The Congress party has consistently voiced concerns about alleged irregularities by the Election Commission. The EC recently released a statement addressing these claims. The commission indicated that if errors had been brought to their attention sooner, they could have been addressed. Furthermore, the EC expressed its willingness to review relevant documents to assist in the correction of any shortcomings. This statement from the Election Commission has ignited a wave of reactions from Congress leaders.
Pawan Khera, a Congress leader, commenting on the EC’s reported statement, said: “They are essentially saying they admit they stole votes, so why didn’t we catch them earlier?” He suggested that this situation was unique.
During the launch of the ‘Voter Rights Yatra,’ Congress leader Supriya Shrinate said, “Rahul Gandhi is starting a major campaign today, and the Election Commission’s press conference is happening in this context, as they are admitting that the voter list is wrong. If the voter list is wrong, it is their job to fix it.” She stressed that blaming others is not the solution, arguing that a fair election is founded on the principle of one person, one vote.
During the ‘Voter Rights Yatra,’ Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel stated, “The Election Commission has woken up now, but it’s too late. If they had fulfilled their responsibilities properly, there would have been no fake voters added and no fraudulent voting. This yatra is a fight against vote theft, which the BJP is allegedly carrying out in collusion with the Election Commission.”
The Election Commission stated that certain political parties may not have examined voter lists in a timely manner to report errors to the election officials. The commission also confirmed it would consider examining documents to support its staff in correcting any errors. The Election Commission clarified that some political parties and individuals had recently raised concerns about errors in voter lists, including those compiled earlier.
Rahul Gandhi had previously pointed out various issues with the voter lists, providing supporting evidence. The Election Commission’s statement was issued in response.