The Election Commission of India (ECI) has come down heavily on allegations made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other opposition parties that the poll body is “stealing” elections in Bihar. The accusations, centred around the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, were described as a “direct insult” to India’s Constitution.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, addressing a press conference, rejected the claims and underlined that the SIR process is transparent, involving all stakeholders, including representatives of political parties.
The row began after Rahul Gandhi accused the ECI of manipulating Bihar’s electoral rolls in collusion with the ruling BJP. He alleged that deliberate additions and deletions of names were being carried out to influence the upcoming assembly elections.
In response, the ECI clarified that the SIR was initiated following demands from political parties themselves to correct errors in voter lists. According to Kumar, more than 1.6 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs) from multiple parties jointly verified the draft rolls.
“It is a matter of serious concern that verified documents and testimonials from party district presidents and Booth Level Officers are either not reaching state or national leaders, or are being deliberately ignored to spread confusion,” Gyanesh Kumar stated.
He added that any claim of ‘vote theft’ without evidence is nothing but a failed attempt to mislead the public. “If such accusations are made outside the judicial process, it is an insult to the Constitution of India,” he said.
The CEC also criticised the Congress for allegedly releasing photos of voters without their consent. Referring indirectly to Rahul Gandhi’s press conference, Kumar said: “Should the Election Commission start sharing CCTV videos of voters, including their mothers, daughters-in-law, or daughters? Only those whose names are in the electoral roll are allowed to vote.”
Responding to claims of double voting, Kumar said that no credible evidence was ever produced. “Such false allegations neither intimidate the Election Commission nor any voter,” he asserted.
He reiterated that the poll body stands firmly with all voters, across caste, class, gender, and religion, without any bias toward ruling or opposition parties.
The sharp remarks from the poll panel came after Rahul Gandhi accused the ECI of colluding with the BJP to deny Congress its expected victories. Gandhi claimed that the party should have won 16 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka but ended up with only nine, calling it proof of “vote chori” (vote theft).
The Election Commission has demanded that Gandhi either produce concrete evidence under affidavit or apologise to the nation for spreading misinformation.
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