Artistic CEC Rajiv Kumar Responds to Opposition's Critiques
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New Delhi, Jan 7 (NationPress) Just a month ahead of his retirement, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar displayed his poetic flair while revealing the election timeline for the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday.
In his distinctive manner, the CEC took shots at critics who questioned the integrity of the electoral body, addressing accusations of bias while hinting that his tenure is nearing its conclusion.
“Sab swaal ahmiyat rakhtein hai, jawab to banta hai; aadatan kalam bandh jawab dete rahe, aaj ruh baruh bhi banta hai; kya pata kal hum hon na hon, aaj jawab toh banta hai (I am prepared to address all your inquiries in person today as you never know I might not be here tomorrow),” stated CEC Rajiv Kumar, while clearing doubts about alleged tampering of EVMs.
Shortly after, he shared another poetic insight to convey a strong message to skeptics of the Election Commission of India’s transparency and fairness. “Aaropon or iljimat ka daur chale, koi gila nahin; jhooth ke gubbaron ko bulandi mile, koi shikwa nahin; har parinam mein parman dete hain, par woh bina saboot shak ki nayi dunia raunak karte hain aur shak ka ilaaj toh hakim Turkman ke pas bhi nahin (I have no complaints if you level accusations against me or inflate balloons of falsehoods and I am ready to provide proof for every outcome. But you consistently raise new doubts, and even the most knowledgeable have no remedy for this).”
In what seemed to be his final electoral appearance, the CEC also proposed two recommendations for potential reforms in the electoral process.
He emphasized the necessity of engaging the 30 crore missing voters in the electoral process, suggesting that the nation should deliberate whether remote voting—trials for which have already been conducted—could be a solution for those unable to cast their votes.
Regarding the safeguarding of voter identity at each polling station, which remains vulnerable due to the non-mixing of EVMs, he proposed a method involving a “totalizer” that could compile the total votes from all EVMs at the conclusion of each counting round, obscuring voting details linked to individual EVMs or booths.
As he prepared to take a step back from the demands of bureaucratic life, focusing on rejuvenation in the Himalayas and supporting underprivileged students, the CEC remarked, “I aspire to reconnect with my roots and dedicate my time to charity. I hope for divine assistance in achieving this.”
