The Rahul EC neutrality debate escalated sharply as Rahul Gandhi questioned the independence of India’s electoral system. He also showed concern about structural adjustments that weaken organisational independence nationally. In addition, he suggested Parliament needs to urgently investigate the transparency of elections right away. In that regard, he has created an argument with three core questions and therefore has closely examined both the power to appoint and the protection of surveillance. Rahul voiced his belief that those who are currently in leadership positions manipulate the systems that control elections. Finally, he cautioned that without accountable Institutions, democracy will deteriorate.
Rahul asked why the CJI left the selection panel. Moreover, he highlighted his exclusion as meaningful evidence. He said he held no influence inside committees. Rahul Gandhi asked, “Why was the CJI removed from the selection panel for appointing election commissioners?” He further asked, “Why is the Prime Minister and Amit Shah so keen on choosing exactly who the election commissioner would be?” He then questioned immunity granted through the 2023 law. He asked, “Why would the Prime Minister and Home Minister give this gift of immunity to the Election Commissioner?”
Moreover, he criticised rules allowing CCTV destruction after elections. He asked, “Why was a law put in place that allows the Election Commission to destroy CCTV footage 45 days after the election?” He argued explanations involving data concerns were misleading. He said, “It is not a question of data; rather, it is a question of stealing the elections.” Rahul then listed four electoral reform demands immediately.
Opposition intensifies pressure as mistrust drives parliamentary confrontations
Rahul Singh urged to obtain machine-readable voter lists (or MRLs) before elections, as well as to reverse any rules related to destroying CCTVs. He stated that experts from the Opposition should be allowed access to the EVM architecture. Singh also demanded that the protection provided by immunity for election commissioners be removed, and warned these officials that there could be repercussions for their actions regarding accountability in the future. He said, “Don’t worry, we are going to change the law… and we are going to come and find you.” Concerns raised by opposition leaders were shared among the various party leaders.
They expressed doubts regarding EC’s impartiality in their recent activities. In addition to this, the leaders expressed that it is important to restore public confidence in electoral institutions. Manish Tewari has called for a complete national count of VVPATs using VVPATs. Several others have requested that voting revert back to being counted on paper ballots immediately. Supriya Sule, from NCP, highlighted the level of misconception created by all the debates being created by public mistrust. She further stated that the EC has allowed the question of their impartiality to be greatly heightened. Members of the opposition accused multiple agencies of being taken over by the institutions.
Debate reveals widening divide as Rahul EC neutrality concerns rise
According to Rahul, the actions of the EC were consistent with the interests of those in power, and the campaigns were run based on the needs of the Prime Minister. He also alleged that there was vote theft in many states. In addition, he believed the discrepancies in the SRI (Systematic Voter Registration Identification) were further proof of manipulation. Finally, he pointed out the issue of duplicate registrations in many states and concluded that in order for democracy to thrive, there must be transparency, accountability, and integrity within government institutions.
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