The Election Commission of India (ECI) held a press conference on Sunday at the National Media Centre on Raisina Road in New Delhi, stating that the Election Commission does not discriminate against any political party.
This press conference by the Election Commission comes just hours after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's statement in Sasaram, Bihar, in which he accused the Election Commission of bias. He said that when he held a press conference on 'vote theft,' the Election Commission asked him for an affidavit, but when BJP leaders held a press conference a few days earlier, no affidavit was required from them.
Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar addressed the press conference and presented the Election Commission's position on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar. The Election Commissioner began his address with a message regarding voters' names.
Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said "As per the Constitution of India, every citizen of India who has attained the age of 18 years must become a voter and must also vote. You all know that, as per the law, every political party is born through registration with the Election Commission. Then how can the Election Commission discriminate among the same political parties? For the Election Commission,all are equal. No matter who belongs to any political party, the Election Commission will not step back from its constitutional duty."
ECE emphasised that the Election Commission maintains equal treatment for all political parties. He highlighted the transparent collaboration at grassroots level, where voters, political parties, and booth-level officers work together through comprehensive verification processes, formal documentation, and video testimonials.
Kumar expressed serious concern about communication gaps within political organisations. "It is a matter of serious concern that these verified documents, testimonials of the district presidents of political parties and the BLOs nominated by them are either not reaching their own state level or national level leaders or an attempt is being made to spread confusion by ignoring the ground reality," he said.
The CEC affirmed all stakeholders' commitment to Bihar's Special Intensive Revision success. He concluded that with over seven crore Bihar voters supporting the Election Commission's efforts, no questions can be raised about either the Commission's credibility or the voters' integrity. "When more than seven crore voters of Bihar are standing with the Election Commission, then neither can any question mark be raised on the credibility of the Election Commission nor on the credibility of the voters," he said.
The Election Commissioner said that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar has been initiated in accordance with the demands of all political parties. 1.6 lakh BLAs (Booth Level Agents) have collectively prepared a draft voter list. Copies of this have been given to all political parties. When this list was being prepared, representatives from all political parties had signed it.
