Surprised EC ignored complaints raised by Opposition: Kharge

Congress stands for the strength and independence of the poll panel, says Mallikarjun Kharge, in a letter to the Election Commission

The letter on one hand says the EC respects citizen’s rights to ask questions and on the other hand threatens citizens in the form of an advise to exercise caution

MALLIKARJUN KHARGE Congress president

Responding to the Election Commission’s (EC) rebuttal, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday said in a letter to the EC that the Congress was on its side and it was for the o©cials of the EC to decide where they stood.

The EC on Friday issued a public rebuttal to a letter written by Mr. Kharge to his colleagues in the INDIA bloc on the alleged “discrepancies in the voting data” released by the election panel, calling it an “attempt to push a biased narrative under the guise of seeking clariffcations”.

Mr. Kharge said it was “surprising” that the EC chose to respond to a letter addressed to “alliance partners” and not to the commission while ignoring several other complaints given directly to it. He also stated that while he had “misgivings” about the language of the EC’s letter, he would not press on with the issue.

“The letter on one hand says the EC respects citizen’s rights to ask questions and on the other hand threatens citizens in the form of an advise to exercise caution,” he said.

‘Puzzling’ response

Mr. Kharge said he was happy that the EC understood that it had the mandate to conduct smooth, free, and fair elections under the Constitution, yet he found the “lack of urgency” in taking action against “blatantly communal and casteist statements” made by the the ruling party leaders “puzzling”.

Equally surprising, even though factually correct, Mr. Kharge said, was the EC’s comment that it was not “legally bound to publish any voter turnout data at aggregate level of a constituency or State”.

“Many voters who are deeply interested in the election would also like to see the absolute number of votes polled to be put out in the public domain by the EC directly,” Mr. Kharge noted.

Expressing disappointment that in the rebuttal, the EC failed to make any assurance that it would work to “safeguard democracy” and “protect” their own independent functioning, he said, “To make it more clear, the Congress party is on the side of the commission and stands for the strength and independence of the commission. The o©cials of the commission should now decide where they stand.”