India, Aug. 8 -- The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday hit back at Rahul Gandhi over his allegations of large-scale voter fraud in Karnataka, challenging the Congress leader to either sign a formal declaration affirming his claims or apologise to the nation.

"If Rahul Gandhi believes in his analysis and believes that his allegations against ECI are true, he should have no problem in signing the Declaration. If he does not sign, it would mean he does not believe in his own conclusions and absurd allegations. In that case, he should apologise to the nation," ECI sources said.

"Therefore, he has two options: Either sign the Declaration or Apologise to the Nation for raising absurd allegations against ECI," sources said.

On Th...