EC violating law through ECINet system: Jairam Ramesh – The Tribune

Ramesh said the EC should not have needed to establish whether its own system complied with the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, questioning the circumstances in which Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had allowed the system to be introduced.

He said ECINet was launched on January 22 with the stated objective of enhancing “transparency, credibility and public trust”. “ The EC assured the country that the system had been developed in accordance with the Constitution, Representation of the People Acts and the Registration of Electors Rules. All of this was a lie,” Ramesh said.

His remarks came after the EC recently announced that a panel would review ECINet to certify its compliance with the relevant Acts and Rules.

Ramesh alleged that the system had effectively curtailed the statutory authority of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) by restricting their access to the voter-roll system and by allowing decisions taken by EROs to be overridden in states such as Goa and West Bengal.

“Both these laws establish that the ERO has statutory authority over the electoral roll,” he said, alleging that the ECI under Kumar had violated these provisions.

The Congress leader also referred to a September 24 communication from the Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer to the Election Commission seeking correction of what he described as an “illegal state of affairs”.

The ECINet controversy comes amid the Opposition’s broader confrontation with the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The Congress and other INDIA bloc parties have alleged that the revision process could lead to wrongful exclusion of voters and have repeatedly questioned the functioning of the poll panel.

Ramesh said the issue would now be taken beyond Parliament and political platforms, claiming that the INDIA bloc, citizens and civil society organisations would take to the streets to demand accountability.

“Starting today, the INDIA janbandhan, citizens and many civil society organisations will hit the streets across the country demanding accountability for these violations of the law and the Constitution,” he said.

The Election Commission, in its September 26 press note, had said it was constituting a committee comprising senior officials and an independent expert to review ECINet and ensure compliance with the relevant legal provisions. The poll panel had also said field officers had role-based access to the system and that further flexibility required by them would be made operational.

Ramesh, however, questioned why such safeguards were being considered only after objections had been raised, arguing that the statutory powers of EROs could not be altered through a technology platform.

Congress to hold organisational meet

The Congress has convened a key organisational meeting of its general secretaries, state in-charges, PCC presidents and heads of frontal organisations on October 5 amid the INDIA bloc’s campaign over electoral rolls and the EC.