EC not afraid of false allegations of 'vote theft': Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar
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New Delhi: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday defended the Election Commission of India (ECI) against allegations of bias and voter fraud, asserting that the poll body makes no distinction between the ruling party and the opposition.
Addressing a press conference at the National Media Centre in New Delhi, he said that every citizen above the age of 18 has a constitutional right to vote, and every political party is registered with the Commission under the same law, leaving no room for discrimination. He made it clear that the ECI is not afraid of false allegations of “vote theft.”
“The Election Commission does not see opposition or ruling party. For us, everyone is equal. Whoever it is, the ECI will never step back from its constitutional duty,” Kumar said, adding that terms such as “vote theft” are an insult to the Constitution and undermine the integrity of the electoral process.
“It is insult to Indian Constitution if election petition is not filed within 45 days but allegations of ‘vote chori’ are raised,” Kumar said.
The CEC emphasized that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was launched in Bihar in response to long-standing demands from political parties for corrections in the voter list. “For two decades, parties have been asking for rectification of errors in the rolls. That is why we started SIR in Bihar. Errors are being corrected with contributions from all parties, and copies of the draft list have been provided to them,” Kumar said.
He further stated that all stakeholders are committed and working hard to ensure the SIR of Bihar is a complete success. With more than seven crore voters of Bihar supporting the Election Commission, he asserted that no question can be raised on the credibility of either the Commission or the voters.
He pointed out that between August 1 and September 1, parties, booth-level agents, and citizens themselves are free to file claims and objections. So far, the Commission has received around 28,000 claims and objections, and corrective measures are under way.
“The Election Commission’s doors are open to everyone equally. Voters, political parties, and booth-level officers are working together by verifying, signing, and even giving video testimonials. These verified documents and testimonials from district party presidents and nominated BLOs are on record. The problem is that either they are not reaching the state or national leadership, or they are being deliberately ignored to spread confusion,” he added.
“In the Lok Sabha elections, more than one crore officials, ten lakh booth-level agents, and twenty lakh polling agents worked on the ground. With such a robust system, can anyone actually steal votes?” he asked.
Furthermore, Kumar warned that using voter images and voter data for political campaigns was unethical and a breach of privacy.
“The Supreme Court has already said that voter privacy cannot be compromised. Some in the public sphere are breaching this,” he said providing justification behind not sharing machine readable voter rolls to political parties.
Kumar stated, “The EC does not fear any false allegation. We are committed to ensure that every poor person, every religion, every caste, and every citizen votes without discrimination. The Commission has stood like a rock, and it will continue to stand like a rock.”
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi has launched the ‘Vote Adhikar Yatra’ from Sasaram, Bihar, claiming widespread irregularities in the Bihar SIR and vowing to fight for voter rights.
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
