The Election Commission will conduct a press conference at 3pm on Sunday, August 17, for the first time since the Congress and other Opposition parties accused the poll body of fudging electoral rolls in Bihar, in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
While the subject of the press conference has not yet been specified, officials said it is related to allegations levelled against the Commission.
The poll body's press conference comes on a day when Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal are planning to launch 'Vote Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar, condemning the intensive electoral roll revision in the poll-bound state.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has alleged the poll body indulged in massive manipulation of electoral rolls across the country, in favour of the ruling BJP. Gandhi has levelled charges of double voting and massive addition of ineligible voters in constituencies where the BJP won by a thin margin.
The Opposition has also strongly objected to the special intensive electoral roll revision in Bihar. Opposition charged the exercise will lead to disenfranchisement of 65 lakh voters.
The poll body's press conference also comes after the Supreme Court directed it to publish the list of voters excluded from the draft electoral roll after the Bihar SIR. The top court also ordered the Commission to publish reasons for deletion.
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Gandhi has repeatedly accused the poll panel of voter-data fudging and alleged that there was "vote theft" in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Haryana. The Commission has dared the Opposition leader to sign an oath to initiate a probe into his allegations. The poll body has also sought an apology from Gandhi for "misleading the nation."
Rahul Gandhi will launch 'Vote Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar on Sunday. The yatra will cover 1,300km across 25 districts in Bihar. It will start from Sasaram and conclude in Patna. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav will also join Gandhi at Sasaram on Sunday. Leaders of Left parties and other INDIA bloc leaders are expected to attend the launch of the yatra and march along with Gandhi.
