The Election Commission conducted a much-awaited press conference and media interaction on Sunday afternoon, following the controversy around the Bihar SIR and Rahul Gandhi’s “voti chori” (vote theft) allegations. During the conference, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar dismissed the “vote theft” claims, reiterating that Rahul Gandhi should either submit an affidavit or apologise for making “baseless” allegations. He underscored that all political parties are treated equally by the election watchdog. 

On the topic of SIR in poll-bound Bihar, Kumar noted that political parties have long demanded corrections in electoral rolls, and this exercise is being carried out to address those concerns. He explained that voters and 1.6 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs) nominated by various parties have jointly prepared a draft roll and that the entire process is “transparent”. 

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Kumar said that cases of a person holding multiple voter ID cards usually arise due to migration or administrative lapses, and the election authority is working to correct these errors. Kumar went on to say that houses which have the number “zero” against them on the voter list are because those people either don’t have a home or house numbers have not been allotted to them. 

“Even if a person has votes in two places, he goes to vote at only one place. Voting at two places is a crime, and if any person makes a claim of double voting, then proof is required. Proof was asked but was not given,” the CEC stated. 

However, the opposition claims the CEC remained silent on the most crucial issues and allegedly chose to dodge the questions visibly.

Questions dodged by the Election Commission

Not just one or two or five, but at least 10 questions were dodged by Kumar. While he didn’t cut off reporters, who asked tough questions, in between, he largely avoided answering them. And, in the words of RJD’s Manoj Jha, “no burning question was answered”. 

Kumar started his “question-dodging spree” with the very first question asked by an Asianet journalist, followed by other reporters, including one from The Indian Express.

1- The Asianet journalist asked, “As you know, after Rahul Gandhi’s press conference, there are many issues coming from different states, including Kerala. Will you initiate an inquiry into allegations from all these states?” Kumar replied with “Next”.

2- A freelance journalist, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, said he is “still searching” for answers to his questions by Kumar, just in case he “missed” them. 

“What is the need to do SIR in haste when there is a flash flood in Bihar, and limited time?”

3 – “The Supreme Court ordered the EC to give machine-readable names of 65,000 people.”

4- “Why did you not give it earlier?” he asked.

Again, Kumar chose to ignore and move on.

5- A Dainik Bhaskar journalist quoted Anurag Thakur, who claimed to have concrete proof that the issues raised by Rahul Gandhi also exist in Wayanad, Raebareli, and other constituencies, and asked whether the EC would investigate the matter highlighted by the two political parties.

This question, too, met the same fate – dodged. 

6- Yet another freelance journalist asked, “In Aadhaar, where the biometric system ensures uniqueness for every individual, no such feature is there for EPIC. How will this be graded?” before adding, “When such issues come before us, will the Election Commission investigate them, or will it focus on exposing who the complainant is?”

7 – The Indian Express journalist asked about the ‘not recommended’ option for BLOs on the enumeration form. “7.24 cr elector forms have been received as of August 1. So, how many of these have submitted documents without? Now that 15 days are over, how many more documents have been made for these electors?” she asked. 

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8 – News24 journalist asked: “There are reports that 6.5 million names are being removed, more may be added or removed, but how many new voters have been added? You’ve said that there is no truth in the ‘vote theft’ claims. If this is true and any leader is spreading falsehoods, don’t you have any authority to take action against them?”

9 – A reporter from ABP News asked why SIR is being done when a summary revision had already been conducted earlier this year. He also asked if the 2024 elections were concluded with fake voters and if the NRC is being implemented under the cover of SIR?

10 – Yet another journalist’s question was sidestepped. He asked whether Aadhaar would be considered a valid document for the upcoming SIR. He also said that former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav submitted 18,000 names in his affidavit and asked what action has been taken so far by the EC?

11- Another journalist pointed out that in 2004, the SIR in Arunachal Pradesh and Maharashtra was postponed as elections were imminent, and asked, “Was that principle set aside for Bihar? Why weren’t wider consultations held before initiating this?” The EC did not respond to these questions either.

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Political activist Yogendra Yadav also listed the questions that were dodged during the press conference. 

‘New EC spoke directly, not via sources’

“The Election Commission (EC) has declared living people as dead and even removed individuals from the voter list who had just voted in the Lok Sabha elections. Once again, the EC has refused to provide a digital, machine-readable voter roll and is making excuses for not sharing CCTV footage. While earlier voter fraud was done quietly and secretly, it is now being carried out openly in the name of the SIR,” Rahul Gandhi wrote on X, while sharing a video of himself from his 16-day Voter Adhikari yatra, where he repeated his claims of “vote chori”. 

Jairam Ramesh said on social media that it was the first time that the “new” EC was speaking directly and not via “sources”. 

He added, “Today’s Press Conference came three days after the Supreme Court had rejected every single one of the arguments made by the ECI to prevent the publication of the 65 lakh deleted voters during the Bihar SIR. Despite the vehement and documented objections of the ECl, the Supreme Court directed the publication, in a searchable format…. It had also allowed the use of Aadhaar to be proof of voter identity. The ECl had opposed every single one of these instructions of the Supreme Court.”

He further said that EC did not “meaningfully” answer any of the questions put forth by Rahul Gandhi on voter fraud, adding that EC’s claims that it made no distinction between the ruling party and the BJP are “laughable”.  

‘Rahul Gandhi has no facts’: BJP

Meanwhile, BJP’s Tarun Chugh on Gandhi’s “Voter Adhikar Yatra” said that he is “running a campaign to defame the country’s democracy”. He added, “Rahul Gandhi has no facts, no evidence when the Election Commission asks for evidence.”