New Delhi, Sep 14 (PTI) Coming down hard on the Election Commission for its response on "vote theft" allegations, former chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi on Sunday said the poll body should have ordered a probe into Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's charges instead of "shouting" at him in a language that was "objectionable and offensive".

In an interview with PTI, Quraishi said much of the terms used by Gandhi while making the allegations such as likening them to a "hydrogen bomb" were "political rhetoric" but asserted that the complaints which he was raising need to be investigated in detail.

The former chief election commissioner slammed the Election Commission (EC) over the manner in which it carried out the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, and said it is not only "opening a pandora's box" but the poll body has put its hand in the "hornet's nest" which will hurt it.

"You know when I hear any criticism of the EC, I feel very concerned and very hurt not only as a citizen of India but also because having been the CEC myself, I have also laid a brick or two in that institution," he told PTI ahead of the launch of his new book 'Democracy's Heartland' published by Juggernaut Books.

"When I see that institution under attack or weakened in any way I feel concerned and the EC itself has to do introspection and has to feel concerned. It is up to them to stand up to all the forces and the pressures that may be influencing their decisions," said Quraishi, who was the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) between 2010 and 2012.

"They have to win the confidence of the people - you need the confidence of the opposition parties. For me, I always gave preference to the opposition parties because they are the underdogs," he said.

Quraishi opined that the party in power doesn't need as much pampering as the opposition does because the latter is out of power.

"So the instruction generally to my staff (when I was the CEC) was to throw the doors open, if they (opposition) want an appointment, give them immediately, listen to them, talk to them, if they want some small favour, do it if it is not at the cost of somebody else," he said.

Here the opposition has to go to the Supreme Court every now and then and in fact, 23 parties have had to say they are not getting an appointment and nobody is listening to them.

Quraishi argued that the EC should have called for a probe into Gandhi's allegations instead of asking him to submit an affidavit.

"Rahul Gandhi is the Leader of Opposition (LoP) after all, don't shout at him the way the EC did. I think it is not like the EC that we have known. He is after all the LoP, he is not a man on the street. He is representing millions of people, he is voicing the opinion of millions of people and to say to him, 'give an affidavit otherwise we will do this and do that', the body language and the language used is both objectionable and offensive," Quraishi said.

"I have often said, suppose they (opposition) also turn around and say that 'ok you are coming up with a new roll, give an affidavit that it is mistake free. And if there is a mistake you will be held criminally liable'. Can you think of that situation?" he said.

Asserting that the EC should have ordered a probe into the allegations, Quraishi said not just the LoP but if anybody had complained, the normal practice was to immediately order a probe.

"Not only we (EC) have to be fair but we have to appear to be fair. The probe brings out the facts. So instead of the way the EC responded, the probe was the right thing to do and they missed an opportunity," he said.

His remarks come after Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said at a press conference here last month that Gandhi should either give a declaration under oath within seven days on his allegations of irregularities in the voters list, else his 'vote theft' claims would be rendered baseless and invalid.

Levelling allegations of "vote chori", Gandhi had, through a presentation at a press conference, cited data from the 2024 Lok Sabha polls to claim that over 1 lakh votes were "stolen" in Mahadevapura assembly segment in Karnataka through five types of manipulation. He alleged similar irregularities in other states.

Gandhi also carried out a 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' across Bihar against the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, alleging collusion between the BJP and the EC for "stealing votes".

Asked about Gandhi's claim that he will soon come up with a "hydrogen bomb" of revelations on "vote chori", Quraishi said the Leader of the Opposition has used these kinds of terms and most of it is "political rhetoric" which has to be taken as such only.

"But at the same time, if there are serious issues, serious complaints which he is raising, they need to be investigated in detail not only to the satisfaction of the LoP but of the whole nation, the whole nation is watching," he said.

On whether the people's confidence on the electoral process had been shaken, Quraishi answered in the affirmative.

Questioning the logic behind excluding Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) from the list of documents that could be provided for inclusion in the voters list, Quraishi said EPIC is issued by the EC itself and not recognising it has very serious implications.

"Remember it has taken the EC 30 years to reach 99 per cent or 98 per cent of the people, to bring the electoral roll to this level of perfection. One per cent is updated every year by door-to-door summary inquiry' - That is the normal thing. So to throw the existing roll in the dustbin and to start all over again. You are trying to do in three months what we had done in 30 years," Quraishi said.

"So, it is buying trouble. It is not only opening a pandora's box but I think the EC has put its hand in the hornet's nest and it is going to hurt them. Of course the Supreme Court has already asked to use Aadhaar and because of the pressure of the top court, the EC has started using Aadhaar," he said.

Quraishi said he is surprised the Supreme Court did not follow up on EPIC which is the EC's own creation. PTI ASK BJ DV DV