Poll panel biased, CEC didn't answer opposition's questions: CPI's Sandosh Kumar

New Delhi, Aug 18 (PTI) CPI leader P Sandosh Kumar slammed Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Monday for not answering any of the opposition's questions during a press conference and accused the poll panel of being "biased" towards the ruling BJP.

In a statement, the CPI leader, while commenting on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, said that leaving out 65 lakh voters is not just due to technical lapses, but "amounts to stripping citizens of their fundamental democratic right".

"The Communist Party of India strongly condemns the massive irregularities, manipulations, arbitrary deletions and additions reported from electoral rolls across the country.

"The much-hyped press conference of the ECI turned out to be a damp squid and answered none of the questions raised by us," Sandosh Kumar said.

At a press conference in the national capital on Sunday, CEC Kumar said the electoral roll revision going on in Bihar is aimed at removing all shortcomings in voter lists and expressed concern that some parties are "spreading misinformation" about it and firing from the poll panel's shoulder.

The CEC rejected as "baseless" the allegations of double voting and "vote theft", while asserting that all stakeholders are working to make SIR a success in a transparent manner.

CPI leader Sandosh Kumar said, "The Election Commission of India (ECI) today functions less as a constitutional authority and more as an institution for Erasing Citizens of India, betraying its mandate to safeguard democracy." Expressing shock over the "scale of electoral fraud", he said, "From hundreds of voters registered in a single small room to the infamous 'House No. 0' cases in Bihar and Karnataka, the evidence is clear." "Instead of taking responsibility, the Election Commission offers vague denials. The truth is that the ECI has become complicit in a deliberate project of disenfranchisement," he said.

The CPI leader further said, "The double standards of the commission are glaring. When an opposition leader pointed out manipulations in Karnataka, he was asked to submit an affidavit under oath. But when a BJP leader made similar claims, no such proof was demanded." "This is not impartial conduct, it is naked bias in favour of the ruling BJP. The referee is playing as a forward for the BJP and as a goalkeeper when the BJP's deceit is questioned," Sandosh Kumar said.

He said that in Bihar alone, more than 65 lakh names were deleted "arbitrarily" and millions were erased from the voter list without any notice or recourse.

"These are not just technical lapses; they amount to stripping citizens of their fundamental democratic right," the CPI leader said and demanded full disclosure of irregularities, restoration of deleted names, and fixing accountability. PTI AO NSD NSD