Chief Election Commissioner Kumar making things easy for BJP in Bihar: Congress

The Congress on Thursday accused Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Ganesh Kumar of making things easy for BJP while not accepting Aadhaar as document of proof for the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of voter roll in poll-bound Bihar.

The party also claimed that already an exercise to make voter list better was held from January to May this year.

"BJP found that it cannot win elections in Bihar with public blessings. Thus, it resorted to votebandi overnight in connivance with CEC Ganesh Kumar," party's Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru told reporters in an intercation at party's 24 Akbar Road office.

"Today Aadhaar is considered the strongest document in the country. Despite SC's order, EC is not ready to accept it. If you are saying that Aadhaar is false, why is it fake for Bihar voter list only? Why isn't it fake for Parliament entry, airport entry, for bank KYC form. Not accepting it in Bihar means that EC wants to make things easy for BJP in the state and difficult for the people. CEC Ganesh Kumar has discredited the dignity of the EC by its ‘Tughlaki’ order," said Allavaru.

"This voter is a list of Ganesh Kumar and BJP. This voter list is not of the people of Bihar. We won't accept it," he said.

He also accused BJP leaders of filling voter forms of people themselves at several places in Bihar.

"We believe whatever statistics are given by EC are all false. The order issued by EC on June 24 is not being followed in Bihar. That is why we are saying that whatever figures EC is putting up on its website are all fake," Allavaru said.

He said that it can be checked by taking a sample of 1,000 people from each segment in Bihar whether the procedure issued by EC has been followed or not.

"If even 25 per cent of the procedure is found right, we are ready to accept it," he said.

He claimed the truth is whatever certificates have been asked are not with the people.

"BLOs on their own are signing up the forms. At some places BJP presidents are filling up the forms. At some places the forms are filled without even being asked from the people. Nobody is given a receipt. The biggest weakness of this exercise is that at the end discretion of adding or removing anyone from voter list lies with the electoral registration officers," he said.

In his target on CEC Kumar, he said SIR exercise was "forced" on Bihar.

"...when country has got CEC means that CEC Ganesh Kumar together with BJP is openly stealing votes of poor, youth, women, underprivileged sections, backwards, Dalits and Maha Dalits in Bihar. Right to vote is snatched from them," he said.

He added that in the Bihar voter list capturing is being done.

"In earlier times booth capturing used to happen, in today's times in Bihar CEC is doing voter list capturing," he said.

He said that the move would be protested by every constituent of INDIA-bloc on roads, inside Bihar Assembly, inside Parliament and courts.

"This is a fake exercise. We won't accept it. We are discussing all options," he said.