Election Commission does not work itself, now allegations about Pawan Kheda: Abhishek Manu Singhvi

New -delhi, September 10 (IANS). Abhishek Manu Singhvi, senior leader of the congress and chairman of the party’s law, Human Rights and RTI division, raised serious questions about the Electoral Commission on the Special Intensive Review (SIR) of the voters list in Bihar. At a press conference held on Wednesday, he discussed several important points on the role of the Electoral Commission, saying that this institution, despite being constitutional, does not execute its obligations impartially. Singhvi said the Electoral Commission is a constitutional institution, but it is a pity that the commission only takes steps when the court orders. He said that the Electoral Commission should have taken the initiative itself in the case of Sir in Bihar, but that did not happen. Singhvi claimed that the Electoral Commission did not trust the public during the Sir process. He reminded that the earlier process was started a year before the Lok Sabha election and two years before the meeting election, but this time the process was suddenly started without any preceding information or warning at the end of June. When the question was asked about this, the commission gave no clear answer. He also said that the Sir in Maharashtra and Arunachal was postponed, and why not done in Bihar, it remains a serious question. Singhvi also questioned not to include Aadhaar card in the Sir process. He said that when Aadhaar is accepted in all other schemes such as ration, pension and taxes, it is wrong to consider it invalid in the Sir process. He said the authorities, despite the High Court’s orders, did not give a notice and the officials who accepted Aadhaar. He claims that 65 lakh voters in Bihar were removed from the list, but the Electoral Commission gave no reason for this. The commission’s attitude on this was also not clear and the public was kept in uncertainty. Singhvi said that Pawan Kheda constantly questioned the functioning of the Electoral Commission, which is why the commission targeted him. In the case of electoral cards in two places, the commission issued a notice on Pawan Kheda on September 2. He claimed that the commission not only sent notice, but also published personal information from Pawan Kheda and his wife in newspapers. The language of the notice was also like conviction and slander. He said this step was taken with a feeling of revenge. Singhvi explained in detail that Pawan Kheda switched to Jungpura in 2017 and that he submitted the form to transfer the name to the new address and submitted it to the commission. He also has the receipt on which the date of August 18, 2017 was recorded. The commission itself recorded its name on the new address. In such a situation, it is now claimed that they have voter cards in two places. Singhvi said the Electoral Commission should see why the work he should have done in 2017 is still incomplete. Instead, the commission takes steps on Pawan Kheda, which emphasizes his defects in the public interest. He said that the commission should have been ashamed not to do his job properly, but on the contrary, he tries to spoil the image of a responsible leader. -Ians wait/dsc