NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging large-scale irregularities in the electoral process.
Kejriwal's remarks came after an investigative report by The Indian Express highlighted repeated objections raised by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi over decisions relating to electoral rolls and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. The report said the two Election Commissioners had formally raised objections on multiple occasions over a 10-month period.
Kejriwal alleged that Modi and Shah were winning elections through what he described as “vote-chori” and called the alleged electoral irregularities a major scam.
He also accused CEC Gyanesh Kumar of being the “chief” behind the alleged vote-chori and demanded that Kumar be arrested and prosecuted. These are Kejriwal's allegations and demands; they have not been established as facts by a court.
Kejriwal further questioned the manner in which the SIR process was being implemented. He alleged that the process was being conducted without proper approval of the full Election Commission and demanded that the exercise be scrapped.
The AAP leader also called for all changes made to electoral rolls over the past two to three years to be cancelled and demanded restoration of the voter list from three years ago.
Kejriwal additionally demanded that elections held in several states in recent years be cancelled and conducted afresh.
The controversy follows reports of differences within the Election Commission over aspects of the electoral-roll revision process. The Election Commission has responded that differing views and observations are a normal part of deliberations within an institution.
The issue is expected to remain a major political flashpoint, with opposition parties raising questions about the functioning of the Election Commission and the ongoing SIR exercise.
