ECI Press Conference Tomorrow: May Clarify Stance on 'Vote Theft' Allegations
New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Amidst the ongoing fierce confrontation with the opposition over the allegations of 'vote theft' and the strict instructions from the Supreme Court, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has called an important press conference on Sunday, August 17 at 3 pm. The agenda of this press conference to be held at the National Media Center in New Delhi has not been officially released, but it is believed that the Commission will clarify its position on the allegations of alleged rigging in the voter list and may make some important announcements regarding the upcoming elections.
This press conference is taking place at a time when opposition parties led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi are constantly questioning the impartiality of the Election Commission. In a press conference on August 7, Rahul Gandhi had claimed that about 1,00,250 votes were stolen there, citing the example of Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha seat in Karnataka. He made serious allegations like duplicate voters in the voter list, fake addresses and names of hundreds of voters at the same address and said that if this rigging had not happened, Congress could have won 16 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka, but it got only 9 seats. Apart from this, he also claimed that the names of lakhs of voters were added abnormally in the elections of Maharashtra and Haryana.
The gravity of the matter increased further when the Supreme Court on Thursday gave an important direction to the Election Commission regarding the voter list of Bihar. The apex court asked the Commission to publish the complete details of 65 lakh voters removed from the draft list during the special revision of the voter list in Bihar and the reasons for their removal. The court also ordered to display this list in panchayat and district level offices and publicise it widely.
However, the Election Commission has already rejected these allegations of the opposition as "factually incorrect and misleading". On August 11, the Commission had said through a fact-check post that the voter list has been prepared under a transparent process. The Commission had refuted many of Rahul Gandhi's claims citing the Chief Electoral Officers of Karnataka and Haryana. Despite this, the opposition's attack continues, after which now everyone's eyes are fixed on this press conference.