Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav, on Sunday launched a sharp attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI), alleging that it was functioning like a “cell” of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Speaking at a press conference during the ongoing ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in Bihar’s Araria, Yadav said that the commission had lost its credibility among citizens.
“Election Commission has become ‘Godi Commission’ now and is working like the BJP’s cell. Rahul Gandhi and I have embarked on this Yatra to save democracy, the Constitution and the right to vote. On the ground level, even in villages, EC's credibility is over,” he said.
Criticising the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in Bihar, the RJD leader claimed that several genuine voters were being falsely recorded as deceased.
“About 50 voters' names have been deleted in every booth. We have presented the evidence in the Supreme Court for alive people shown as deceased,” he added.
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Responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent remarks in Gaya Ji about “infiltrators,” Yadav said the commission itself had no such category in its records.
“No one is better at rumour mongering than the Prime Minister. PM said in Gaya that EC is working to ward off the infiltrators. However, in EC's list of categories and the affidavit given in the SC, there is no mention of infiltrators,” he said.
While addressing a gathering in Gaya Ji on Friday, Modi had assured that the NDA government would not allow illegal immigrants to “take away the opportunities meant for Indians and decide the future of the country.”
Referring to his Independence Day speech, the Prime Minister had said, “From the Red Fort, I have talked about the danger of infiltrators. Bihar is facing danger too. The increasing population of intruders in the country is a matter of concern. In the bordering areas of Bihar, demography is rapidly changing. The NDA government has decided not to let illegal immigrants decide the future of our country.”
Earlier in the day, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is also participating in the Voter Adhikar Yatra, alleged that the SIR exercise in Bihar was an “institutionalised way” of stealing votes.
“In Bihar, SIR is an institutionalised way for vote theft. Lakhs of voters’ names were deleted; the Opposition is complaining, but the BJP has not complained even once because there is a partnership between the Election Commission, the Election Commissioner and the BJP,” Gandhi said.
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