NEW DELHI: Congress on Sunday launched a sharp attack on the the Election Commission of India (ECI), calling its claim of making "no distinction" between the ruling party and the opposition "laughable."
Congress party leader Jairam Ramesh sharing a post on X, accused the poll body of being "thoroughly exposed" for its "incompetence" and "blatant partisanship," after it dismissed the opposition’s allegations of "vote chori."
"Today, a short while after Shri. Rahul Gandhi launched the INDIA janbandhan’s Voter Adhikar Yatra from Sasaram, the CEC and his two ECs began by saying they make no distinction between the ruling party and the opposition. This is laughable, to put it very mildly, in the face of mountains of evidence to the contrary," Jairam posted on X.
"Notably, the CEC answered none of the pointed questions raised by Rahul Gandhi meaningfully. The ECI stands thoroughly exposed not only for its incompetence but also for its blatant partisanship" he added.
These remarks came shortly after Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the two election commissioners held a press conference, dismissing the opposition’s claims of a "vote theft" conspiracy linked to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar ’s electoral rolls.
Kumar had said that the Commission had "no opponents and no supporters" and treated all political parties equally.
"You all know that as per the law, the birth of every political party takes place only through registration with the Election Commission. So how can the EC discriminate among those very parties? For the EC, there is no ruling side or opposition side; all are equal. For the past two decades, almost all parties have been demanding corrections in the electoral rolls, and to fulfill this very demand, the EC has started the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) from Bihar," the CEC said.
"In the SIR process, all voters, along with the 1.6 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs) nominated by various parties, have jointly prepared a draft roll," he added.
The Congress leader however, dismissed this defense.
Ramesh alleged that the EC was shifting responsibility, claiming that, "yesterday, the ECI had released a ‘Press Note’, the purpose of which was to place the onus of voter list correction on political parties and individuals. This Press Note had also been met with uniform criticism from the opposition parties and widespread criticism from the general public."
He further claimed that the real test for the Election Commission lies in whether it complies with the Supreme Court’s directives.
"All that matters now is simply this: will the ECI implement, in letter and spirit, the Supreme Court’s orders of August 14th, 2025 on the Bihar SIR process? It is constitutionally bound to do so. The nation is waiting and watching," he stated.
The Congress general secretary hit back at CEC Kumar's warning to leader of opposition, Rahul Gandhi over accusations of bias, saying that, "As far as the CEC’s threats to Rahul Gandhi are concerned, all that needs to be said is that the LoP in the Lok Sabha had simply stated facts revealed by the ECI’s own data."
The CEC had earlier warned that, "An affidavit will have to be given or an apology should be made to the country. Teesra koi vikalp nahi (There is no third option). If the affidavit is not received within 7 days, it means that all these allegations are baseless."
Ramesh further linked the timing of the EC’s press briefing to the recent SC ruling, saying, "Today’s Press Conference also came three days after the Supreme Court had rejected every single one of the arguments made by the ECI to prevent the publication of the 65 lakh deleted voters during the Bihar SIR."
Despite the vehement and documented objections of the ECI, the SC directed the publication, in a searchable format, of these 65 lakh voters with all their details. It had also allowed the use of AADHAR ID’s to be proof of voter identity. The ECI had opposed every single one of these instructions of the Supreme Court, he added.
The Congress party’s official X handle also amplified the criticism, sharing a series of posts declaring that the “Election Commission lied again.”
Earlier on August 7, Rahul Gandhi had presented Congress’ research on voting in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura Assembly (part of Bangalore Central constituency), alleging "vote chori" (vote theft) of over 1,00,000 votes through duplicate entries, fake addresses, and bulk registrations.
He also accused the poll body of "destroying evidence" by deleting CCTV footage from polling booths, claiming that the EC preserved such recordings only for 45 days after the polls unless the results were legally challenged.
Congress party leader Jairam Ramesh sharing a post on X, accused the poll body of being "thoroughly exposed" for its "incompetence" and "blatant partisanship," after it dismissed the opposition’s allegations of "vote chori."
"Today, a short while after Shri. Rahul Gandhi launched the INDIA janbandhan’s Voter Adhikar Yatra from Sasaram, the CEC and his two ECs began by saying they make no distinction between the ruling party and the opposition. This is laughable, to put it very mildly, in the face of mountains of evidence to the contrary," Jairam posted on X.
"Notably, the CEC answered none of the pointed questions raised by Rahul Gandhi meaningfully. The ECI stands thoroughly exposed not only for its incompetence but also for its blatant partisanship" he added.
These remarks came shortly after Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the two election commissioners held a press conference, dismissing the opposition’s claims of a "vote theft" conspiracy linked to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar ’s electoral rolls.
Today, the Election Commission of India held a press conference. This was the first time this ‘new’ ECI was speaking directly and not planting through sources.
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) August 17, 2025
Yesterday, the ECI had released a ‘Press Note’, the purpose of which was to place the onus of voter list correction on…
Kumar had said that the Commission had "no opponents and no supporters" and treated all political parties equally.
"You all know that as per the law, the birth of every political party takes place only through registration with the Election Commission. So how can the EC discriminate among those very parties? For the EC, there is no ruling side or opposition side; all are equal. For the past two decades, almost all parties have been demanding corrections in the electoral rolls, and to fulfill this very demand, the EC has started the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) from Bihar," the CEC said.
"In the SIR process, all voters, along with the 1.6 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs) nominated by various parties, have jointly prepared a draft roll," he added.
The Congress leader however, dismissed this defense.
Ramesh alleged that the EC was shifting responsibility, claiming that, "yesterday, the ECI had released a ‘Press Note’, the purpose of which was to place the onus of voter list correction on political parties and individuals. This Press Note had also been met with uniform criticism from the opposition parties and widespread criticism from the general public."
He further claimed that the real test for the Election Commission lies in whether it complies with the Supreme Court’s directives.
"All that matters now is simply this: will the ECI implement, in letter and spirit, the Supreme Court’s orders of August 14th, 2025 on the Bihar SIR process? It is constitutionally bound to do so. The nation is waiting and watching," he stated.
The Congress general secretary hit back at CEC Kumar's warning to leader of opposition, Rahul Gandhi over accusations of bias, saying that, "As far as the CEC’s threats to Rahul Gandhi are concerned, all that needs to be said is that the LoP in the Lok Sabha had simply stated facts revealed by the ECI’s own data."
The CEC had earlier warned that, "An affidavit will have to be given or an apology should be made to the country. Teesra koi vikalp nahi (There is no third option). If the affidavit is not received within 7 days, it means that all these allegations are baseless."
Ramesh further linked the timing of the EC’s press briefing to the recent SC ruling, saying, "Today’s Press Conference also came three days after the Supreme Court had rejected every single one of the arguments made by the ECI to prevent the publication of the 65 lakh deleted voters during the Bihar SIR."
Despite the vehement and documented objections of the ECI, the SC directed the publication, in a searchable format, of these 65 lakh voters with all their details. It had also allowed the use of AADHAR ID’s to be proof of voter identity. The ECI had opposed every single one of these instructions of the Supreme Court, he added.
सबको पता है pic.twitter.com/wU2IlHDFnt
— Congress (@INCIndia) August 17, 2025
The Congress party’s official X handle also amplified the criticism, sharing a series of posts declaring that the “Election Commission lied again.”
चुनाव आयोग ने फिर झूठ बोला pic.twitter.com/TMaFd4vN8b
— Congress (@INCIndia) August 17, 2025
Earlier on August 7, Rahul Gandhi had presented Congress’ research on voting in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura Assembly (part of Bangalore Central constituency), alleging "vote chori" (vote theft) of over 1,00,000 votes through duplicate entries, fake addresses, and bulk registrations.
He also accused the poll body of "destroying evidence" by deleting CCTV footage from polling booths, claiming that the EC preserved such recordings only for 45 days after the polls unless the results were legally challenged.
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