Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram criticised the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday. He said the ECI “is not a Court” and should not act like one when handling petitions or complaints.
In a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), he said, “The ECI is not a Court and cannot behave like a Court in entertaining petitions/complaints. ECI is an administrative body with responsibility for holding free and fair elections.”
Chidambaram on Rule 20(3)(b) and its limits
Chidambaram explained the scope of Rule 20(3)(b). He said, “Rule 20(3)(b) will apply only to the case of a specific decision made by the ERO accepting or rejecting a ‘claim’ to be included in the electoral rolls. The Rule has no application in the case of alleged massive manipulation in the electoral roll of an entire Assembly constituency.”
Referring to a report by The Hindu, Chidambaram raised concerns that complaints from Booth Level Agents in Bihar are not being accepted. He warned, “If this allegation is true, SIR and the refusal to entertain complaints will spell the death of democratic elections.”
Chidambaram also stressed the Election Commission’s duty beyond just administrative tasks. He said, “ECI owes a duty to political parties as well as to the voters of this country.”
Rahul Gandhi asked to submit documents or apologise
Following notices from the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of Karnataka and Haryana, the Election Commission repeated its firm stand. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has been given time either to submit a declaration based on the Karnataka CEO’s letter and Haryana’s reminder or to apologise to the country.
The Karnataka CEO asked Rahul Gandhi to provide documents related to his claim of “vote theft” against the ECI.
In a letter dated August 10, the Karnataka CEO noted that Rahul Gandhi said he had documents presented during his August 7 press conference from the Election Commission records. These alleged that a voter named Shakun Rani voted twice, based on data shown by a polling officer.
The polling body said that after a preliminary check, Shakun Rani denied voting twice. The CEO’s office also found that the document Rahul Gandhi showed with tick marks was not issued by the polling officer. This raised doubts about the claim’s authenticity.
The Karnataka CEO has asked Rahul Gandhi to provide the documents that support his allegations. This is so the Karnataka election authorities can carry out a detailed investigation.