Give affidavit in 7 days or apologise: EC responds indirectly to Rahul Gandhi’s ‘vote chori’ allegation

In the backdrop of INDIA bloc’s ‘Vote Adhikar Yatra’, the Election Commission of India held a press conference on Sunday and gave Rahul Gandhi a seven-day deadline to either submit an affidavit with evidence or issue a public apology, stating that in the absence of proof, all such charges are false.

Addressing media persons on Sunday afternoon, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said, “An affidavit will have to be given or an apology will have to be made to the country. There is no third option. If the affidavit is not received within 7 days, it means that all these allegations are baseless.”

Without naming any party, the CEC indirectly responded to the Opposition’s claims that the ECI was colluding with the ruling BJP. “When politics is being done by targeting the voters of India by keeping a gun on the shoulder of the Election Commission, today the Election Commission wants to make it clear that it fearlessly stands like a rock with all voters – poor, rich, elderly, women, youth, and of every religion – without any discrimination,” Gyanesh Kumar said.

The CEC underlined that the doors of the commission remain open for all parties. “At the ground level, all voters, political parties, and booth-level officers are working together in a transparent manner, verifying and signing lists, and even giving video testimonials. It is a matter of serious concern that these verified documents and testimonials are either not reaching the state or national level leaders of the same parties, or an attempt is being made to spread confusion by ignoring the ground reality,” he added.

Providing statistics, Gyanesh Kumar said that in Bihar alone, over 1.6 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs) of all recognised parties have jointly prepared the draft lists during the SIR exercise. “A total of 28,370 claims and objections have already been filed by voters who turned 18 on July 1 or will turn 18 by October 1,” he noted.

The CEC said that with over seven crore voters in Bihar participating, the credibility of neither the Election Commission nor the voters could be questioned. He warned against irresponsible remarks such as ‘vote theft’, calling them an insult to the Constitution.

Responding to allegations of double voting and data misuse, Gyanesh Kumar reminded that in the Lok Sabha elections alone, “More than one crore officials, 10 lakh booth-level agents, and 20 lakh polling agents of candidates” oversaw the process, making any malpractice impossible.

He also condemned recent instances where voter photos were displayed in the media without consent, calling it a breach of privacy.

Can’t share machine-readable voter list: CEC  

Sticking to its firm stand of protecting the privacy of voters, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday refused to release a machine-readable voter list – a demand repeatedly made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. 

The CEC said machine-readable voter lists have been banned since the 2019 verdict of the Supreme Court, as in such a list, the entries and photos can be tinkered with.

“We recently saw some media reports displaying voter lists with photos of electors without consent, which is a breach of privacy,” he said, adding that the poll panel was obligated not to circulate photos of mothers or sisters.

He said a machine-readable voter list is different from the searchable voter list, which is available on the ECI, where a voter can enter his details to check if his name is in the voter list.

CEC Kumar said the ECI is standing like a rock with voters, and no eligible voter’s name can be deleted to deny him or her the right to vote.

He said within 56 hours of a Supreme Court order, the ECI has created a website for each district in Bihar, and it can be used to search a voter’s name using the EPIC number.

Earlier last week, the ECI accepted three key suggestions from the Supreme Court over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in Bihar, agreeing to the addition of a list of non-included voters with reasons in the draft roll.

For the convenience of citizens, the ECI said that in addition to the list of deceased voters at two places and permanently shifted given by BLOs to all political parties since July 20, a list of non-included voters with reasons shall also be put in the draft roll.

The list of non-included voters could be searched with the EPIC number, booth-wise, on the website of DEOs and the CEO, it said.

The poll panel said those aggrieved can file their claim along with a copy of Aadhaar, a key second suggestion of the apex court.

The ECI accepted the apex court’s suggestion that those aggrieved can file claims along with a copy of Aadhaar.

(With inputs from syndicated feed)