Mumbai, Sep 23 (SocialNews.XYZ) As a report of 'dissent' within the Election Commission of India (ECI) surfaced, Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut said that it exposed the "illegal work" done by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar in the electoral process.
He claimed that the Opposition tried to raise these concerns several times; however, "no one was ready to listen".
The controversy emanated from a leading daily publishing an investigative report, claiming that on 14 occasions over a period of 10 months, two Election Commissioners had objected "on record" to steps taken by the Commission.
According to the report, the objections related to a range of decisions and processes, including allegations that the commissioners were kept in the dark about certain matters as well as issues concerning the addition of new voters and deletion of names from electoral rolls.
Speaking to IANS, Raut said, "This is a big revelation. We have been repeatedly saying these things on public platforms. Now, this has been exposed. Two members of the Election Commission -- Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi -- have done the biggest work to save democracy. Gyanesh Kumar is doing illegal work within the Election Commission and outside as well."
"How these people, how Amit Shah won the elections in West Bengal and Bihar, has now come to light. They won with the help of Gyanesh Kumar's criminal activities. The changes made in Form 6 regarding SIR are illegal; this is what the two Election Commissioners are saying. But objections were raised, complaints were made, yet no one is ready to listen," he said.
Hitting back at Raut, BJP MLA Ram Kadam said that the Opposition has the right to ask questions; however, it is essential to understand that the Election Commission is a constitutional institution and the SIR process is transparent before commenting on the same.
"The Election Commission is a constitutional institution. We have to understand the importance of SIR. Similar names are mentioned 10 times in the list; fake names should be removed, and genuine voter names shall be included," Kadam said.
"This is what the SIR is about. The Opposition wants to play blame games on this simple matter. Should a person who is declared dead be included in the voter list? Why should it be so?" he asked.
Calling it a "very transparent" process, the BJP MLA said, "If a person is listed multiple times, then they should be removed. Politics is about criticism and blaming the other person; that's natural. But removing the counterfeit names cannot be a political issue. Anyone who calls it a political issue has the wrong intention. Should bogus voting continue?"
"Does Sanjay Raut want the bogus voters to continue to remain in the voter list? What would Sanjay Raut support? The names that have come up more than once should remain, or should they be removed?" he asked.
Kadam asserted that people who are against removing the fake names do not have clear intentions. "Every person can vote once, isn't that the rule? Then why do they want the fake names to remain? Can Sanjay Raut answer that?" Kadam added.
The ECI, however, rejected the daily's report and said that every officer in the institution is "fully authorised" to offer suggestions for improving the electoral system, while underlining that several "unanimous decisions" have been taken by the poll body in recent months.
The Commission said that differing views, observations, and suggestions are a normal part of deliberations within any institution and pointed out that the decision-making process involves not only the three Election Commissioners but also officials across the organisation.
The poll panel said it has introduced around 40 new initiatives and undertaken several electoral reforms, including electoral roll revision, including the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), across the country, with the agreement of all authorised officers.
Source: IANS
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