Congress Tells ECI To File Affidavit Before Rahul
Congress demands affidavit proving clean voter lists.
The Congress party intensified its attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday, challenging Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar to submit an affidavit in the Supreme Court verifying the accuracy of voter lists before demanding one from opposition leader Rahul Gandhi. During a press conference in Daboor, Bihar, as part of the Voter Adhikar Yatra, Congress leaders Pawan Khera and Kanhaiya Kumar accused the ECI of acting like a "BJP spokesperson" and failing to address voter list irregularities.
Khera mocked Kumar’s recent press conference, saying, “We finally saw the CEC, not just BJP mouthpieces like Anurag Thakur or Sambit Patra.” He criticized the ECI’s seven-day ultimatum to Gandhi to provide a signed affidavit substantiating claims of voter list discrepancies, asserting, “They don’t believe their own data.” Kanhaiya Kumar alleged a BJP-orchestrated “vote chori” to undermine the Constitution, pointing to suspicious voter deletions and low enrolment of new voters, particularly 18-year-olds, in Bihar’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
Kumar highlighted practical issues, noting that booth-level officers (BLOs) often reject Aadhaar as proof of identity, causing harassment over minor errors like name misspellings. “If the ECI claims the voter list is clean, let them file an affidavit first, and we’ll provide ours proving irregularities,” he declared, demanding a machine-readable voter list format. He also questioned the removal of 65 lakh voters without transparent data on new additions, calling SIR a “straightforward way of vote chori.”
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The controversy follows Kumar’s August 17 press conference, where he rejected allegations of “vote theft” and defended the SIR as a corrective measure, flanked by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi. The Congress, backed by INDIA bloc allies, has accused the ECI of irregularities in the 2024 Maharashtra elections, citing improbable voter turnover shifts in constituencies like Ramtek and Nashik West. Khera’s X post sarcastically remarked, “Next, the ECI will say 2+2=420,” highlighting skepticism about voter data.
The Voter Adhikar Yatra, led by Gandhi, has galvanized opposition efforts to demand transparency in Bihar’s electoral roll revision. Kumar claimed public support is rattling the BJP, warning that a government formed through “chori” cannot govern honestly. The Congress continues to press for digital voter lists from Maharashtra, alleging manipulation in the 2024 state polls. As tensions escalate, the ECI faces mounting pressure to address these concerns to restore trust in India’s electoral process.
Also Read: ‘One Person, One Vote Under Attack’: Rahul Targets SIR in Bihar
