‘Vote theft allegations an insult, few leaders misleading voters:’ CEC refutes Oppn’s charge of bias
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Vote theft allegations an insult, few leaders misleading voters:’ CEC refutes Oppn’s charge of bias")
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar addressing the press conference in New Delhi on Sunday Photograph: (Screengrab from video on X)
The Election Commission’s strong response came after opposition parties accused the poll body of “stealing” elections in collusion with the BJP, claiming that attempts were underway to manipulate the Bihar Assembly polls through Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) held a press conference in New Delhi on Sunday and condemned the allegations of vote theft in the Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, while calling them an insult to the Indian Constitution. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, flanked by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, said in the press conference that the Election Commission and the voters are not afraid of petty politics. The CEC also objected to the use of “improper phrases” like “vote chori” and said that it amounts to insulting the Constitution.
CEC Gyanesh Kumar further said that the Election Commission doesn’t see the ruling party and opposition differently, and everyone is equal for the poll panel.
The CEC said that under the Constitution, every citizen above 18 must register as a voter and exercise their right to vote. “Every citizen of India who has completed 18 years must become an elector and must cast the vote,” the CEC said.
‘Every political party registered with EC, no question of discrimination’
CEC Kumar added that every political party is registered with the Election Commission, and there is no question of discrimination among them. He further stressed that the Commission would not step back from its constitutional duty andresponsibilities.
The CEC said that the Election Commission’s doors are open to everyone equally and that voters, political parties, and booth-level officers are working together in a transparent manner by verifying, signing, and even giving video testimonials. He expressed concern that these verified documents and testimonials from district party presidents and nominated BLOs are either not reaching their state or national leaders or are being ignored to spread confusion.
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“It is a matter of concern that the voice of these representatives of political parties is either not reaching their parties' leadership, or ground realities are being ignored in an attempt to spread misinformation,” Kumar said.
‘Allegations made of double voting, no proof provided when asked’
Condemning the allegations of vote theft, the CEC said, “More than 1 crore officials, over 10 lakh booth-level agents, and over 20 lakh polling agents work for a Lok Sabha election. Can anyone steal votes in front of so many people and with such a transparent process? Some allegations of double voting were made, but when we asked for proof, we got nothing. Such allegations scare neither the Election Commission nor any voter.”
‘15 days still left, parties can approach us’
The CEC said that 15 days were left for corrections in the Bihar draft electoral roll and called on every party to approach the ECI with the same.
“15 days are still remaining. The Election Commission calls on every political party, any problems in the draft electoral roll given to them should be brought before the commission by prescribed forms in the next 15 days,” the CEC said.
‘Breach of voter privacy’
“As for a machine-readable voter list, the Supreme Court said in 2019 that this can lead to a breach of voter privacy. We saw some days back that photos of several voters were released in the media without their permission. Should the poll body share CCTV footage of any voter?” Kumar asked.
The EC’s strong response came after opposition parties accused the poll body of “stealing” elections in collusion with the BJP, claiming that attempts were underway to manipulate the Bihar Assembly polls through voter additions and deletions under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
‘We will not let them steal the election in Bihar’: Rahul
Earlier in the day, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav accused the EC of acting as the BJP’s agent and “snatching people’s right to vote.”
Gandhi launched the 1,300 km-long ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ from Sasaram in Bihar to step up the INDIA bloc’s campaign against what it claims to be “vote chori” (vote theft). Gandhi said the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ is a fight to save the Constitution.
"In the whole country, Assembly and Lok Sabha elections are being stolen, and their last conspiracy is to delete and add voters through SIR to steal the elections in Bihar. We will not let them steal the election in Bihar. People of Bihar will not let them steal elections. Poor only have the power of vote and will not let them steal polls,” Gandhi alleged.
