Amid the ongoing allegations of “vote chori” by the Opposition parties against the Election Commission of India (ECI), RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, in a post on X, took a swipe at Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and said that the responsibility of “saving” the poll body’s credibility now lies with the public.
Earlier, in 2024, the then returning officer found himself in the midst of a widespread controversy as he was accused to have tampered with Chandigarh mayoral polls and allegedly “defacing the ballots”.
“The current Chief Election Commissioner wants to perform better than Anil Masih, who was the Presiding Officer (RO) in the Chandigarh Mayor election,” the RJD leader posted in Hindi.
“The responsibility of saving the Election Commission’s credibility now lies not with the officials but with the public,” he added.
वर्तमान मुख्य चुनाव आयुक्त चंडीगढ़ मेयर चुनाव में प्रिजाइडिंग अफसर (RO) रहे अनिल मसीह से बेहतर प्रदर्शन करना चाहते है।
चुनाव आयोग की विश्वसनीयता बचाने की जिम्मेवारी अब अधिकारियों की नहीं बल्कि जनता की है। pic.twitter.com/T4nqyauW3I
— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) August 18, 2025
Meanwhile, ANI reported, citing sources, that the opposition parties are likely to bring an impeachment motion in the Monsoon Session of Parliament against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
Additionally, questioning ECI’s CCTV move, Lok Sabha LoP and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said, “I want to ask them, you made a law for CCTV. Then why did you change that law? Why did the government change it? Do you know that no case can be filed against the Election Commissioner? Do you know when this law was made? This law was made in 2023. Why was this law made in 2023? Because Narendra Modi and Amit Shah want that no action can be taken against the Election Commission. Because the Election Commission is helping them and is stealing votes with them.”
#WATCH | Aurangabad, Bihar: Lok Sabha LoP and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi says, “I want to ask them, you made a law for CCTV. Then why did you change that law? Why did the government change it? Do you know that no case can be filed against the Election Commissioner? Do you know when… pic.twitter.com/mitZiuQAaw
— ANI (@ANI) August 17, 2025
TMC MP Mahua Moitra, speaking about ECI’s press conference, said, “Absolutely shameful display of puppetry by the Chief Election Commissioner at press conference yesterday. The job of the Election Commission is not to attack the Opposition.
ECI Hits Back
A day earlier, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar refuted all the “vote chori” allegations made by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on the ECI while addressing a press conference in the national capital.
Also Read: CEC Gyanesh Kumar Hits Back At ‘Vote Chori’ Allegations – Key Points
Addressing the point of CCTV footage sharing, CEC Kumar said, “We saw a few days ago that photos of many voters were presented to the media without their permission. Allegations were made against them, they were used. Should the Election Commission share the CCTV videos of any voter, including their mothers, daughters-in-law, or daughters?”
He termed allegations of bias by the LoP in the Lok Sabha an “insult” to the Constitution of India. CEC also asked Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to either furnish a signed affidavit or apologise to the nation for his remarks.
(with ANI inputs)