Ahead of the Congress presidential elections slated to be concuded in October, senior party leader Manish Tewari on Wednesday said that if the party was serious about fair elections, it should go ahead and publish the electoral rolls on its website.
In a string of tweets, the Congress MP asked the party to reveal the names of candidates running for the top party posts in a bid to uphold inner party democracy. The reaction comes after the Congress’ central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry told certain media publications that the electoral rolls are not meant for the public.
Also Read: Will launch own party, first unit to be in Jammu and Kashmir, says Ghulam Nabi Azad
“With great respect Mistry ji, how can there be a fair and free election without a publicly available electoral roll?” Tewari tweeted, while adding, “Essence of a fair and free process is names and addresses of electors must be published on the INC website in a transparent manner.”
While quoting Mistry in an interview with The Hindu, Tewari pointed out that Mistry’s suggestion to check the rolls at the PCC office is untenable.
Also Read: Ghulam Nabi Azad quits Congress, blames Rahul Gandhi in hard-hitting letter
“How can someone consider running if he/ she does not know who electors are. If someone has to file his/her nomination and gets it proposed by 10 Congressperson as is a requirement, CEA can reject it saying they are not valid electors,” Tewari further tweeted.
“Why should someone have to go to every PCC office in the country to find out who the electors are? This does not happen in a club election also with great respect,” Tewari wrote.
A few days back, the Congress Working Committee announced that the elections for the party’s top post, if required, will be held on October 17, and the results will be declared on October 19. The filing nominations will begin on September 24, with the last date being September 30.