New Delhi, July 3 - The Congress on Thursday alleged that the Election Commission showed an arbitrary attitude towards the leaders of the participating parties of the India Alliance who went to meet it to oppose the Special Serious Re-evaluation (SIR) of the voter list in Bihar and this behavior weakens the basic structure of democracy. The party's general secretary Jairam Ramesh sarcastically said that after all, how many 'master strokes' of this commission are yet to be seen.
Ramesh claimed that only two representatives from each party were allowed to meet, due to which many leaders could not meet the members of the commission and they themselves sat in the waiting room for almost two hours. Meanwhile, the Election Commission said that the commission decided to meet two representatives of all the parties so that the views of everyone could be heard.
Leaders of several participating parties of the India Alliance had approached the Election Commission on Wednesday to convey their concerns over the Special Serious Re-evaluation (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar and raised questions about the timing of the exercise. They claimed that the process could deprive 20 per cent of Bihar's voters of the opportunity to cast their votes. Jairam Ramesh wrote on 'X' (formerly Twitter), "A delegation of the India Alliance met the Election Commission yesterday evening regarding the Special Serious Re-evaluation (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar. Initially, the Commission refused to meet, but finally, under pressure, the delegation was invited." He said, "The Commission arbitrarily allowed only two representatives from each party, due to which many of us could not meet the Commission. I myself sat in the waiting room for about two hours.
He alleged that the Commission's attitude in the last six months has been consistent, which "undermines the basic structure of our democracy." The Congress leader stressed that the Election Commission is a constitutional body and it cannot routinely reject requests for hearing of the opposition.