Disagreement Sign Of Democracy: BJP Slams Opposition On Poll Body Row

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has hit back at the Congress's fresh allegations of vote theft in the wake of what reports suggest were repeated objections by the two election commissioners to decisions made by the Election Commission of India.

Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had "objected on record" to multiple decisions taken by the poll body without their knowledge, the Indian Express reported Wednesday.

Mounting an attack on the BJP, the Congress alleged that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is acting like a "dictator" and engaging in "vote theft" to please the ruling party.

Read: "Unanimous Decisions Of Full Commission": Election Body On 'Dissent' Report

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra chose to differ. He insisted that deliberations between the commissioners reflect democracy.

"This is an official deliberation among the three election commissioners. What do we gather from this? The BJP did not go and plant a story in the media saying that there had been official deliberations among them. Such deliberations are actually a sign of a healthy democracy," he said.

He also pointed out that the ECI has made it clear that its commissioners had been on the same page over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and that there was no difference in their opinions.

Patra used a Bengal reference to trash the opposition's vote theft claim. Citing the Express report, he pointed out that among the 20 assembly seats in Bengal that saw the highest voter deletions during SIR, the Trinamool won 13 seats, the Congress one, and the BJP six. "If there was vote theft, how did anyone else win?" he wondered.

Read: 'Invisible Hand, Vote Chori': Congress Leads Attack On Poll Body After 'Dissent' Report

The Congress had earlier attacked the EC and the government for running the show in a dictatorial manner.

The report stated the election commissioners had objected to the ECI's decisions 14 times over 10 months. Citing the figure, the opposition party alleged that in the three-member ECI, only Kumar takes final calls.

"Vote chori is a crime against the Indian people and a direct attack on our constitution. The BJP, RSS, and EC, who organised it, have committed an act of treason. Justice will be served," Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said.