New Delhi [India], August 19 : Amid political upheaval over the allegations of vote theft and strong objection to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) Rajya Sabha MP Mahua Maji on Tuesday said that the Election Commission of India (ECI) must work in a democratic manner and should address the doubts being raised by the opposition parties.
Defending Rahul Gandhi's "vote theft, an attack on Bharat Mata" remarks, Maji said that the Leader of Opposition (LoP) Lok Sabha only wants to safeguard the constitution while ensuring that there is no tampering with people's voting rights.
"Rahul Gandhi is the leader of the opposition, and as a citizen of the country, he has a great responsibility to protect democracy, as do we all. He wants the constitution to be safeguarded, democracy to be protected, and no tampering with people's voting rights. The EC must work in a democratic manner," the Rajya Sabha MP told ANI.
Referring to TN Seshan's tenure as the 10th Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Maji argued that the constitutional body must work "neutrally" and must avoid the arising of a situation where doubts are raised on their working.
"If he or the public has any doubts, the Election Commission should ensure transparency, just like it happened under TN Seshan's tenure as CEC. Nobody raised any fingers at EC then. Such institutions should pay attention to why fingers are being pointed at them. Such a situation should not arise at all. The opposition should say that the EC is working neutrally. If the opposition has any doubts, they should be addressed," Mahua Maji said.
The former bureaucrat Seshan, who served as the 10th Election Commissioner of India, left behind a legacy asserting that he was the CEC of India and not the Government of India.
Her remarks came after Rahul Gandhi commenced his 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar and launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission and its officials, warning of strong action against them if they "don't do their work."
On Monday, he said that "vote theft" was an attack on the Constitution and Bharat Mata.
"This is Bharat Mata's constitution. This (document) has been drafted by Ambedkar, Gandhi, Nehru, and Patel. This has the soul of India. However, they attack this very soul when these people indulge in vote theft. They attack this constitution and Bharat Mata. We won't allow either Narendra Modi or the Election Commission to attack Bharat Mata, Gandhi had said while addressing the gathering during a rally in Bihar's Gaya.
"Nobody can erase this constitution. The Election Commissioner should understand that if he doesn't do his work, strong action will be taken against you," he added.
Earlier, CEC Gyanesh Kumar addressing a press conference in the national capital on Sunday refuted allegations of "vote theft" by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and asked him to either furnish a signed affidavit or apologise to the nation for his remarks. The CEC also termed the allegations of bias by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabhas as an "insult" to the Constitution of India.
"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 7 days, it means that all these allegations are baseless," CEC Kumar said.
Rahul Gandhi had on August 7 in a press conference in New Delhi presented Congress' research on voting in the Mahadevapura Assembly in Karnataka, a part of the Bangalore Central parliamentary constituency. Gandhi alleged "vote chori" (vote theft) of 1,00,250 votes, including duplicate voters, invalid addresses, and bulk registrations of votes at single locations.