'EC must maintain trust of people': Chirag Paswan on SIR row

NEW DELHI: Union minister Chirag Paswan on Friday urged the Election Commissioner to "firmly present its side" amid the ongoing row over the internal disagreements in the poll panel.Speaking to reporters, Chirag said the Election Commission must retain people's trust and address their doubts about the electoral process."If such questions are being raised against the Election Commission, I believe it is also the responsibility of the Election Commission, especially the CEC, to firmly present its side," the Union minister said.

"I don't care what the opposition says because it is their job is to do politics.

The Election Commission must maintain the trust of the people because if doubts arise in the public's mind about the electoral process itself, that would be wrong. In such a situation, the Election Commission should firmly put forth its points so that no doubts arise in the people's minds," he added.This comes after the opposition demanded Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation after an Indian Express report highlighted differences among members of the EC over the SIR of electoral rolls.

The report said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi raised formal objections on at least 14 occasions over a 10-month period against decisions and orders related to electoral-roll processes.Earlier on Thursday, leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi accused the CEC of "vote chori, kanun chori, sanstha chori (vote theft, law theft, institutional theft)", calling it an "act against the nation".

"The Election Commission is the institutional protector of the vote... I have shown it with proof, and there is already more than enough information to make this a 100% certainty that Indian elections, Lok Sabha elections, 2024 election, Vidhan Sabha elections are all being rigged," he said, addressing a press conference.The Election Commission, however, described the queries and observations raised by its members as part of its routine internal process. It said written notes, technical inputs and internal scrutiny were standard mechanisms to check legal compliance and protect voters' rights.The ECI further said all decisions taken by the Commission, including those related to SIR, had full legal backing and stressed that its final decisions were unanimous.