Politics

Congress Criticizes Election Commission’s Affidavit as Deceptive

By TNN

NEW DELHI – Congress described the Election Commission’s affidavit presented to the Supreme Court as “deceptive, deceitful and duplicitous.” The party said Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has been making unilateral decisions and that the EC’s statements about Form 6 are contradictory. Speaking on X, Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh said that, according to the EC, major SIR orders were formally approved by all three Election Commissioners. He added that two commissioners had formally objected to grave violations and illegal actions taken under orders from the CEC, but their objections were ignored. The commissioners were not informed and only learned of the decisions from the news, Ramesh said, calling it unilateral decision‑making rather than unanimity. Ramesh also criticised the EC’s stance on the alleged illegal amendment to Form 6, saying the EC first claimed the Supreme Court had approved a new declaration attached to Form 6, then changed its position after the Court contradicted that claim. He said the EC now claims the new declaration form is separate and that Form 6 was not amended, but that the declaration is mandatory for online submission of Form 6. Finally, Ramesh noted the EC had been silent on the illegal centralisation of electoral rolls through ECINET, which overrides the statutory authority of electoral registration officers, a point that had been raised by the commissioners.