ECI Asks Jairam Ramesh To Share Details On Allegations That Home Minister Amit Shah Made Calls To Over 150 DMs Before Counting

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has been approached by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to share detailed information regarding his controversial allegation against the Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Ramesh had alleged that Shah rang calls to 150 district magistrates some days before the counting of votes.

District magistrates and collectors alse serve as the returning officers during the elections in their respective districts.

The ECI while asserting that no DM has yet reported any instance of experiencing external influence has requested the senior Congress leader to share the specific details regarding his allegations to address the issue in "larger public interest."

The ECI in a letter stated, “The process of counting of votes is a sacred duty cast upon every RO (Returning Officer) and such public statements by a senior, responsible and experienced leader tend to put an element of doubt and thus, deserves to be addressed in the larger public interest.”

It further added, “Although no DM has reported any undue influence, EC had sought details and information from Jairam Ramesh of 150 DMs whom Amit Shah has influenced, as alleged by Ramesh and which he believes to be true, and had thus made these allegations.”

Ramesh in a post on X had stated, "The outgoing home minister has been calling up DMs/Collectors. So far he has spoken to 150 of them. This is blatant and brazen intimidation, showing how desperate the BJP is."