The Opposition is currently contemplating the possibility of moving an impeachment notice against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of 'vote chori' (vote theft), according to informed sources.
Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi stated that a decision on the matter would be made "very soon." However, the impeachment process for a CEC is a complex one, requiring a two-thirds majority in both houses of Parliament, a number that the Opposition currently does not possess.
Meanwhile, CEC Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday mounted a strong defense of the integrity of India's voting process, directly addressing and refuting allegations of electoral fraud leveled by the Congress party and its leader, Rahul Gandhi. Without explicitly naming Gandhi, Kumar stated that the "PPT presentation" the Congress leader had used offered a "wrong analysis" of voter data. He issued a challenge to the Leader of the Opposition, urging him to either submit an affidavit supporting his claims within seven days or "apologise to the nation."
During a press conference on August 7, Rahul Gandhi had raised concerns about various alleged irregularities in the electoral rolls, including duplicate entries, voters listed with a house number of zero, and dozens of voters registered at the same address.
Kumar dismissed these claims, characterising them as misrepresentations. He provided examples from the Mahadevapura assembly segment in Karnataka’s Bangalore Central constituency, a region where the Congress had, in fact, secured a victory in the 2023 state polls. He also clarified that no further complaints regarding the draft list of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar would be accepted after the September 1 deadline.
Addressing the specific charge of duplicate voting, the Election Commission sought to clarify the distinction between a voter's name appearing in more than one location and the actual act of casting multiple votes. "It is one thing to have a voter's name in more than one booth, and quite another to actually cast votes at two places," Kumar explained, underscoring that voting more than once is a criminal offense.
He further criticized the lack of evidence to support the accusations. "When asked for proof, no answer was given. The Election Commission wants to make it clear that it fearlessly stood, stands and will stand like a rock with all the voters of all religions and all sections of society," he said.
Kumar also emphasized that the electoral rolls and the act of voting are governed by distinct laws and managed by different officials. He directly challenged Gandhi's assertion that the presence of duplicate names amounted to "vote chori," stating, "When a voter goes to vote and presses the button, he can press it only once vote theft cannot happen."
Also Read: ECI hits back at ‘vote theft’ allegations, calls them misleading
In response to claims from the Congress and its ally RJD that the SIR in Bihar was being conducted with undue haste, the CEC countered that the Representation of People Act mandates the rectification of voter lists before every election. He noted that the outreach to over seven crore voters in Bihar began on June 24 and was largely completed by July 20. Citing historical precedent, Kumar pointed out that the last SIR in Bihar, conducted in 2003, also took place during the monsoon season from July 14 to August 14.
Appealing to the 12 political parties involved in the revision through their booth-level agents (BLAs), Kumar urged them to identify and report any errors before the September 1 deadline, after which the draft list would be finalized. He also clarified that allegations of 22 lakh voter deaths over a six-month period were misleading, explaining that these figures represented a backlog of unreported deaths spanning nearly 20 years.
In a direct and pointed rebuttal to Rahul Gandhi’s allegations, Kumar stated, "One needs to have the stomach to listen to and understand the truth." He reiterated that the SIR was precisely designed to ensure cleaner voter rolls and reaffirmed the Commission's commitment to upholding the sanctity of the electoral process in the world's largest democracy.
Also Read: Affidavit or apology: CEC gives Rahul Gandhi seven-day ultimatum
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