Patna, Aug 18 (PTI) RJD leader Tejaswhi Yadav on Monday charged Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar with working on the direction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and asked the poll panel chief to submit an affidavit that he would not hold any position offered by the NDA government post retirement.
Yadav made the remark in a video statement released on Monday, a day after the CEC rejected as "baseless" the allegations of double voting and "vote theft", and asserted that all stakeholders are working to make the special intensive revision of electoral rolls a success in a transparent manner.
“Yesterday’s press conference of the EC established the fact that the CEC is working on the directions of PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. In fact, the CEC should first give an affidavit that he would not hold any post of profit after retirement offered by the BJP-led NDA government. He should also give an affidavit that he will not leave the country after retirement,” the RJD leader said.
“The EC has been totally exposed… replies and arguments provided by the CEC yesterday were meaningless. Even a nursery student could have given a better reply. The CEC is deceiving the country and its people,” Yadav asserted.
Continuing his criticism of the CEC, Yadav, addressing a rally on the second day of Congress’ 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Gayaji, said Kumar must disclose if he has taken “membership of the BJP”.
“The BJP is snatching people’s right to vote through the EC... The CEC, Gyanesh Kumar, must make it public if he has taken membership of the BJP. The SIR is dacoity of votes and we will not allow that to happen. It's a conspiracy of the ruling dispensation to disenfranchise voters in Bihar.
“We have to build a new Bihar... Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ji is in an unconscious state... Time has come to dethrone this government in the upcoming (assembly) polls,” the RJD leader asserted.
Hailing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for consistently opposing the SIR, Yadav said, “Rahul jee has made the EC completely dumbstruck… It has failed to answer the questions raised by him over the exercise.”
Earlier, addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Monday, representatives of eight prominent opposition parties – Congress, TMC, SP, DMK, RJD, CPI(M), AAP and SS-UBT – said the CEC had "failed" to answer their questions on the SIR of electoral rolls and issues related to voter list irregularities.
The opposition parties accused the Election Commission of failing to discharge its constitutional duty of ensuring a free and fair electoral system, and did not rule out moving an impeachment motion against the CEC, whom they alleged was acting like a "BJP spokesperson".