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New Delhi: A day after Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar set a seven-day deadline for Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi to either submit an affidavit with proof of alleged irregularities in the electoral rolls or apologise to the nation for making "baseless" claims of vote theft, the Congress on Monday accused the Election Commission of evading its responsibilities.
Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Congress MP from Jorhat, Gaurav Gogoi, said the CEC had chosen to attack political parties rather than respond to the Opposition's legitimate concerns.
"The Election Commission has remained silent on crucial issues such as voter additions in Maharashtra, discrepancies in rolls in Mahadevapura, video data deletion," Gogoi said.
He further questioned the panel's neutrality, claiming it was "operating under the supervision" of officials aligned with a political party. "Officials will come and go, but we will keep a watch on them and take appropriate steps at the right time," he added.
On the Opposition's move to bring an impeachment motion against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, Gogoi said discussions had taken place and that an appropriate decision would be taken at the right time.
Meanwhile, SP MP Ram Gopal Yadav alleged that while the Commission has been repeatedly demanding affidavits from Rahul Gandhi, it had failed to act on several complaints supported by affidavits submitted as far back as 2018. "The Commission continues to ignore our complaints," he said.
On Sunday, CEC Gyanesh Kumar had asserted that the poll panel "does not discriminate between political parties" and performs its duties strictly in accordance with the law.
