'They refuse to be transparent. They refuse to be accountable.'
Sources said the party has also tasked its senior leaders to be observers at the meeting of the Congress Legislature Party in Haryana to elect its new leader.
Soon after Gandhi's press conference, the Election Commission said it will respond with full facts in writing.
Thackeray had on Monday claimed his bag was inspected by the election authorities when he arrived in Maharashtra's Yavatmal to campaign for the November 20 assembly elections.
The EC asked him to provide factual evidence with specific and pointed response to type, quantity, nature and manner of poisoning of Yamuna.
Besides disclosing in their affidavits, candidates have to prominently declare criminal cases they are facing, if any, thrice in newspapers in print as well on television, he said, adding that political parties too have to publish within three days of nomination why a candidate with criminal background was selected. "You (political parties) have to tell the public whether you did not get any (other) candidate and why was it necessary to select them (those with criminal background)," he said.
The Congress party in India has alleged "serious and grave inconsistencies" in the data relating to the polling and counting processes for the recently concluded Maharashtra Assembly elections. The party has sought an in-person hearing from the Election Commission to present evidence of alleged discrepancies, including the arbitrary deletion and addition of voters and inexplicable increases in voting percentages. The Congress leaders claim these irregularities benefited the ruling BJP-led alliance, which won a decisive victory in the polls.
Congress leaders were seen giving media bytes at various places at the headquarters, arguing that the trends would change by 1 PM but it did not happen.
Two vacancies of election commissioners came about following the resignation of Arun Goel on Friday and Anup Chandra Pandey's retirement on February 14.
Acting on complaints, the Election Commission on Wednesday ordered suspension of police personnel violating its guidelines on checking of voters and stopping them from casting votes in the Uttar Pradesh bypolls, officials said.
'Unlike in the sporting arena, where sports federations moved from partisan to impartial referees, in Indian democracy's biggest festival, it appears we are moving backward from unbiased and objective to one-sided and partisan,' observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The None of the Above (NOTA) option once again found few takers, with 0.75 per cent of the electorate pressing the button in Maharashtra and 1.32 per cent in Jharkhand. Votes for the assembly elections in these two states were counted on Saturday.
Two vacancies of election commissioners have arisen following the resignation of Election Commissioner Arun Goel and Anup Chandra Pandey's retirement.
'The Election Commission cannot be regulated by the government.'
The upcoming Delhi Assembly elections are set to be a thrilling contest between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the resurgent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Congress. The BJP is focusing on its "Parivartan" (change) slogan and a targeted campaign against AAP over corruption allegations, while AAP is highlighting the credibility of its leader, Arvind Kejriwal, and his promises to deliver on his promises. The Congress, seeking to reclaim its lost footing in the national capital, is also campaigning with a renewed vigor.
Pandey's retirement comes days before the Election Commission is to announce the schedule for the Lok Sabha polls.
The government has provided Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar with a Z-category VIP security cover of armed commandos in view of potential threats against him, official sources said on Tuesday.
Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in three phases from September 18 while Haryana will go to polls in a single phase on October 1, the Election Commission announced on Friday.
The Congress has said the assembly polls results were "unexpected" and have alleged discrepancies in the EVMs in some seats.
Goel's tenure was till December 5, 2027, and he would have become Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) after incumbent Rajiv Kumar retired in February next year.
The Supreme Court on Thursday questioned the Centre over the procedure adopted for the appointment of election commissioners and asked how six names were shortlisted from 200 within a few hours.
In an affidavit filed in the apex court, the Union law ministry rejected the petitioner's claim that the two election commissioners were hastily appointed on March 14 to "pre-empt" the orders of the top court the next day, when the matters challenging the 2023 law were listed for hearing on interim relief.
The NGO challenges the validity of a provision of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023.
Former secretary in the Union ministry of energy, Hari Shankar Brahma, was appointed as the new Election Commissioner on Wednesday.
There has been speculation that Goel quit due to differences with Kumar.
Om Prakash Rawat, a former Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer who till recently was Secretary at the Centre, was on Thursday appointed as the new Election Commissioner.
The assembly polls in Maharashtra will be held in a single phase while Jharkhand polls will be held in two phases, the Election Commission of India announced on Tuesday.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta issued notice to the Centre on a plea filed by an NGO, Association for Democratic Reforms, and listed the matter along with other pending petitions on the issue for hearing in April.
His tenure was till December 5, 2027, and he would have become Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) after incumbent Rajiv Kumar retired in February next year.
Ahead of the meeting of the prime minister-chaired high powered panel for selection of Election Commissioners, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has written to the Law Ministry seeking details of short-listed candidates along with their 'dossiers'.
Making the electoral process inclusive and giving voting rights to the maximum number of citizens is worthy cause to make our democracy better, says Col Anil Athale.
The Election Commission on Saturday deferred the Haryana assembly poll date to October 5 from October 1, saying the decision was taken keeping in mind a centuries-old festival of the Bishnoi community.
Hitting back at the Election Commission after it dismissed allegations about slowing down the updating of Haryana election results, the Congress on Tuesday said the poll watchdog's reply degrades the conversational level to an 'unacceptable low' and 'misrepresents crucial facts' in a vein similar to that done by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Two bills that lay down the mechanism to hold simultaneous elections were introduced in the Lok Sabha after a fiery debate on Tuesday, with the opposition terming the move 'dictatorial' and Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal asserting that the legislation would not tamper with the powers enjoyed by states.
The bench asked senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for Congress leader Jaya Thakur, who sought a stay on the new law, to serve a copy of the petition to the Centre's counsel.
A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna, Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih told the petitioners, who pointed out that a meeting for the selection of ECs was pre-poned, to file a separate application pointing out the fact.
Ideally, it is good to have simultaneous elections, once every five years, former Chief Election Commissioner Krishnamurthy said, when asked to share his view on the issue, repeatedly advocated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Taking potshots at the Bharatiya Janata Party, some opposition leaders also wondered if Goel resigned to contest the Lok Sabha polls on its ticket like former Calcutta high court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay.
The opposition parties and some former CECs had opposed the move, saying it will go against the independence of the institution.
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