Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram slammed the Election Commission of India, saying ECI is not a court, and warned that refusal to hear SIR complaints will spell the death of democracy.
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NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister P. Chidambaram has strongly criticised the Election Commission of India (ECI), asserting that it is “not a court” and should not behave like one when handling petitions or complaints.
In a post on X, Chidambaram reminded the poll body of its constitutional role as an administrative body tasked with ensuring free and fair elections, not adjudicating disputes like a judicial authority.
“The ECI is not a court and cannot behave like a court in entertaining petitions or complaints. It is an administrative body tasked with ensuring free and fair elections,”
he wrote.
Chidambaram also clarified the scope of Rule 20(3)(b), stating it applies only when an Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) accepts or rejects a specific claim to be included in the electoral rolls, not in cases of alleged large-scale manipulation of an entire constituency’s voter list.
Referring to a recent newspaper report, he alleged that complaints from Booth Level Agents (BLAs) in Bihar are being ignored during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
“If true, this refusal to entertain complaints during the SIR will spell the death of democratic elections,”
Chidambaram warned.
He emphasised that the Election Commission’s responsibility goes beyond procedural compliance, it must actively safeguard the rights of political parties and voters.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission has once again asked Rahul Gandhi to either provide proof for his recent vote theft allegations or issue a public apology.
This follows a notice from the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) and a follow-up from the Haryana CEO regarding Gandhi’s August 7 press conference. During the briefing, the Congress MP claimed that a voter named Shakun Rani had voted twice, citing what he described as official election commission records.
However, the voter in question has denied the allegation, and officials stated that the tick-marked document displayed by Gandhi was not issued by a polling officer, raising concerns over its authenticity.
In an August 10 letter, the Karnataka CEO requested Rahul Gandhi to share the original documents forming the basis of his claim so that a detailed investigation can be conducted.
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