New Delhi [India], October 13 : Congress MP Karti Chidambaram on Tuesday raised serious concerns regarding the functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI), alleging that the poll body is operating in a manner that undermines democratic norms.
Speaking to ANI ahed of high-tea meeting at the residence of Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi, Chidambaram criticized the decision-making process within the Commission.
"We have been consistently raising questions about the functioning of the Election Commission. The Election Commission has three election commissioners. Decisions have to be taken either unanimously or by majority. But it has been brought to light that the Chief Election Commissioners are taking decisions unilaterally, and that is illegal," Chidambaram stated.
The Congress MP further targeted the systemic rollout of electoral procedures, particularly pointing to the "weaponization" of specific forms used for voter registration and deletion.
"The entire engineering and the rollout of the SIR is very problematic, particularly Forms 6 and 7. We've been highlighting the deficiencies in Forms 6 and 7 and the weaponization of Form 7, by which genuine voters are being deleted from the voter list," he alleged.
Chidambaram also criticized the inclusion of unnecessary inquiries in voter enrollment procedures. "In Form 6, which is used to enroll new voters, questions that are not supposed to be asked—questions which have no bearing on your right to vote—are being asked," he added.
Earlier, Congress leader Supriya Shrinate on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Speaking to ANI regarding the meeting and the party's future course of action, Shrinate said, "With Rahul-ji, one must be ready for anything. I don’t know what will happen next, but given that it is Rahul-ji, we never know when he might decide to march," Shrinate said.
The Congress leader emphasized that the party's recent and ongoing protest marches are part of a larger, persistent campaign against what she termed as the "theft" of democratic mandates. She expressed hope that the intensity of their agitation would compel the government to change its course.
"I feel that the kind of march we held yesterday—and the marches we are continuously undertaking, along with the way we are driving this agitation and campaign against theft—should wake up the slumbering government and force them to stop such nefarious activities," she asserted.