NEW DELHI, March 10: Opposition parties led by the Congress on Monday demanded a detailed discussion in Parliament on the doubts that have arisen on the integrity of the electoral process after alleged discrepancies in voter lists, with Rahul Gandhi raising the issue in the Lok Sabha.
Speaking during Zero Hour in the lower house, Gandhi said that the voter lists “are being questioned across the country” and the entire opposition has been demanding a discussion on the matter.
“Questions have been raised by the opposition in one voice in every state, including Maharashtra,” he said.
Congress president and the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge sought to raise the issue during Zero Hour but was not allowed, after which the opposition walked out from the House.
“The abrupt and unwarranted deletion of voters, the presence of duplicate EPIC numbers, and other such crucial issues affecting the integrity of our electoral process require urgent attention and discussion in Parliament,” Kharge said in a post on X.
“Given the serious threat these large-scale irregularities pose to the free and fair conduct of elections in our country, it is imperative for the Modi government to allow a comprehensive discussion on the matter in Parliament,” he also said.
The opposition MPs raised slogans after Rajya Sabha deputy chairman of the House, Harivansh, said a dozen notices under Rule 267, which calls for setting aside the business of the day to take up discussions on urgent matters, have been rejected.
Citing the rejection, Harivansh did not allow Kharge to make his submission.
Highlighting the issue of alleged “faulty” voter lists in the Lok Sabha, Trinamool Congress member Kalyan Banerjee demanded action against the Election Commission and said that the poll body had “failed” to conduct fair and transparent elections over the past few years.
Speaking during Zero Hour, he said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had first flagged the issue of numerous instances of “duplicate” voter cards and the explanation given by the Election Commission was a clear breach of the Conduct of Election Rules itself.
The “faulty” voter lists were a matter of serious concern and amounted to a breach of Rule 20 of the Conduct of Elections Rule, the TMC member said.
“The Election Commission, all the time, says they have conducted transparent and fair elections. It is clear that there were no transparent elections for the last few years.”
“There was no fair election for the last few years, not at all,” he said.
“The Election Commission has not done a proper act and appropriate proceedings should be brought against the Election Commission for this reason,” the Trinamool Congress leader said. (PTI)
