Is the ECI Escaping Accountability Amid Serious Allegations?

New Delhi, Aug 16 (NationPress) Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal has sharply condemned the Election Commission of India (ECI) for its actions, stating that the electoral body has exceeded "all limits of shamelessness by avoiding its responsibilities" amidst serious accusations of vote theft and mass rigging.

Venugopal's comments came shortly after the ECI reminded political parties of their duty to ensure accurate voter lists, asserting that "some political parties and their Booth Level Agents (BLAs) failed to scrutinize the Electoral Rolls at the 'appropriate time' and are now voicing concerns about errors, including those from previous rolls."

In a detailed post on X, Venugopal stated: "The ECI has crossed all limits of shamelessness by avoiding all its responsibilities in the face of grave allegations of vote theft and mass rigging. Constitutional authorities are expected to uphold integrity, not hide behind vaguely written press releases to mask their culpability in undermining democracy. The responsibility of uncovering the extent of their vote theft should not rest on political parties and their BLAs."

The senior Congress figure further questioned the ECI's claims that 'utmost transparency is the hallmark of electoral roll preparation', raising a series of inquiries:

• Why are machine-readable rolls denied to parties, while previously uploaded versions of the draft SIR rolls are removed?
• Why is CCTV footage deleted within 45 days?
• Why did the ECI inform the Supreme Court that it is not obligated to explain the deletion of 65 lakh names in the Bihar SIR process?
• Why is the ECI refusing to meet opposition MPs who wish to discuss these matters?

Venugopal added, "The tone of this press release increases suspicion that the ECI will not take meaningful action to address the public's significant concerns about large-scale vote rigging allegedly orchestrated by the BJP-controlled ECI."

He asserted that if the ECI genuinely welcomes scrutiny of electoral rolls, the Chief Election Commissioner and other officials must clarify why they still withhold machine-readable electoral rolls and why CCTV footage is being systematically deleted.

Earlier on Saturday, the Election Commission reiterated that India's electoral roll preparation is a "multi-layered decentralized construct" involving Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Booth Level Officers (BLOs), who are accountable for the accuracy of the rolls.

After the draft voter lists are published, both digital and physical copies are distributed to all political parties and made available on the ECI website, allowing an entire month for claims and objections.

"Had these issues been raised timely through appropriate channels, the related SDMs/EROs could have rectified any genuine errors prior to those elections," the ECI explained.

The Commission reaffirmed its stance that it "continues to welcome scrutiny of Electoral Rolls by political parties and voters" as it aids in refining the rolls.

This clarification comes amid growing political tension regarding voter list discrepancies in Bihar, where the opposition has accused the electoral body of significant oversights.

The timing is particularly notable, as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is poised to commence his yatra in Bihar, a move likely to intensify the political focus on the state’s electoral practices.

The ECI emphasized that transparency remains the core principle of the electoral roll preparation process.