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NEW DELHI — Following the claims by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s tweet regarding the discrepancies in voting turnout data, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday termed it as highly “undesirable” in the middle of the ongoing election process.
The Commission, in a letter to Kharge on Friday, said that the claims appear to be designed to create confusion for the smooth conduct, and free and fair elections which is the mandate of ECI under the Constitution.
Earlier, Kharge had posted a letter, dated May 6, on X regarding the discrepancies in voting turnout data released by the ECI and the non-publication of registered voters.
“From the material that you have placed on the said platform, it is discernible that under the guise of the need to seek clarifications from the Election Commission of India, in effect, you have articulated statements which are actually verifiable and thus within the knowledge to be incorrect, aimed at pushing a biassed narrative, in the face of verifiable facts, as well as settled judicial decisions by the Apex Court,” the EC letter to Kharge reads.
The Commission claimed that Kharge has raised the issue of the credibility of ECI and termed it to be at "an all-time low."
“You then made an anecdotal statement that the ECI perhaps for the first time in history, delayed the release of the final percentage of voting. Then you have cited, without being specific, ‘various media reports’ which in your assessment has cast ‘a dark shadow on the functioning of ECI’. You have used the so-called ‘inordinate delay’ in the release of final voting percentages alleging that this is creating serious doubt on the ‘quality of the data’,” the letter reads.
“In particular, you have stated that such a “high increment” of voting percentages in data, possibly raises an issue with the EVMs as well,” it read.
“It is surprising, that you have also chosen to make an innuendo that: ‘Is there an issue with the EVM.’ The commission notes that you, yourself, have chosen to indulge in utterances at this critical juncture with the similar effect of discrediting the election process and therefore being forced to find a pattern in such actions. A trend of irresponsible statements attacking or attempting to degrade the credibility of the elections in terms of men and material by a National Political Party is disconcerting,” it reads.
“The bonafide of any suspicion raised by you should necessarily flow from data analytics that you may have undertaken using the available polling station data in your possession,” the EC said while stating that in Kharge statement, no such detail is available.
It says that the record also does not reflect that candidates fielded by Congress raised these concerns at the close of the poll or during scrutiny to the extent alluded by you.
“No repoll on these counts were sought or ordered. A clear divergence between the actionable option not being exercised, if you believed your statements to be true, and, yet the statements. being made becomes manifest,” the letter stated.
The ECI has told Kharge that his statements cross the realm of “ill-founded” apprehensions or “anxiousness” of the campaign or political space and enter into the realm of specific and “ascribable knowledge” of facts and thus appear “devoid” of bonafide.
“Therefore, to uphold the integrity of the election process, in the face of aggression on the vitals of live conduct of election coming from your statements, the commission categorically rejects your allegations and advises you to exercise caution and refrain from making such statements,” it added.