New Delhi, Sep 23 The BJP on Wednesday said the reports about three election commissioners sharing differing views during official deliberations show that the Election Commission is functioning in a democratic manner.
The ruling party also said the reports demolish the opposition’s allegation that the poll panel is “dictatorial”.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, party spokesperson Sambit Patra said, “The media reports saying that the election commissioners shared differing views in official deliberations is a reflection of pure democracy.”
“If there is no communication or exchange of views among the election commissioners who conduct polls, the opposition parties would allege ‘dictatorship’ and call them ‘yes men’ of the government,” he said.
Reacting to Congress’ demand for impeachment of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gynesh Kumar, Patra said that “it wants to impeach everybody – from the Lok Sabha speaker to CEC – but it is the opposition and the Congress which is continuously being impeached” by the people of the country.
“This is the beauty of India. The country has seen Emergency. People know what happened then,” he added.
The remarks came amid a row over a report in The Indian Express, which claimed that questions were repeatedly raised on issues related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls within the three-member Election Commission by two of the three election commissioners – Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
According to the report, Sandhu and Joshi formally objected, on record, at least 14 times over the last 10 months to decisions taken and orders issued, they say, without their knowledge.
The BJP leader said the Election Commission’s statement on the issue shows that neither the poll panel nor any other constitutional body in India is under “dictatorial rule”.
“It shows that the Election Commission and all other constitutional bodies are functioning democratically and upholding the democracy of the country,” Patra said.
“All the opposition parties, which have been calling the EC and the government dictatorial, have fallen into their own trap today,” the BJP leader claimed, slamming the opposition for levelling “baseless” allegations against the poll panel and the government.
Patra also accused the Congress and its allies of running a “smear campaign” against the EC and other constitutional bodies to “discredit” them, as they are not able to win elections by defeating the BJP’s “politics of development”.
He also rejected Congress’ allegation of “voice chori”, saying elections have been conducted “very smoothly” since 2014, in which many parties won and lost, including the BJP.
“As far as SIR is concerned, the Supreme Court has delivered a major final judgement directly upholding its legality. Even if you don’t have faith in the Supreme Court, the Election Commission or even the EVMs, you must have faith in people whose votes ensure who wins or loses elections,” Patra said.
“This is the best time for democracy, where we have debates even in one of the highest constitutional bodies – the Election Commission of India,” the BJP leader added.
He also claimed that election commissioners had joined the Congress in the past, contested elections on its ticket and were even made ministers.
“Malpractices and scams originated within the Congress. Irregularities are a hallmark of the party,” he said.
Asked about Congress’ allegation that attempts are being made to protect Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Patra said, “We are not trying to save anybody. We are trying to save democracy. We are trying to demolish the smear campaign against constitutional bodies.
“From the EC to the judiciary, the Congress and its allies have not spared any constitutional institution in India in its bid to discredit them with baseless claims.
(PTI News)
