Chidambaram criticises ECI for "behaving like a court" in handling complaints

Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram on Sunday criticised the Election Commission of India (ECI), asserting that it is "not a Court" and should not act like one while entertaining petitions or complaints.

Chidambaram shared a post on X, stating, "The ECI is not a Court and cannot behave like a Court in entertaining petitions/complaints. ECI is an administrative body with responsibility for holding free and fair elections."



Referring to Rule 20(3)(b), he clarified its limited scope, saying, "Rule 20(3)(b) will apply only to the case of a specific decision made by the ERO accepting or rejecting a 'claim' to be included in the electoral rolls. The Rule has no application in the case of alleged massive manipulation in the electoral roll of an entire Assembly constituency."

Citing a report by The Hindu, the Congress leader alleged that complaints from Booth Level Agents in Bihar are not being accepted. "If this allegation is true, SIR and the refusal to entertain complaints will spell the death of democratic elections," Chidambaram warned.

Chidambaram also emphasised that the ECI has a responsibility beyond administrative procedures, stating, "ECI owes a duty to political parties as well as to the voters of this country."

Meanwhile, after Sunday's notice issued by the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Karnataka and the reminder from the CEO of Haryana, the Election Commission has once again reiterated its strict decision that Rahul Gandhi still has time to give a declaration on the first letter of the CEO of Karnataka and a reminder from the of CEO Haryana or apologise to the country.

The Karnataka CEO has asked Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to submit documents to inquire into his "vote theft" allegations against the ECI.

In a letter dated August 10, the Karnataka CEO stated that Rahul Gandhi has claimed to have documents presented during his August 7 press conference from the Election Commission of India records, alleging that a voter, Shakun Rani, voted twice based on data shown by a polling officer.

The polling body further stated that upon preliminary inquiry, Shakun Rhas denied voting twice. The CEO's office also found that the tick-marked document presented by Rahul Gandhi was not issued by the polling officer, raising questions about the authenticity of the claim.

The Karnataka CEO requested Rahul Gandhi to provide the relevant documents that form the basis of his allegation so that a detailed investigation can be conducted by the Karnataka electoral authorities.