NEW DELHI: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday said that he is going to write another letter to the Election Commission of India (ECI) asking reasons for the rejection of his allegations of mismanagement and delay in release of voter turnout data by the commission.
“I am going a write a letter again asking the reasons for the rejection but I will not release it to the press before it reaches there (ECI).” Kharge said.
This comes a day after the poll body accused Congress chief of creating impediments in the conduct of free and fair elections and said that Kharge’s allegations are unwarranted, without facts and ‘reflective of a biased and deliberate attempt to spread confusion’.
The commission said it finds a ‘pattern’ in a series of past and present irresponsible statements from Congress. Calling it ‘disconcerting’, the commission added that with all facts in place, Congress President is attempting to push a biased narrative. It categorically rejected Kharge’s contentions, calling them insinuations and innuendos.
Moreover, the commission also refuted any delay in giving turnout data and points out that updated turnout data has been always higher than poll day and provided factual matrix from 2019 general election onwards.
In his previous letter to INDIA bloc leaders, Kharge highlighted the delay in the release of the final voting percentages for the initial phases of the Lok Sabha elections, suggesting that such delays cast doubts on the credibility of the data provided by the poll panel.
Kharge questioned the rationale behind EC’s delay in releasing the voter turnout data for the first two phases of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, which were made public 11 days after the first phase and 4 days after the second phase. Additionally, he sought clarification from the Commission regarding the reasons for the delay.
Kharge had called upon bloc leaders to collectively voice their concerns against discrepancies, stressing the significance of upholding democracy and ensuring the impartial functioning of the Election Commission. He expressed apprehensions about potential attempts to manipulate the final results, alleging that the ruling party, led by PM Modi and the BJP, might resort to extreme measures to maintain power.
“I am going a write a letter again asking the reasons for the rejection but I will not release it to the press before it reaches there (ECI).” Kharge said.
This comes a day after the poll body accused Congress chief of creating impediments in the conduct of free and fair elections and said that Kharge’s allegations are unwarranted, without facts and ‘reflective of a biased and deliberate attempt to spread confusion’.
The commission said it finds a ‘pattern’ in a series of past and present irresponsible statements from Congress. Calling it ‘disconcerting’, the commission added that with all facts in place, Congress President is attempting to push a biased narrative. It categorically rejected Kharge’s contentions, calling them insinuations and innuendos.
Moreover, the commission also refuted any delay in giving turnout data and points out that updated turnout data has been always higher than poll day and provided factual matrix from 2019 general election onwards.
In his previous letter to INDIA bloc leaders, Kharge highlighted the delay in the release of the final voting percentages for the initial phases of the Lok Sabha elections, suggesting that such delays cast doubts on the credibility of the data provided by the poll panel.
Kharge questioned the rationale behind EC’s delay in releasing the voter turnout data for the first two phases of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, which were made public 11 days after the first phase and 4 days after the second phase. Additionally, he sought clarification from the Commission regarding the reasons for the delay.
Kharge had called upon bloc leaders to collectively voice their concerns against discrepancies, stressing the significance of upholding democracy and ensuring the impartial functioning of the Election Commission. He expressed apprehensions about potential attempts to manipulate the final results, alleging that the ruling party, led by PM Modi and the BJP, might resort to extreme measures to maintain power.