Election Commission Rejects Rahul’s Charges, Demands Proof Fast

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar flanked by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, warned that failure to provide evidence would render Gandhi’s claims “baseless and invalid,” urging him to either submit the affidavit or apologize to the nation. The rebuke came as Gandhi and opposition parties launched the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in Bihar, intensifying their attack on the Election Commission’s (EC) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the poll-bound state.

Kumar dismissed accusations of irregularities, accusing some parties of spreading misinformation and “firing from the Election Commission’s shoulder.” He defended the SIR, a process to refine voter lists, as a legal necessity to address discrepancies like duplicate voter entries. “Over three lakh cases of multiple voter ID numbers have been corrected,” Kumar stated, emphasizing that a person listed in multiple voter rolls does not equate to multiple voting. He clarified that the EC operates transparently, with booth-level officers, political party representatives, and voters working together, and urged parties to submit objections to Bihar’s draft electoral rolls by September 1.

The CEC’s remarks followed Gandhi’s speech in Sasaram, where he alleged the EC was colluding with the BJP to manipulate Bihar’s upcoming assembly polls through voter list revisions. Kumar countered, “The EC remains steadfast like a rock, unaffected by baseless allegations of double voting or vote theft.” He highlighted the transparency of the process, noting that details of 65 lakh deleted names from Bihar’s voter list, as mandated by the Supreme Court, were published on district magistrates’ websites within 56 hours. The court’s directive aimed to enhance transparency amid petitions challenging the SIR.

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Kumar also addressed demands for machine-readable voter lists, raised by Congress and other opposition parties regarding Maharashtra’s 2024 polls. Citing a 2019 Supreme Court ruling, he explained that such lists violate voter privacy, distinguishing them from searchable lists available on the EC’s website. “The EC cannot act on mere presentations with wrong facts; an affidavit is required for serious allegations,” he asserted, noting that Gandhi had previously refused requests from state electoral officers to provide sworn evidence.

The CEC stressed the EC’s impartiality, stating, “Ruling and opposition parties are equal before us.” He called it an “insult to the Constitution” to raise allegations without filing election petitions within the mandated 45 days. With over one crore employees engaged in elections, Kumar questioned how “vote chori” could occur in such a transparent system. The SIR, he added, was prompted by complaints from multiple parties and voter migration issues, debunking claims of haste.

As Bihar gears up for elections, the EC’s clash with the opposition underscores the high stakes of electoral integrity. Kumar’s call for evidence aims to quell misinformation, while the opposition’s Yatra signals a fierce battle over voter rights, setting the stage for a contentious electoral showdown.

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