“You cannot act unilaterally”: Karnataka Minister Ajay Dharam Singh demands answers from CEC

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], September 28 (ANI): Karnataka Minister Ajay Dharam Singh on Monday questioned the functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI) amid the ongoing controversy over its decision-making process and demanded answers from Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that unilateral decisions were being taken by the poll panel.
Speaking to reporters, Singh said the Congress was not alone in raising concerns over the Election Commission and claimed that the entire Opposition was now united on the issue.
“Not only the Congress Party, but the entire opposition is together now. I think Gyanesh Kumar, the Chief Election Commissioner, has to resign,” he said.
Singh questioned the functioning of the three-member Election Commission, claiming that there was no consensus among its members and that two commissioners had raised objections to decisions taken by the poll panel.
“Because when there's no consensus amongst them, when there's an Election Commission consisting of three individuals, and out of which two individuals do not even know, and they've written about 14 letters in the last 10 months... What does this go to show?” he said.
The Karnataka Minister alleged that the reported objections indicated that unilateral decisions were being taken by the Chief Election Commissioner and said Gyanesh Kumar should respond to the concerns.
“That there are unilateral decisions being taken by Gyanesh Kumar, and he has to answer because this is a democratic process. You cannot act unilaterally,” Singh said.
He said the Election Commission was accountable to the people and maintained that the time had come for the poll panel to respond to the questions being raised.
“You need to give answers to the people, and everyone is asking. The time has come for them to answer,” he said.
Singh's remarks came amid the Opposition's criticism of the Election Commission over its functioning and decision-making process.
Earlier, on Sunday, Karnataka Congress president BK Hariprasad backed party leader Rahul Gandhi's allegations, accusing Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of undermining the poll watchdog and acting "against the Constitutional body".
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Hariprasad claimed that big differences had emerged within the poll panel, alleging that dissenting notes were recorded repeatedly by fellow commissioners regarding internal decisions.
"What my leader Rahul Gandhi had said is that the Election Commission of India, Gyanesh Kumar has committed grave anti-national activities in the Election Commission of India, when two Election Commissioners, Sandhu and Joshi, had given dissent almost 14 times regarding the affairs in the Election Commission," he said. (ANI)