Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of hijacking the Election Commission. He raised questions on the functioning of the Commission while demanding cancellation of Delhi and Haryana Assembly elections.
Tezzbuzz Desk– The political controversy has intensified after a report by Indian Express regarding the Election Commission came out. Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Abhishek Manu Singhvi has made serious allegations against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Singhvi said that Gyanesh Kumar has hijacked the Election Commission. He also demanded cancellation of the assembly elections held in Delhi and Haryana.
Singhvi said that CEC has misled the country. He claimed that the Election Commission is a constitutional institution, where decisions are taken on the basis of majority, but according to his allegation, the Chief Election Commissioner misled even his colleagues. He raised the question that if decisions are taken by majority in the Election Commission, then are the rest of the Election Commissioners just dummies and only one particular person is running the Commission.
The Congress leader also alleged that the Election Commission was working like an internal bulldozer. According to him, Gyanesh Kumar not only misled the country but also hijacked the Election Commission by misleading his colleagues. Singhvi alleged that CEC had violated the rules by making changes in Form 6.
Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi also raised questions
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also reacted on this matter. He said that Rahul Gandhi is continuously raising this issue and the Election Commissioners themselves have raised questions about Gyanesh Kumar. Priyanka Gandhi said that where is democracy, it should be investigated and this matter should not be taken lightly.
At the same time, Rahul Gandhi said that voting theft is a crime against the Indian people and it is a direct attack on the Constitution. He made serious allegations against BJP, RSS and Election Commission and said that justice will be done.
In fact, a report by Indian Express has come out regarding the Election Commission, after which Congress has raised questions on the functioning of the Commission. The report claimed that two members of the Election Commission had lodged objections to several decisions, including changes made in the voter list and Form 6 used for new voters.
According to the report, Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had placed their objections on record, terming some of the steps as unauthorized and illegal. On the basis of this report, Congress has raised questions on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Election Commission.
Questions raised on changes in Form 6
According to the Indian Express investigative report, a new section was added in Form 6. In this, information was sought from new voters related to their or their parents and grandparents' names being in the voter list during the previous SIR i.e. Special Intensive Revision.
The report claims that this change was made without amending the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. After this, objection was also lodged within the Election Commission regarding this.
According to the report, Election Commissioner Vivek Joshi had raised objection in May saying that Form 6 is a statutory form and to make changes in it, amendment in the related rules is necessary. Later, Election Commissioner Sukhbir Singh Sandhu also agreed with this objection.
The report also claims that during the last 10 months, both the Election Commissioners lodged objections to certain decisions and steps of the Election Commission on at least 14 occasions. These also include questions raised regarding adding names of voters, removing names and centralization of IT systems related to election data.