The Aryavarth Express
Agency (New Delhi): The Congress party has heavily criticized the Election Commission (EC) for not disclosing voter data to the public, calling it an unfortunate and condemnable failure to fulfill its constitutional duty. Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi accused the EC of acting like “the election department” of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by ignoring complaints of model code violations by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah while giving generalized directives to political parties.
Singhvi’s comments followed the EC’s affidavit to the Supreme Court, which argued that “indiscriminate disclosure” of polling station-wise voter turnout data would cause chaos within the election machinery amid the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.
Singhvi stated that the EC’s actions undermine its role as a high-level constitutional institution. “This is against the constitutional responsibilities of the institution. This is the Election Commission, not the election agent of any party. When a constitutional institution does not follow the Constitution and shows inclination towards power, then it should be understood that this is the end of democracy,” he said.
The Congress leader emphasized that the EC’s refusal to disclose Form 17C, which contains voter turnout data, is detrimental to public trust in the electoral process. “We are not asking the EC about EVMs (electronic voting machines) but about disclosure of data. Through this stand in its ridiculous affidavit, the EC is falling into the BJP’s trap to orchestrate decimation and destruction of electoral democracy,” Singhvi asserted.
Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal echoed Singhvi’s concerns, questioning the EC’s motives in a post on X. “Form 17C is an important document that informs the public about the voter turnout in a particular booth. What does the ECI have to hide? Why is it hell-bent on completely destroying its credibility, at a time when its attitude towards disclosing voter turnout figures has come under so much doubt?” he asked.
The Congress leaders argued that the EC’s claim that disclosure could lead to data tampering and morphing of images is an inadequate excuse. “This is like a febrile and fertile imagination of the EC running amok,” Singhvi said.
Singhvi also accused the EC of failing to act on complaints regarding inflammatory speeches by BJP leaders. He claimed that nearly a month had passed since complaints about “horrible” speeches were submitted to the EC, yet no action had been taken against the prime minister or the home minister. “Not one word in the EC’s response. Why this fear and hesitation when these two names come up? Why this terror? Not a single warning, not a single prohibition, not a day’s suspension, not any fault finding and rather delightful vague generalities instead,” Singhvi questioned.
He suggested that the EC has become biased and blind to one particular party, accusing it of wanting to become the election department of the government of India. Singhvi called on the EC to rise to its constitutional obligations and ensure transparency and fairness in the electoral process.