Araria (Bihar): RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Sunday accused the Election Commission of working as a “cell of the BJP”, alleging that the poll panel has become “Godi Aayog” (pliant commission).
He was addressing a joint press conference with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya and other representatives of the INDIA bloc constituents at Araria in Bihar.
“The EC has lost its credibility… its special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar is a direct attack on the democratic setup of the country. This is an attempt to steal people’s votes. The EC is working as a cell of the BJP… it has become ‘Godi Aayog’… its officials are behaving like BJP workers,” Yadav said.
“We will not allow the EC to steal votes in Bihar to benefit the BJP in the upcoming polls in the state,” Yadav asserted.
Yadav also slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his recent statement on ‘infiltrators’ and accused him of “spreading lies”.
“The PM’s statement on ‘infiltrators’, at a public rally in Gayaji on Friday, is a lie… he is spreading falsehood. People of Bihar will give a befitting reply to the BJP and its allies for branding them infiltrators,” Yadav said.
Not a single case of detection of illegal immigrants during SIR has been cited by the EC in its affidavit before the Supreme Court, while the PM and other leaders of the BJP raise the issue of “infiltrators” ahead of the assembly polls just to steal votes, the RJD leader alleged.
Responding to journalists’ queries, Dipankar Bhattacharya said, “The EC itself is responsible for the erosion of its credibility. The ‘Kendriya Chunav Aayog’ (central poll panel) now deserves to be called ‘Kendriya Chunauti Aayog’ (central challenge commission). The EC’s SIR exercise is a direct attack on the Constitution.”
