The Election Commission of India (ECI) has strongly rejected senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of ‘vote fraud,’ warning that using terms like “vote chori” insults the Constitution.
At a press conference in New Delhi, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said, “The poll body was being used as a launchpad to target India’s voters for political motives. The Election Commission stands firmly with the voters.”
Flanked by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, Mr Kumar emphasized the impartiality of the poll body. “Every party is the same for us,” he said, adding, “The Election Commission will not step back from its constitutional responsibility.”
The statement comes as Mr Gandhi launched the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in Bihar, targeting the Election Commission over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists in the poll-bound state.
Special Intensive Revision Clarified
The Chief Election Commissioner explained that the SIR was initiated to address political parties’ demands for corrections in the voter database.
“There is a month-long window to make objections to the draft voter list. We appeal to political parties to flag any errors. The doors of the Election Commission are always open for everyone equally,” he said.
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Mr Kumar added that voters, political parties, and booth-level officers are working transparently. “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.”
Addressing Privacy Concerns
Responding to suggestions for a machine-readable voter list, Mr Kumar cited the Supreme Court’s 2019 stance that such lists could breach 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?” he asked.
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He further defended the integrity of the voting process: “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.”
Rahul Gandhi’s Yatra and Allegation
Mr Gandhi has accused the poll body of colluding with the BJP to facilitate irregularities. At the launch of the Bihar Yatra, he said, “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.”
He added, “We will not let them steal the election in Bihar. People of Bihar will not let them steal elections. The poor only have the power of the vote and will not let them steal polls.”
Earlier, the Karnataka poll body asked Mr Gandhi to either submit a sworn declaration supporting his claims or withdraw the evidence. On this, Mr Kumar clarified, “If you are not voter of that constituency, then you have only one option in the law… you can lodge your complaint as a witness and you will have to give an oath to the electoral registration officer and that oath will have to be administered in front of the person against whom you have complained.”
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