Omar Abdullah Seeks Corrective Action After Report on EC Internal Rifts
Omar Abdullah calls for corrective action after a report revealed repeated objections by two Election Commission members to decisions taken without their knowledge.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has called for corrective action following a report that two of the three members of the Election Commission of India recorded objections at least 14 times over ten months to decisions taken without their knowledge.
Speaking to reporters at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre, Abdullah welcomed the investigation and said it raised serious questions about how the poll panel has functioned. He pointed to long-standing complaints about the Commission's working, noting that delimitation had been a concern in Jammu and Kashmir even before the debate over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls spread to the rest of the country.
He said the process had been seen as opaque and flawed, and alleged that it was designed to benefit one political party and its allies. The internal divisions now visible within the Commission, he added, suggest something is amiss.
After the report, the Election Commission acknowledged the existence of written notes, observations, technical suggestions and internal checks and balances, describing them as part of its decision-making process. It did not address the specific concerns raised by the two Commissioners.
Abdullah said the Commission's own statement, confirming differences, showed that the situation was not right and required correction. He warned that if public faith in elections is lost, democracy itself loses its foundation, since elections are its basis. He urged the members of the Election Commission and the Government of India to reflect on the matter.
Hours after the report, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi accused the ruling BJP and the poll panel of treason, calling vote theft a crime against the Indian people and a direct attack on the Constitution. Asked about those remarks, Abdullah said that if people entitled to vote are prevented from doing so, and if removal from the voter list becomes grounds to deny them passports, it amounts to an attack on the Constitution. He said Rahul Gandhi's statement was absolutely right and that steps must now be taken to rectify the situation.