New Delhi, Oct 9 (PTI) The Congress on Friday accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of carrying out “vote chori” in Uttar Pradesh and claimed that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is a “mischievous instrument” wielded by the CEC to perpetuate the rule of the “Diabolical Duo”.
Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh shared an opinion piece from The Hindu which claimed that the SIR was termed an exercise to “purify” the electoral rolls, but in practice, it is riddled with methodological flaws and ad hoc rule changes, resulting in the deletion of a large number of genuine voters.
Sharing the article on X, Ramesh said, “Here is a thorough analysis of how SIR is destroying the letter and spirit of Article 326 of the Constitution and deliberately disenfranchising crores of Indians.”
“SIR has been a mischievous instrument wielded by the CEC to perpetuate the rule of the Diabolical Duo,” Ramesh said in an apparent swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
In another post, Ramesh cited a Reporter’s Collective report to allege that the “vote chor” is now carrying out “vote chori” in Uttar Pradesh through the SIR.
“The conspiratorial duo of Modi-Shah is resorting to their last weapon of vote theft out of fear of their certain defeat in Uttar Pradesh. The Reporter’s Collective’s report reveals that in UP, names were removed on a massive scale from the voter list, new voters were added in a suspicious manner, and the entire process involved serious violations of rules,” Ramesh said.
“First, mass deletion. During SIR in Uttar Pradesh, 2.96 crore voters were removed. Among the states where SIR has been conducted so far, this is the largest number. Second, suspicious voter addition. Around 16 lakh voters were added through Form 6, but according to the law, the details of the voters being added should have been made public,” he said in his post in Hindi on X.
The details of these 16 lakh voters were not made public, and even now the UP CEO (Chief Electoral Officer) has refused to provide their information, Ramesh claimed.
In this matter, the UP CEO and ECI are trying to pass the buck onto each other, he said.
“Both institutions should clarify where this special request came from and on whose orders all this happened?” Ramesh said.
“Third, mysterious deletion. After SIR hearings, 85,854 pre-filled Form 7s were generated through the ERONet software, so that voters’ names could be removed. These Form 7s were generated in the name of EROs (Electoral Registration Officers) with their signatures, after which they had virtually no option left but to remove those names,” the Congress leader said, adding that no clear reason was given for these deletions either. This process was also against the rules, because how can an ERO be both the one raising the objection and the one deciding on that very objection at the same time, Ramesh said.
According to the rules, objections cannot be recorded in Form 7 after the deadline for claims and objections has expired, he said.
“In other words, the scam happened at all three levels -removing 2.96 crore names on a massive scale, adding 16 lakh voters in a suspicious manner, and removing 85,854 names in a mysterious way,” Ramesh alleged, citing the report.
“Rahul Gandhi ji and the entire opposition are out on the streets against the Modi-Shah sponsored vote theft, and this fight is now heading toward its decisive phase. In the end, CEC Gyanesh Kumar wants to steal the people’s mandate of Uttar Pradesh’s public and drop it into the BJP’s lap, but now this game is over,” he said.
The opposition’s aggressive push comes days after a report by The Indian Express said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi objected on record at least 14 times over the last 10 months, mostly to decisions and orders mostly related to SIR.
Under fire over objections raised by two of its commissioners, the EC had asserted that differing views and observations are a normal part of deliberations in any institution and that all its orders carry full legal sanction and follow established statutory procedures.
The INDIA bloc finalised a joint action plan on the SIR row, including holding rallies and “save democracy” marches.
Intensifying their protest, the INDIA bloc leaders on Thursday staged a sit-in at Rajghat, Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial, to highlight what they alleged was “hijacking” of the country by Modi, Shah and Kumar through a criminal conspiracy of “vote chori.”
It was the third consecutive day of protests against the CEC and alleged vote theft by the opposition leaders, who pledged to continue their agitation until the CEC resigns. PTI ASK ZMN
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