EC's claims 'laughable': Congress as poll body dismisses 'vote theft' charges

EC stands thoroughly exposed for incompetence, partisanship, says Congress

New Delhi: Opposition on Sunday pounded on the Election Commission over allegations of 'vote theft' with the Congress claiming that the poll body stood "thoroughly exposed" not only for its "incompetence" but also for its "blatant partisanship", as Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar rejected as "baseless" claims against electoral process.

Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh said the EC's claims were "laughable" in the face of "mountains of evidence to the contrary" and that the country is waiting and watching to see the poll body implementing the Supreme Court directions on SIR in letter and spirit.

"Today, a short while after Rahul Gandhi launched the I.N.D.I.A. 'janbandhan's 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' from Sasaram, the CEC and his two ECs began by saying they make no distinction between the ruling party and the opposition. This is laughable, to put it very mildly, in the face of mountains of evidence to the contrary. Notably, the CEC answered none of the pointed questions raised by Rahul Gandhi meaningfully," he said.

"As far as the CEC’s threats to Rahul Gandhi are concerned, all that needs to be said is that the LoP in the Lok Sabha had simply stated facts revealed by the ECI’s own data. The ECI stands thoroughly exposed not only for its incompetence but also for its blatant partisanship," he said.

He said it was first time that this "new" EC was speaking directly and "not planting through sources".

"Yesterday, the ECI had released a 'press note', the purpose of which was to place the onus of voter list correction on political parties and individuals. This press note had also been met with uniform criticism from the opposition parties and widespread criticism from the general public," he said.

"Today's press conference also came three days after the Supreme Court had rejected every single one of the arguments made by the ECI to prevent the publication of the 65 lakh deleted voters during the Bihar SIR. Despite the vehement and documented objections of the ECI, the Supreme Court directed the publication, in a searchable format, of these 65 lakh voters with all their details," Ramesh said.

"It had also allowed the use of Aadhaar ID's to be proof of voter identity. The ECI had opposed every single one of these instructions of the Supreme Court," he added.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said that when the EC takes the "right course", support of crores of Indians will become its shield.

"The Election Commission needs not just reforms but a complete transformation. Today, the historic duty of protecting democracy rests on its shoulders. We understand that it faces various unwarranted pressures, but it must not think it stands alone," Yadav said in a statement.

Referring to Kumar's statement that "what if the same person is registered in the voter list at multiple places, they will still cast only one vote", Congress Media and Publicity Department chairman Pawan Khera said, "Now our straightforward question is -- Is Gupta-ji (CEC) ready to give this argument in writing on an affidavit in court?"

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra said, "Please don’t assume our average IQ is same as that of BJP cadre. Your claims during EC press conference today were ludicrous and laughable."