Distrust of Indian voters, EC: NDA blasts Rahul Gandhi over Bihar voter roll revision row
The Opposition, represented by an 18-member INDIA bloc delegation comprising 11 parties, including Congress, RJD, CPI, CPI(M-L), and Samajwadi Party, met with ECI officials at Nirvachan Sadan on Wednesday.
They alleged that the EC's move was both sudden and ill-timed, potentially impacting marginalised groups and compromising the fairness of the polls.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, intensifying the opposition's stance, also demanded the publication of consolidated, machine-readable digital electoral rolls and CCTV footage from polling booths in Maharashtra, citing transparency concerns.
Reacting to this, Bihar Minister Nitin Nabin accused Rahul Gandhi of questioning the integrity of both Indian voters and the Election Commission.
"Rahul Gandhi is trying to deceive the people of this country. He doesn't trust Indian voters; instead, he trusts those who come from Bangladesh and other places. If he truly had faith in the people of India, he wouldn't cast doubt on them," Nabin told IANS.
Bihar Minister Santosh Kumar Singh also slammed Gandhi for "not trusting a constitutional body" and misrepresenting the voter list revision process.
"The voter list revision work is underway. As per the Indian Constitution, a person can vote only in one constituency. If someone is dead or has a duplicate entry, their name is removed -- this is the EC's responsibility," Singh told IANS.
"If Rahul Gandhi doesn't understand this, he should join PM Modi's class and learn. He keeps raising baseless concerns instead of trusting the EC and the Constitution," Singh added.
BJP national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain accused Gandhi of disrupting the EC's work.
"The voter list is being revised. Why does Rahul Gandhi have a problem with it? Wherever Congress wins, the EC is fine. But if they lose, the EC becomes corrupt in their eyes," he told IANS.
"Rahul Gandhi should stop blaming others for his party's failures. He wants the EC to hand him a certificate of being the most likeable leader, but such validation comes from the people, not institutions. His part-time politics won't be enough to challenge PM Modi or the BJP," Hussain added.
JD(U) senior leader K.C. Tyagi also weighed in and, speaking to IANS, he said, "Rahul Gandhi has already accepted defeat. That's why he is making such accusations. The EC has always tried to ensure accuracy in the electoral process."
The opposition leaders, however, have also questioned the timing of the announcement, pointing out that no mention of a Special Intensive Revision had been made in the EC's public communications over the past six months.
The delegation alleged that for the first time, the EC was asking voters to furnish multiple documents, a move that could lead to the exclusion of poor, marginalised, and rural populations from the voter rolls.
The leaders urged the Commission to defer the revision exercise and ensure that electoral reforms, if necessary, are conducted in a manner that does not affect voter rights or compromise democratic integrity.
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