00:00But let's get you a sense of what really the Indian Expo's report states
00:03about the rift within the Election Commission and the big political storm that it's triggered.
00:14Massive political storm has erupted over the functioning of the Election Commission.
00:20A media report flagged 14 instances of objections raised by Election Commissioners
00:26Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi over the last 10 months.
00:32The biggest flashpoint is Form 6, which is used by new voters to register.
00:37The two commissioners reportedly objected to changes, seeking past electoral details,
00:43questioning whether the form could be changed without amending the rules.
00:47The objections also reportedly covered concerns over the centralization of the voter database and digital access.
00:54With respect to West Bengal, the Election Commissioner questioned appeals against restored voters,
01:00saying the two commissioners and the Chief Election Officer were not informed.
01:04And in Goa, the issue involved voters who were found eligible locally,
01:09but faced a difficulty being included in the electoral roll because of software-related glitches.
01:17The opposition seized on the internal notes to launch a direct attack on CEC Gyanesh Kumar
01:23with the Congress accusing EC of undermining constitutional safeguards
01:28while SP demanded Supreme Court scrutiny.
01:35I am saying to the election commissioners and the officers of the election officers that you are doing is wrong.
01:42This is a treason against the country. Don't forget this.
01:46The time will come. We will take you. We are not going to save you.
02:16EC has rejected claims of internal rift.
02:19Saying it stands for complete election integrity and functions strictly under statutory law.
02:26It says internal notes are part of the commission's checks and balances,
02:29while differing views are a normal part of deliberation.
02:33ECI says all commissioners can make suggestions to the CEC.
02:37The poll body also says it took unanimous decisions over the past year.
02:44B.J.P. 2 countered the charges by the opposition,
02:47saying the communication highlights pure democracy at play
02:51and proves that election commission is working as an independent manner.
02:57All the opposition parties have fallen into the trap.
03:01The trap where they said that the election commissioner and this government
03:05was a dictatorial government.
03:07Rather, I would say that this is pure democracy.
03:11Election commission of India, nor any constitutional body in India,
03:16is under a dictatorial rule.
03:19They are functioning in a democratic manner
03:22and of course they are upholding the democracy of this country.
03:28As war of words continues, one question remains.
03:32Are the 14 objections routine deliberations
03:34or signs of deeper differences within the poll body?
03:38With Mausami Singh and Amit Bhardwaj,
03:41Anashwarya Paliwal, Bureau Report, India Today.
