Kapil Sibal Accuses Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar of Bias

Former Union minister Kapil Sibal accused Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar of favoring the ruling party during the recent Lok Sabha elections, urging the Opposition to take some form of action.

“It is better to speak less of the Election Commission of India, especially the Chief Election Commissioner. His attitude has been biased. I think that the Opposition needs to act on it,” Sibal said in an interview with ANI on Sunday.

When questioned about the CEC’s impartiality, the Rajya Sabha MP highlighted how the Election Commission ‘does not even respond to the Opposition.’

“Everyone knows the reason. If notices are not served even to those individuals making statements that are against the Penal Code, and could lead to prosecution under several sections…the way there are differences between the votes polled and vote counted…all these are serious issues,” the ex-Congress leader stated.

“If elections are not conducted impartially through the specified structure, then our democracy is in danger,” he added.

The senior Supreme Court advocate also emphasized that opposition parties need to discuss whether ‘free and fair polls’ are possible under ‘partial’ constitutional institutions.

However, Sibal refrained from commenting on the controversy surrounding the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), which has resurfaced following allegations of ‘malpractice’ at a counting center for the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha constituency, where Shiv Sena’s Ravindra Waikar narrowly defeated Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) candidate Amol Kirtikar by just 48 votes.

Referring to the Supreme Court’s April verdict on the voting machines, the 75-year-old politician-lawyer said:

“When the Supreme Court asked us to trust our machines, and told us to trust the Election Commission,…if the Supreme Court itself is trusting them (ECI), why should I comment on them? If we start trusting the government, the machines, then all work should be done mechanically. Why do courts exist then? If we start trusting the government, then what is the use of giving verdicts?”