SIR row: K C Venugopal alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ by PM Modi, CEC and Amit Shah

New Delhi: Congress general secretary K C Venugopal on Monday stepped up his attack on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, alleging a “criminal conspiracy” to “sabotage” democracy amid the ongoing row over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Venugopal alleged that the Election Commission, which is expected to conduct free and fair elections, had instead been turned into a “party committee of the BJP” under Kumar.

He also claimed that the other two Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, had raised concerns over decisions taken by the poll panel.

Venugopal backs Rahul Gandhi’s allegations

Speaking to reporters in Delhi, Venugopal said Rahul Gandhi’s earlier allegations about voter deletions had been supported by the concerns reportedly raised by the two Election Commissioners.

“Rahul Gandhi doesn't tell any lie. He tells the truth only. That has been established now by two Election Commissioners, not by Congress leaders,” Venugopal said.

He also accused BJP president and Union Minister J P Nadda of trying to “whitewash” Gyanesh Kumar after Nadda criticised the Opposition’s allegations against the Election Commission.

Nadda had accused Opposition leaders of misleading the public and said that repeating a falsehood multiple times did not make it true.
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Row over objections by two Election Commissioners

The controversy intensified after a report said Sandhu and Joshi had recorded objections at least 14 times over 10 months on issues related to electoral rolls and other Election Commission decisions. The reported concerns included voter registration and deletion, changes to Form 6 and access to electoral-roll databases.

The Election Commission has rejected the suggestion that the reported objections represented institutional dissent. It said the observations and inputs were part of the normal administrative and decision-making process, particularly at the draft stage, and maintained that decisions, including those related to SIR, were unanimous.

The poll panel has also taken up several issues raised in the internal communications, including matters relating to voter registration forms, electoral-roll database access and IT oversight.

Venugopal alleges conspiracy

Venugopal alleged that the reported differences within the poll panel showed that Kumar had bypassed the observations of the other two Election Commissioners.

He also referred to the electoral processes in Bihar, Haryana and Maharashtra, claiming that questions had been raised over the conduct of elections in these states.

Venugopal further said Congress workers were holding protests at more than 1,000 locations across the country on Monday as part of the party’s campaign against the CEC and the SIR process.
Also read | EC extends Delhi SIR claims and objections deadline to October 30; final voter list on December 4 

Congress, INDIA bloc to decide next steps

The Congress Working Committee is scheduled to meet on Tuesday to discuss the Election Commission issue and decide the party’s next course of action.

Venugopal said an INDIA bloc meeting would follow on September 30 to discuss the alliance’s response.

On Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s reported absence from the INDIA bloc meeting, Venugopal said Yadav had a prior engagement related to Rajya Sabha election nominations. He said senior leaders from the Samajwadi Party would attend the meeting.

Venugopal also said parties outside the INDIA bloc could join the campaign, describing it as a fight to protect the “foundation of democracy”.

Nadda hits back at Opposition

Earlier on Monday, Nadda accused the Opposition of trying to create confusion over the Election Commission and said the poll panel had exposed what he called its “lies”.

He criticised Rahul Gandhi and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal for making allegations against constitutional and autonomous institutions.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has separately demanded the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar, while several Opposition parties have also called for his removal.

The Election Commission, meanwhile, continues to maintain that decisions taken by the full three-member panel, including those concerning SIR, were unanimous.

(With agency inputs)