DC Edit | Rahul Must Prove EC Wrongdoing

The neutrality of the Election Commission of India has been suspect for quite some time. The timing of declaration of elections and their phasing, the selective action and inaction on the complaints against political leaders violating model code of conduct and the total silence on its part when Prime Minister Narendra Modi went about spewing communal venom while campaigning in the last Lok Sabha elections are enough to put this important constitutional body under a cloud. The haste with which it is going ahead with the special intensive revision of voters’ list in Bihar despite the Supreme Court repeatedly expressing reservations about it only helps lengthen its shadow.

It is the right and responsibility of the Opposition in these circumstances to raise a question on the conduct of the EC, but sadly, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi does not inspire much confidence when he does the same. He has been levelling allegations of wrongdoing at the EC, starting with those involving the functioning of the electronic voting machine. The fact remains that the EC has been able to offer explanations that can satisfy most people, including the apex court. The allegations about vote theft are the latest. The Congress cried foul post elections to the Maharashtra and Haryana Assemblies but has not been able to come up with evidence that can sustain these charges.

Mr Gandhi now says he has a “bomb” on “vote theft” in his possession. He must be suggesting that he has information about misdeeds by the EC with respect to the Maharashtra election. If indeed he has such information, then as a person with the responsibility to audit it, he must publish those valuable details and demand that the law take its course. For, Mr Gandhi has no right to keep the info to himself, has he? And if he does not have this mysterious information, then his statement carries similar weight to those he has made on the same subject earlier, and he and his advisers must seriously ponder whether such strategies of attack really does strengthen the democratic institutions in our country, including the EC, and of course, the office of the Leader of the Opposition.