New Delhi [India], August 22 : Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Friday launched a sharp attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI), alleging large-scale voter suppression and accusing the poll body of acting under pressure from the central government.
"When, on July 21, the Chairman gave a ruling, why did they ask for the resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar? What message did they want to send?... When democracy is being murdered, the Election Commission of India is not giving any answer on the "Vote Chori" and the Chief Election Commissioner is threatening the Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, the votes of 65 lakh people are being snatched," Ramesh said.
Speaking to ANI, the Congress leader questioned the relevance of parliamentary proceedings under such circumstances, saying, "When there is no democracy or a constitution in the nation, what is the point of zero hour, question hour?"
The senior Congress leader accused the government of deliberately deleting voter names in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, targeting Dalits and OBCs.
"It is not 'Chunav Aayog' but 'Churao Aayog'. Only the names of voters are being removed in the SIR exercise. PM Modi and the Union Home Minister told the Election Commission of India to carry out this exercise as they know that Dalits, OBCs will not vote for the BJP, but the INDIA alliance. They want to snatch the votes as this is the only way to win the elections," he alleged.
Meanwhile, another Congress leader, KC Venugopal, expressed confidence in the Supreme Court delivering justice to Bihar, highlighting concerns over the voter list issues in Bihar.
Speaking to ANI, Venugopal stated that during the yatra led by Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav in Bihar, people have presented "solid evidence" of genuine voters being removed from the electoral rolls.
"I think the Supreme Court will give justice to Bihar. This is the general sentiment. There are genuine issues relating to SIR in Bihar. As Rahul ji and Tejashwi ji do the yatra in Bihar, the people are complaining to them with solid evidence. We can see how many genuine voters have been removed. We are expecting justice from the Supreme Court," he said.
However, in contrast to this, the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on August 17 refuted all the recent "vote theft" claims made by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on the ECI while addressing a press conference in the national capital.
He termed allegations of bias by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabhas an "insult" to the Constitution of India. CEC also asked Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to either furnish a signed affidavit or apologise to the nation for his remarks.
"An affidavit will have to be given or an apology should be made to the country. Teesra koi vikalp nahi (There is no third option.) If the affidavit is not received within seven days, it means that all these allegations are baseless." CEC Gyanesh Kumar said while addressing the media persons.