Bhubaneswar: AICC general secretary KC Venugopal Sunday alleged that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has turned into a “department of BJP” and super body for ‘Vote chori’.
Venugopal said this while talking to media persons after holding meetings with members of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) and heads of various wings of the Odisha unit of Congress.
‘Vote Chori’ and strengthening of the organisation were discussed at the meeting.
“We, the people of India, want a free and fair election from the ECI, which is the real duty of the Commission. However, the Commission has become a department of BJP. It is no longer a neutral body. They are not doing the work neutrally,” he alleged.
He said the ECI is reluctant to include the Aadhaar card as a document for establishing identity for inclusion in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar, even after the Supreme Court’s directive.
The Congress leader said, “SIR is being made for ‘Vote Chori’, not for democracy. That’s why we are agitating.”
“We are very much into the fight against the BJP government at the Centre and in Odisha. Our duty is to work as the real opposition party in the state. Congress has remained as the only opposition party in Odisha as no other party is playing the role of opposition,” Venugopal said.
He said the Congress party and its leader Rahul Gandhi go to people every day and talk about ‘Vote Chori’, the biggest issue of the country.
In Odisha, apart from ‘Vote Chori’ and unemployment, the Congress party will take up the issues of women, tribal and other people, he said.
To strengthen the party’s base in Odisha, Venugopal said district unit committees will be formed by the end of this month. After that, the state committee will form the block, mandal and booth committees, he added.
Student leader Harishankar Rout, who recently resigned from BJD, joined the Congress party here on Sunday in the presence of Venugopal, Odisha in-charge Ajaya Kumar Lallu, state president Bhakta Charan Das and others.
PTI
