Ahead of the counting of votes, leaders of I.N.D.I.A bloc and BJP met the full bench of the Election Commission (ECI) on Sunday and expressed their concern on certain issues. Interestingly, hours after a delegation of I.N.D.I.A bloc met the ECI, the BJP delegation also reached the office of the poll body.
The delegation led by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, including Union Minister Piyush Goyal, Sanjay Mayukh and Om Pathak met with the EC. After the meeting, Piyush Goyal said that they had to call upon ECI, as repeated attempts are being made by the Congress and I.N.D.I.A bloc to undermine the integrity of India’s robust electoral process.
Goyal said, “ We had to call upon ECI today, in light of the repeated attempts by a section of the political parties led by the Indian National Congress and their INDI alliance partners and certain motivated civil society groups and NGOs who are trying their level best to undermine the integrity of India’s electoral process”.
He lamented that their efforts against India’s robust electoral process are a direct attack on our democratic institutions. Goyal also accused Congress of attacking the Indian democratic system. He said that elections are becoming completely transparent and better. Opposition is targeting strong leaders and India’s growing development.
Earlier, leaders from the INDIA opposition bloc urged the ECI to ensure that on June 4, the postal ballots are counted and their results declared before the outcome of the EVMs is announced, and stressed that the poll panel should issue clear guidelines on the counting process and ensure that those are implemented.
Briefing the media after the meeting, Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi said this was the third time that a delegation of opposition leaders visited the poll panel during the general election and, among other things, urged the officials to ensure that the postal ballots are counted and their results declared before the results of the electronic voting machines (EVMs) are announced.
“Our complaint is that this guideline has been given a go-by. They have repealed the practice,” he added. In a letter to the EC, the leaders said the number of postal ballots has gone up significantly in this Lok Sabha election as senior citizens (aged 85 years and above) and differently-abled persons were allowed to cast their votes through this process.
