BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said democracy depends on trust and that trust is broken when the Election Commission dodges questions, intimidates the Opposition, and shields those in power.
Taking to X, the CM hit out at the ECI: “The Chief Election Commissioner asked for affidavits and oaths, as if its own numbers need certification before they can be trusted. This is absurd.” Siddaramaiah said instead of behaving like an impartial referee, the ECI looked like it was reading straight from the BJP’s script. “Yesterday’s press conference didn’t answer questions raised by the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi; it only confirmed suspicions,” he stated.
He said the ECI’s dismissal of concerns about fake and duplicate voters was shocking. It brushed them aside, saying no one raised objections during the 45-day claims window, so the matter is closed. “This is nothing but an excuse to escape responsibility.
The truth is, it took time for Congress to expose these irregularities because the ECI itself made the data inaccessible. We had to dig through thousands of pages in just one assembly segment of Bengaluru Central to uncover the mismatches. If irregularities come to light after elections, should the ECI ignore them?” he said.