EC finds Smriti's charge of booth capturing false

The Election Commission found that Booth capturing allegations made by BJP candidate Smriti Irani were false. Smriti Irani, BJP candidate in Amethi, had tagged a video in her tweet and alleged that polls were being rigged on Monday.

Lucknow: The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Uttar Pradesh, Lakku Venkateshwarlu, has said that allegations of booth capturing leveled by Union minister Smriti Irani in Amethi were false.

Talking to reporters on Monday evening, the CEO said charges leveled by an elderly woman in a video clip that went viral on social media were found to be "baseless".

"Following the complaint, the sector officer, senior officials and even observers rushed to the booth and spoke to the polling agents of the political parties, other officials in the polling booth following which it was conclusively found that the charges in the video clip were fabricated. Due to prima facie allegations in the clip, the presiding officer was summarily removed while the probe was going on," he said.

The video clip had created a huge controversy with Smriti Irani claiming that booth capturing was being done at the behest of Congress President Rahul Gandhi who is seeking re-election in Amethi.

Smriti Irani, who is the BJP candidate in Amethi, had tagged the video in her tweet and alleged that polls were being rigged.