The Election Commission told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that Congress claims of a large number of duplicate voters on electoral rolls in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are “misleading and misconceived”, IANS reported. It also said political parties cannot compel the poll panel to conduct elections the way they want.

“The ultimate decision-making authority rests with the Election Commission of India and it cannot be compelled to follow the directives of any particular party or person,” the poll panel said in an affidavit in response to petitions filed by Congress leaders Kamal Nath and Sachin Pilot.

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In June, the Congress had submitted a complaint to the poll panel, alleging there were over 60 lakh duplicate voters on the rolls in Madhya Pradesh. Later, the party alleged that there were 42 lakh such cases in Rajasthan too. Assembly elections will take place in both states this year. The Congress sought an inquiry, and in his petition, Nath sought random verification of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail machines in the elections in Madhya Pradesh.

The Election Commission told the Supreme Court it had always upheld the integrity and purity of the electoral process and was committed to holding “free and fair elections”. It sought the dismissal of the two petitions.

‘No fake voters’

Speaking to reporters in Jaipur, Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat said the poll body accepts all challenges posed by political parties with an open mind, PTI reported. He said there were no “fake voters” and the Election Commission was working to delete duplicate voters and add legitimate ones in electoral rolls.

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“When competition is tough, fingers are raised by political parties out of suspicion,” he said. “We have accepted all the challenges with open mind and have come out clean. We are committed to ensuring a fair and transparent election process.”

He said it will be ensured that no duplicate voter casts votes in the upcoming elections.