CEC to Rahul Gandhi on Vote Theft Charges: ‘Submit Affidavit or Apologise, No Third Option’

CEC to Rahul Gandhi on Vote Theft Charges: In a sharp rebuke to Congress MP and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday said he must either come up with an affidavit which supports his allegations against the election commission, or apologise before the nation saying, that failure to do so within seven days, would make his claims as null and void.

The CEC wondered how the Commission could act on complaints without a legal support.

“Should EC issue notice to 1.5 lakh voters without declaration under oath by the complainant?” he asked.

Coming to the contention that the continuing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar was in undue haste, Kumar referred to the statutory obligation of the Election Commission under the Representation of the People Act.

“Some people are misleading that why the SIR exercise is being carried out in such a hurry? Should the voter list be rectified before or after the elections? The Election Commission is not saying this; the Representation of the People Act says that you have to rectify the voter list before every election. This is the legal responsibility of the Election Commission,” he said.

Kumar also justified the process of the Commission as he said that the wok had started long ago.

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“Then the question arose whether the Election Committee would be able to reach more than seven crore voters of Bihar? The truth is that the work started on 24th June. The entire process was completed by about the 20th of July...”

The Congress in its turn, came out in stout defence of its leader. “Rahul Gandhi only stated facts revealed by EC's own data,” the party said, dismissing the Commission’s warning.

Senior party leader Jairam Ramesh asked, “Will EC implement, in letter and spirit, Supreme Court's August 14 orders on Bihar SIR process?”

Rahul Gandhi then plans to hold a Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar

On Sunday morning, Rahul Gandhi launched his 16 days long tour of voter rights, or Voter Adhikar Yatra at Sasaram in Bihar, which is due to go to the polls shortly. The yatra began about three hours ago and will span a distance of over 1,300 kilometres in over 20 districts before the mega rally on September 1 in Patna where leaders of other INDIA bloc parties are likely to join him.

Sharing details on X before setting out, Gandhi wrote: “16 days. 20+ districts. 1,300+ kms. We are coming among the people with the Voter Rights Yatra. This is the fight to protect the most fundamental democratic right — ‘one person, one vote.’ Join us in Bihar to save the Constitution.”

Spokesperson of the Congress party Pawan Khera described the march as a stepping stone in the democratic history of India. “Whenever Rahul Gandhi has embarked upon such a march, democracy has turned a new page,” he told reporters, describing the yatra as “a historic journey, which will prove to be a milestone in the fight for the existence of all of us.”

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Khera pointed out that leaders of the entire INDIA bloc, such as the Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav, will also participate in the march at various destinations. He claimed that the Special Intensive Revision that was on on going (SIR) of electoral rolls had “exposed the BJP’s designs to disenfranchise lakhs of voters belonging to the Dalit, Adivasi and minority communities, the poor and daily wagers.”

He continued to refer to it as “a plot to not only rob the votes, but also to rob the identity” cautioning that, today they will deny the poor their democratic rights to raise their hands, tomorrow they will deny them the franchise of government rations like free food and free housing.

Training his guns on the Election Commission, Khera said the body was becoming “like one of the train bogeys of the so-called double engine,” a reference to the BJP governments at the Centre and in the states. “The Election Commission becoming just a compartment of this ‘double engine’ — this is something we will not accept. We are fighting against this and will continue to do so in the future,” he asserted.

Further, Khera argued that the yatra was created because of the popular outrage against the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. “After the people of Bihar, activists, and the Congress and INDIA bloc workers raised their voice against the SIR, the EC was forced to do a course correction. It was only after the intervention by the Supreme Court that the national poll body was compelled to address the concerns of common people and voters,” he said.

He says that the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ will see participation of masses to create awareness to ensure that the Modi government conspiracy to deny voting rights to the people of Bihar fails.

Also Read: EC Confirms SIR to Be Conducted in Bengal and Other States, Dates to Be Announced Soon