Bengaluru: Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) media and communication department president Ramesh Babu on Monday accused the Election Commission (EC) of “undermining the country’s electoral system” through repeated failures, and of threatening critics with notices. He was speaking at a press conference alongside KPCC social media chief Aishwarya Mahadev, former MLCs, and political analysts.
Babu condemned the EC’s recent notice to Lok Sabha Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, who has alleged large-scale “vote rigging” in states including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra and Karnataka’s Mahadevpur constituency. Gandhi has been highlighting alleged irregularities through the Congress’s Vote Chori campaign.
“In a democracy, transparent elections are non-negotiable. Rahul Gandhi has exposed the EC’s lapses with documentary evidence. Instead of answers, we are getting threats,” Babu said. He reminded that the Congress enshrined universal adult franchise in the Constitution and lowered the voting age to 18 during Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure.
Warning that flawed polls could allow “unfit representatives” to take office, Babu said the EC—established under Article 324 to ensure fair elections—must answer to the people. He alleged it is acting like “a puppet of a political party” and called for Supreme Court intervention.
Babu, a lawyer, said he had written to the EC demanding withdrawal of objections against opposition leaders and immediate correction of “electoral lapses.” “Every citizen has the constitutional right to demand transparent elections,” he stressed.
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