1. Political parties have accused the ECI on deletion of 65 lakh voters in Bihar and the sudden addition of 1 crore voters in Maharashtra alleging these moves benefited the ruling BJP
2. Laxmi R Hebbalkar accused the EC of acting like a BJP agent, citing central agency targeting of opposition leaders and unequal treatment in electoral processes

In the backdrop of criticism over its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters in Bihar state, the Central Election Commission held a media conference today and rebutted the allegations being made against it by the opposition political parties. Speaking at the conference, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar clarified that the EC always respects and implements the laws. He said that the usage of the term ‘vote theft’ by the opposition political parties was an insult to the Indian constitution and condemned the comments of the vote theft.

The CEC said that the ruling and opposition parties were  equal to the commission and added that  every citizen , who has completed 18 years of age, has the right to vote while making it clear that the EC will not show any discrimination  among the citizens. He said that it was not right to criticize the EC and added that all parties had been included in the Bihar SIR. He clarified that the some political parties were deliberately spreading false propaganda about the exercise being carried out, and that the EC would act with full responsibility. He revealed that there was time till September 1 to register as voters in Bihar and added that he had not backed down from his responsibility.

He said that he was not afraid of the false allegations being made against him and alleged that the opposition parties were misleading the voters. He said that the voters and political party leaders were doing their part in removing the errors from the draft voters’ list. He said that the time for claims and objections in the draft list was from August 1 to September 1 and added there were still fifteen days left for the deadline.

He suggested that all the political parties should submit their  forms to rectify the deficiencies in the draft voter’s list. He clarified that the Election Commission was equally open to all.

He said that if more than 7 crore voters in Bihar support the Election Commission, then no one can question the credibility of the EC. He said that for the last two decades, all political parties had been demanding improvement in the voter’s list and added that the SIR had been started from Bihar to fulfill this demand. 

Normally, the Election Commission does not hold an official press conference on any issue other than the announcement of the Election Schedule. But today, the EC held a meeting for the first time.