Prove voter roll is clean, before seeking affidavit: Congress to Election Commission

Congress on Monday sharpened its attack on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, demanding that the Election Commission first submit an affidavit in the Supreme Court stating that its voter list is clean before asking the party to do the same.

Speaking during the Voter Adhikar Yatra in Gayaji, Congress media and publicity department head Pawan Khera accused the CEC of speaking like a “BJP spokesperson” during his recent press conference. “As this yatra began, Gyanesh Kumar had to do a press conference. We got to know that there is a Chief Election Commissioner,” Khera said, arguing that the poll body had acted only after questions were raised by the opposition.

Referring to the CEC’s seven-day ultimatum to Rahul Gandhi to submit a signed affidavit backing his allegations of voter list irregularities, Khera said, “He threatened to give an affidavit. He would get scared of threats but we don’t. They don’t believe their own data.”

Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar alleged that the BJP was attempting “vote chori” and “wants to steal the Constitution”. He said names of voters from backward communities in Bihar and Maharashtra had been deleted from the rolls, while “dead people found mention” in the lists.

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“The EC itself is saying there is something wrong in the voter list, which means that it was lying before,” he said, adding that booth-level officers were refusing to accept valid documents from genuine voters. “If the EC gives affidavit, we are also prepared to give an affidavit. They must show their papers first,” he added.

The Congress accused the poll body of refusing to provide voter lists in machine-readable format and claimed that large-scale deletions had taken place ahead of the Bihar elections. Kanhaiya Kumar alleged that 65 lakh names had been removed without proper procedure and said, “The intentions of the EC are not clear. It is busy highlighting the face of the supreme leader.”

“The SIR is a straightforward way of vote chori,” he declared, urging people to fight to “save democracy”.

The CEC had on Sunday stated that Gandhi must submit an affidavit or apologise for his allegations, and asserted, “There is no third option.” The remarks came as the Congress and other opposition parties intensified their campaign against the Special Intensive Revision exercise and launched the ‘Vote Adhikar Yatra’ in Bihar.