Congress Raises Concerns Over Election Commission's Integrity in Nagaon Bypoll

Allegations Against the Election Commission

Nagaon, Sept 24: Rakibul Hussain, the MP from Dhubri, has raised serious concerns regarding the Election Commission of India (ECI), linking these issues to the Congress party's apprehensions about the electoral process in the Nagaon bypoll. He has called for the immediate suspension of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

During a press conference held at Rajiv Bhawan in Nagaon, Hussain referenced a report from a national newspaper dated September 23, which indicated that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected to decisions made by the three-member panel led by Kumar on at least 14 occasions over the past ten months.

“The opinions of all three Election Commissioners are crucial. If two commissioners agree and one disagrees, the majority opinion should prevail. However, Gyanesh Kumar has been making decisions contrary to the majority view,” Hussain stated.

He connected this issue to previous allegations of 'vote chori' (vote theft) made by the Congress, asserting that the reported disagreements within the Commission have intensified the party's worries regarding the electoral rolls.

“We have been vocal about vote chori, and now we see discrepancies within the Commission itself. There are issues in the electoral process, and instances of vote chori are evident,” he claimed.

Hussain alleged that a significant number of names had been removed from the electoral rolls, citing figures of approximately 27 lakh and 65 lakh votes.

“We demand the immediate suspension of Gyanesh Kumar. In cases where discrepancies have occurred and votes have been annulled, those votes should be reinstated. New elections should be held wherever necessary,” he insisted.

He also reiterated the Congress's concerns regarding the conduct of the Nagaon by-election and the involvement of the former Nagaon district commissioner, Devasish Sharma.

Hussain alleged that the Congress had raised objections prior to the bypoll regarding the management of election preparations.

“Before the Nagaon elections, we alerted the public about how the then Nagaon election officer, who was also the district commissioner, was taking actions that we believed could corrupt the election process,” he remarked.

He added that there would have been no issue if Sharma had resigned from his administrative role to pursue a political career beforehand.

“If he intended to enter politics, he could have resigned three months in advance. We would not have objected. Our concern lies with the actions taken during the election preparations,” Hussain explained.

Hussain also brought up an incident from September 21 in Samaguri, alleging that the Congress had warned election and police officials about potential attacks on its leaders and workers.

“We informed the returning officer about the threat of an attack in Barma. He assured us that measures would be implemented. We followed up the next day and were told that patrolling would be conducted,” he recounted.

He mentioned that he contacted the Superintendent of Police multiple times after receiving alerts about possible attacks and was directed to Additional SP Rosy Talukdar.

“I inquired if we could proceed towards the area where the clash occurred. She confirmed that we could go and that adequate police presence was available. Thus, we proceeded and ended up in the midst of the clash,” he stated.

Hussain further alleged that the police's questioning methods were being conducted in a way that could distract from identifying those responsible for the attack.