NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India on Sunday asked Congress leader Jairam Ramesh to share factual information and details over his allegations on social media that calls were made by Union home minister Amit Shah to 150 district magistrates just days before scheduled counting of votes. The poll body has sought the Congress leader’s response by today evening.
In its letter to Jairam Ramesh, EC said that no DM has reported any undue influence to the poll body under whose jurisdiction they are working till the election process is over.“The process of counting of votes is a sacred duty cast upon every RO and such public statements by a senior, responsible and experienced leader tend to put an element of doubt and thus, deserves to be addressed in larger public interest,” the EC said in its letter.
“You being a responsible experienced and very senior leader of a nation party, you must have made such public statement just before the day of counting based on facts, information which you believed to be true. It is requested that details of 150 DMs to whom such calls have been allegedly made by the home minister along with the factual matrix basis of your information are shared by 7pm today so that appropriate action can be taken,” the EC said in its letter.
Jairam Ramesh had on Saturday claimed that Amit Shah had already spoken with 150 DMs or collectors and added that this shows “how desperate the BJP is”.
“The outgoing home minister has been calling up DMs/Collectors. So far he has spoken to 150 of them. This is blatant and brazen intimidation, showing how desperate the BJP is,” he said in a post on X.
“Let it be very clear: the will of the people shall prevail, and on June 4th, Mr. Modi, Mr. Shah, and the BJP will exit, and the INDIA Janbandhan will be victorious,” he asserted.
Ramesh said officers should not get under any pressure and must uphold the Constitution. They are under watch, he added.
(With inputs from agencies)