New Delhi: The Election Commission on Monday asked Congress leader Jairam Ramesh to respond today and submit evidence by evening to the Home Minister's claim in which he claimed to call 150 collectors before the counting of votes. The Election Commission has asked Ramesh to provide factual details of the allegations made in the social media post by Sunday evening. The senior Congress leader has written a letter to the Commission on Monday and sought another week's time to file his reply.
In a letter to Ramesh, the Election Commission said, 'The Commission outrightly rejects your request for extension of time and directs you to file a reply with factual allegations by 7 pm today i.e. June 3. Failure to do so will presume that you have nothing concrete to say in this matter and the Commission will proceed for appropriate action.'
The Election Commission said that his allegation would have a direct impact on the sanctity of the vote-counting process on Tuesday.
What did Ramesh claim?
Ramesh had claimed that Union Home Minister Amit Shah was calling district magistrates or collectors and 'openly' threatening them. During elections, the district magistrates or collectors are the returning officers of their respective districts. Ramesh claimed that Shah has already spoken to 150 district magistrates or collectors. The Commission said that no district magistrate has reported such undue influence as alleged by him.
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