NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday said that during its meeting with an All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) delegation, the full panel gave a point-wise rebuttal to all apprehensions and termed each “baseless allegation” made by the party as unfounded.

A senior ECI official, while speaking to TNIE, said Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioners S S Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, also requested the AITC delegation “to give claims and objections after December 9, when the draft list is shared with them”.

“Till then, they should not interfere with the independent functioning of Booth Level Officers (BLOs), Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and District Election Officers (DEOs), who are State government employees on deputation to election-related work,” the official said.

The Commission also told the AITC delegation not to influence or fallethreaten BLOs regarding dead, shifted and duplicate voters, he said. The delegation was informed that only Indian citizens are entitled to vote as per Article 326 of the Constitution of India and that foreigners cannot be allowed to vote.

According to the official, the Commission clearly asserted during the meeting that the preparation of electoral rolls, as well as the conduct of elections in India, are carried out strictly as per the Constitution and electoral law, and that the AITC should abide by the same.