In an interview with PTI Videos, the Congress general secretary reiterated the opposition demand for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, asking that when a vice president can resign in India, why can’t the CEC.
“If the match is fixed and the umpire is fixed, what is the point of watching any match when viewers know, players know and the world knows that this is all fixed, then where is the joy in conducting any match. Winning and losing is part and parcel of the game; all we want is a fair fight. If the election commissioner cannot ensure that then he has to go,” Pilot said.
Read more: ‘Don’t want to spoil the surprise’: Rahul Gandhi hints at bigger INDIA bloc plan on CEC-SIR row
He, however, rejected any talk of boycotting polls and said it is “too early” for that.
Pilot also stressed that the Congress, whose leaders along with those of other INDIA bloc parties have filed a petition in the Supreme Court on the “vote chori” issue, has full faith in the judiciary.
“The Supreme Court is the ultimate authority. We thought, we must appeal to his (CEC) moral conscience first…To demonstrate, to do dharnas, padyatras is part of democracy. How can you stop people from protesting, how can you use brute police force to subjugate the voice of the people,” he said.Read more: SC finds defects in Rahul Gandhi-led bloc’s plea against CEC Gyanesh Kumar: What are the 10 problems flagged in the petition?
No amount of police action, firing, or lathi charge will quell the voice of the people and it is the young people are speaking out today, Pilot said.
“Look at what happened with the paper leaks and exam corruption in tests like NEET. Public pressure forced the education minister to resign,” he said.
What the CEC has done is illegal and he has to resign and be tried under the law, Pilot said.
“People say it (EC) is a constitutional body. In this country, if there can be a resignation of a vice president, then why not of the CEC,” he asked.
Rahul Gandhi had pointed out that the CEC is working to serve a purpose and those people who are the masterminds are making him do that work, Pilot said.
“It is being done to suit a particular political agenda,” he added.
In a rapid fire segment of the interview, Pilot described Modi as a “soon-to-be ex-prime minister”.
Asked about Rahul Gandhi leading the ‘anti-vote chori’ movement and whether he is seen as the prime ministerial face of the entire opposition for 2029, Pilot said Gandhi has never stated he is looking to that post.
“He is the Leader of the Opposition, and parties in the INDIA bloc or those against the BJP are working under his leadership in Parliament. It was Mr. Rahul Gandhi from day one, has been questioning the voter list, the electoral process, the SIR… he led from the front, he was unflinching, did not back down, the BJP was mocking him and now when the truth is unravelling, people are realising that what Mr. Gandhi had said was true and good for the country,” Pilot said.
On Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and AISA president Neha Bora strongly raising the voice against “vote chori”, the Congress leader said any Indian who believes in the story of India and is patriotic and wants justice and truth to prevail is part of this fight.
“Whether it is the INDIA bloc, non-BJP parties, civil society, other organisations, we all have to come together,” he said.
Pilot also said it is a very challenging time for “all of us, not just because we are in the opposition, but because of late there has been a gradual and a consistent capture of institutions”.
“Elections used to take place earlier, and you win or lose, but of late various institutions and to my mind the most important one is the Election Commission – the custodian of protecting the systems of conducting elections (have been captured). There is a reason why India is cited as the most thriving, deep-rooted democracy and that has been there because various governments since independence have nurtured the independence and the transparency of the Election Commission,” the Congress leader said.
Rahul Gandhi gave us facts and figures about two years ago on what was going wrong in the system and it took the two election commissioners to come out and state that what is happening inside the EC is not completely by the law, he said.
“What baffles me is that when you ask questions to the Election Commission, it is the BJP spokesperson who gives answers, which has never happened before. We are fighting to protect the future generation’s faith in how we conduct elections,” Pilot said.
Pointing to the chronology of events, he said traditionally, the CEC was selected by a committee consisting of the prime minister, Leader of Opposition, and Chief Justice of India and the BJP government changed the law to include a Cabinet minister in place of the CJI, giving the government an automatic two-one majority.
“Then, a law was made that gave CEC Ganesh Kumar lifetime immunity. He is the only man in 140 crore people to have immunity for life…We went to the Supreme Court which stated that the Congress should get authenticated voter lists.
“As soon as that order came out, the Election Commission retrospectively changed its bylaws to withhold them,” he said.
Asked about the EC’s claim that all decisions were taken unanimously, Pilot said the poll body’s press release was signed by a low-ranking officer and lacked the signatures of the dissenting election commissioners.
Pilot’s remarks come amid ongoing agitation by opposition parties and the CJP this month on the SIR issue.
On Monday, the raging protests over the “vote theft” charge reached the Supreme Court’s doorstep.
Opposition stalwarts, joined by activists and civil society members, undertook a “March for Democracy” on a heavily barricaded route and filed a joint petition against SIR and alleged poll irregularities in a major show of strength in the national capital.
Gandhi also hosted INDIA bloc leaders on Tuesday for tea at his home.
After the meeting, the opposition bloc vowed to continue the resistance and take the fight on “vote chori” to its logical conclusion.
