The Congress on Saturday launched a scathing attack at Prime Minister Narendra Modi (PM) and Home Minister (HM) Amit Shah on National Voters’ Day, saying the independence of the Election Commission (EC) has been “severely compromised” by them.
Referring to National Voters’ Day, party general secretary in-charge of Communications Jairam Ramesh said, “Today has been celebrated as National Voters Day since 2011 to mark the day on which the EC came into being 75 years ago on January 25, 1950.”
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Recalling the contribution of the first Chief Election Commissioner Sukumar Sen, he said, “The EC is a Constitutional body. Its first Chairman was the legendary Sukumar Sen whose role in establishing the foundations of our electoral democracy was crucial. He was the sole Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) for eight years. His ‘Report on the First General Elections in India 1951-52’ is a classic.”
Ramesh said there have been other distinguished CECs among whom TN Seshan stands tallest and whose contributions were seminal.
“Sadly, over the past decade, the professionalism and independence of the EC has been severely compromised by the PM-HM duo. Some of its decisions are now under challenge in the Supreme Court. Its stand on the concerns raised on the recent assembly elections in Haryana and Maharashtra has been shockingly partisan,” he wrote on X.
Taking a jibe at the EC, the Congress MP further said, “There will be a lot of self-congratulation today but that will not obscure the fact that the EC as it has been functioning makes a mockery of the Constitution and is an insult to the voters themselves.”
It may be mentioned that earlier this month, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi slammed the EC and asserted that there is a serious problem with our election system and it is the poll panel’s duty to be transparent.
