahul Gandhi reacts to reports on fading inkGandhi shared on X a media report on the row which stated that opposition voters cry foul over fading ink markersElection commission gaslighting citizens is how trust has collapsed in our democracy Vote Chori is an antinational act Gandhi said in his post on XSEC to revert to traditional indelible inkSpeaking with PTI State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare said that in view of the controversy the SEC will not use marker pens for the coming Zilla Parishad elections but revert to the traditional ink produced by Mysore Paints and Varnish Limited a company of the Karnataka government used in assembly and Lok Sabha electionsProbe to cover ink quality and viral videosThe SEC has decided to conduct a probeit will cover not only the ink quality but also the videos which were circulated throughout the day The probe into videos is to ascertain whether the ink was applied on the finger while voting or in a mischievous way Waghmare told PTIWe will do a random sampling of marker pens used today across the state and verify the quality of the ink supplied to us The formula for the quality of the ink is finalised by the Election commission of India and a private company supplied the pens to the SEC the state election commissioner told PTIMarker pens in use since 2011 says SECWe have been using these pens since 2011 for all local body elections he addedAnother SEC official said Kores India Ltd had supplied the marker pens and those were as per the commissions specifications Three marker pens were provided for each polling booth he addedOpposition leaders share videos and raise concernsEarlier Mumbai Congress leader and Lok Sabha member Varsha Gaikwad posted a video of her party colleague using acetone to wipe off the ink from his fingerMaharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray also raised the issue after casting his vote in DadarUddhav Thackeray demands SEC chiefrsquos suspensionShiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray said he too received reports of ink being washed awayThis is shocking the former chief minister said accusing SEC Waghmare of siding with the ruling BJPled alliance and demanding his suspensionMore leaders endorse inkrelated allegationsMaharashtra Congress Legislative Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar made the same allegation Notably state minister and Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat too endorsed the claim about the ink coming off fingers easilyThe SEC however claimed that even if someone tried to vote again by removing the ink mark it was not possible as other safeguards were in placeWith inputs from PTI