BJP MP Sambit Patra on Wednesday defended the Election Commission of India (ECI) amid the row over alleged dissent among its members during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, saying correspondence between the three Election Commissioners on 14 occasions showed that there had been official deliberations within the poll panel.
Addressing a press conference, Patra said, "...You know how, since 2014, when the Modi government came to power, opposition parties have been falling one after another. They did not fall on a battlefield, but in the democratic arena, as their existence came under threat because they were not chosen by the people."
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After that, particularly the Congress party realised that it could not win elections, and so the biggest weapon in its hands was to 'kill the institutions of the country', he stated attacking Opposition.
"It began attacking our constitutional institutions and trying to defame them. In the same context and as part of the same campaign, several parties have held press conferences today regarding the Election Commission of India. I am not here to hold a press conference on behalf of the Election Commission of India. I have brought the press note issued by the ECI, and I have read it. I hope you have also read it."
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If the 3 Election Commissioners who conduct elections in the country do not communicate with each other, do not exchange views or consult one another, and simply keep agreeing with each other, then the Opposition parties say, 'This is a dictatorship', he said.
