Amid the ongoing warfare of words with the Congress implicit match-fixing allegations successful the 2024 Maharashtra polls, the Election Commission connected Sunday said the main absorption enactment was the lone nationalist outfit to person dropped retired of a planned gathering with the sheet to sermon outstanding concerns astir voting and different predetermination processes.
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EC sources contiguous said presidents of 5 retired of six nationalist parties had attended these meetings with apical canvass sheet officials during May.
“The Congress is the lone nationalist enactment that did not travel for the gathering scheduled with the committee connected May 15. They dropped retired of the gathering and didn’t revert to us. Now their person Rahul Gandhi is attacking america from outside. He should halt this guerrilla warfare, and travel and speech to us. For immoderate concerns astir voting helium has, helium should constitute to america truthful that we tin respond officially and formally,” EC sources told The Tribune today.
Gandhi had yesterday dared the EC to people consolidated, digital, machine-readable elector rolls for the astir caller elections to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas, including Maharashtra, and merchandise each post-5 p.m. CCTV footage from Maharashtra polling booths.
The officials contiguous said it was unusual that adjacent 24 hours aft helium archetypal attacked the EC again connected Saturday, Gandhi had neither written to the committee nor sought clip for a meeting.
“As per procedure, it is nationalist cognition and everyone knows that immoderate law body, including the EC, volition formally respond lone erstwhile Rahul Gandhi writes to them. Also, arsenic per EC instructions, CCTV footage of polling stations tin ever beryllium scrutinised by the competent precocious tribunal successful immoderate predetermination petition. The EC does this to support the integrity of elections and privateness of voters. Why does Gandhi himself oregon done his agents privation to invade the privateness of voters, which is to beryllium protected by the EC arsenic per electoral laws? Does Gandhi not spot adjacent the precocious courts now?” apical EC sources said, adding that the Congress should respond to the invitation for a gathering which was owed successful May.
After concerns were raised astir predetermination processes successful Maharashtra and Haryana, the EC had met with the presidents of 5 nationalist parties successful one-on-one interactions astatine the canvass sheet bureau here.
The gathering with AAP nationalist convener Arvind Kejriwal happened connected May 15; BSP main Mayawati connected May 6; BJP president JP Nadda connected May 8; CPM wide caput MA Baby connected May 10 and National People’s Party main Conrad Sangma connected May 13.
“The EC had extended the invitation to the Congress and its enactment president Mallikarjun Kharge for an enactment connected May 15. The Congress connected May 7 responded, requesting a deferral of the projected enactment citing information challenges prevailing astatine the clip of Operation Sindoor. They person not travel backmost to america with a caller date,” EC officials said.
EC information amusement that done March 2025, 4,719 all-party meetings person been conducted by the canvass sheet to code concerns governmental parties — nationalist and others — whitethorn have.
These see 40 meetings by main electoral officers, 800 by territory electoral officers and 3,879 by electoral registration officers engaging implicit 28,000 representatives of assorted governmental parties. “Allegations that the EC has met absorption queries with soundlessness and aggression alert successful the look of facts,” EC officials said today.
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