New Delhi, Sep 25 (PTI) Amid the raging SIR row, the Congress on Friday accused the Election Commission of carrying out an “unprecedented attack” on voter equality by allegedly creating a specific ‘Mark VIP’ feature in the BLO Application and urged Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to turn “approver” or face trial.
The opposition party asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Kumar will not be spared for their “misdeeds”.
Congress’ media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said all decisions, including SIR, taken by Kumar are “null and void”.
“We are sure the Supreme Court is watching what is happening and will take the right steps at the right time,” he said at a press conference here.
Khera said a shocking investigation by an English daily has revealed that, in the middle of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the Election Commission introduced a specific ‘Mark VIP’ feature in the BLO App.
The feature allows booth level officers to identify and mark certain Indian electors as VIPs, he said at a press conference.
“The Apple App Store records the change as ‘Mark VIP elector-related changes’. What sort of VIP culture is this?
“PM Modi repeatedly projected himself as the pradhan sevak and claimed that his government had ended VIP culture. Under whose instructions then is the Election Commission operating a system that distinguishes between VIP voters and ordinary voters?” Khera said.
Why is the Election Commission segregating Indian voters, and on what grounds, he asked.
Citing media reports, Khera claimed that election officials were directed to identify ministers and their families, celebrities, judges, advocates, bureaucrats including IAS and IPS officers, media persons, social workers and others as VIPs.
He said those issued notices in Delhi included former deputy prime minister L K Advani, former vice president Jagdeep Dhankhar, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Election Commissioner S S Sandhu, former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, CBI Director Praveen Sood, former Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi and former Delhi lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung among others.
Earlier, former Navy chief and Vir Chakra awardee Admiral Arun Prakash and his wife were also served notices during SIR in Goa, he said.
Even Bharat Ratna Professor C N R Rao appeared in SIR discrepancy list over a name mismatch, Khera said.
Is it merely a coincidence that after SIR began generating embarrassing headlines involving senior BJP leaders, constitutional functionaries, ministers, former service chiefs and other eminent citizens, a mechanism to specifically ‘Mark VIP’ electors has now surfaced, he asked.
Democracy rests on the principle of one person, one vote and one value, and there cannot be one electoral process for the powerful and another for the ordinary citizen, he argued.
“There cannot be one queue for the common voter and a VIP fast lane for the privileged. There cannot be an SIR for ordinary Indians and a special facilitation mechanism for VIPs,” he said.
“We want to say to Gyanesh Kumar, it’s done bro. Heed Rahul Gandhi’s advice — resign and turn approver,” Khera said, adding that if Kumar does not do so, he should be ready to face trial.
Neither PM Modi, Shah, nor Kumar would be spared, he said.
Khera said the EC must answer who ordered the segregation of Indian voters.
“This unprecedented attack on voter equality, which is against the Constitution of India, could not have taken place without the go-ahead of the BJP-RSS and the Modi government? Was the view of the two election commissioners also taken in passing the order?
“What is the statutory authority for distinguishing between VIP and ordinary electors?” he said.
He asked what exactly a VIP voter gets that an ordinary voter does not.
“Can VIP electors be included without submitting enumeration forms? Are their documents collected at home?
“Are their cases processed first? Are they exempted from appearing at hearing centres? Publish the complete protocol for VIP and marked electors,” he said. PTI ASK ASK KSS
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