ECI debunks Cong's claim; Maha CEO says viral voter IDs found in toilet are of 'outdated design'

New Delhi, Nov 22 After a humiliating defeat in the Bihar elections, the Congress has sharpened its attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI) after a viral post by Indian Youth Congress (IYC) president Uday Bhanu Chib triggered a fresh political storm, while the poll body has refuted any claims being made by the Congress leader.

Chib, reacting to visuals of discarded voter identity cards allegedly found stuffed inside a toilet flush tank, launched a blistering attack on the poll body, calling the incident "a slap on the face of Indian democracy".

In a strongly worded post, Chib on social media wrote: "If voter IDs are found stuffed in a toilet flush... then this isn't just a scam, it's a slap on the face of the country's democracy!! ...And Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar? Nothing more than a spineless puppet!"

His comment reflects the Congress' growing frustration with the ECI, which party leaders have repeatedly accused of acting in concert with the ruling BJP.

Amid rising political heat, the CEO Maharashtra issued a clarification on November 22, asserting that the voter ID cards seen in the visuals were outdated.

"This is the old design of the Electoral Photo Identity Cards, and the making and distribution of EPICs of this old design were discontinued in 2022. Since 2022, Electoral Photo Identity Cards in the new horizontal design are being distributed," the CEO said on X.

The party has in recent weeks repeatedly targeted the Commission, most notably during the Bihar election results where its leaders accused the poll body of "undue delays", "manipulation", and "acting under BJP pressure".

This episode has added fresh fuel to that narrative, with Congress questioning why such sensitive documents were found abandoned in the first place.

The ECI has been repeatedly refuting the Congress allegations and has emphasised that the poll body acts independently and does not work under any political pressure.

Meanwhile, the Congress is using the episode to intensify its campaign accusing the Commission of compromising its institutional independence -- a theme it is expected to raise aggressively in the coming days as political temperatures continue to rise ahead of the 2026 assembly elections in West Bengal, Kerala, Assam, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor