Government changed law to provide immunity to Election Commission, Rahul Gandhi tells Lok Sabha during SIR debate

Congress member Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday, December 9, said the government has changed the law to provide immunity to the Election Commission and commissioners.

The leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, speaking on the voter list debate in Parliament, questioned the need for changes in deleting CCTV footage after elections and alleged that it was done to protect those who had colluded with the government in “vote theft”.

“Why is it that the CJI was removed from the selection panel of the Election Commissioner… On one side, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr. Amit Shah. On the other side, the Leader of the Opposition. I have no voice in that room. Whatever they decide happens. So the first question, why are the Prime Minister and Amit Shah so keen to choose who will be the Election Commissioner?” Rahul Gandhi asked the question.

The Congress leader said that in December 2023, the government changed the law to ensure that no Election Commissioner can be punished for any action taken while he was the Election Commissioner.

He commented, “Why was the law changed regarding CCTV? Why was a law brought in that allows the Election Commission to destroy CCTV footage 45 days after voting. What is the need for this? This is a case of ‘electoral theft’.”