‘Democracy is in jeopardy’: INDIA bloc in letter to Chief Justice

“Therefore, it is the responsibility of all of us to ensure that people’s faith in institutions must endure. And for that, institutions must play their role. We are not questioning the judiciary. In fact, we turn to the courts when every mechanism fails. When this too fails, it leaves open the question who do we now turn to?” it asked.

‘Brazen biased conduct of ECI’

Stating that free and fair elections are a constitutional requirement, the Opposition said, “When that process is, in one way or the other, tainted, the outcome is suspect. The will of the people becomes the victim of this perfidy”.

“We all, representing like-minded political parties, firmly opposed to the BJP, believe that the electoral process is being manipulated and outcomes in multiple instances do not reflect the will of the people. There are several reasons for this,” it said.

The letter, also signed by the AAP and DMK, which have of late stayed away from the INDIA bloc, said the Opposition’s “grave concern is the brazen biased conduct of the Election Commission of India (ECI), in particular the Chief Election Commissioner”.

“There has been open, unabashed support of the BJP during the course of and in the outcome of electoral processes. The Commission has not been evenhanded by choosing not to take action when the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is breached by the political party in power- all this while targeting those in the opposition,” it said.

The bloc said that the unkindest cut of all happened when the Election Commission, and in particular Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, chose to allegedly clean up the electoral rolls in each state to ensure that they truly represent those who are entitled to vote, as provided for in the Constitution and the provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

“The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process of sanitising the electoral rolls, according to the Chief Election Commissioner, was required to be done to ensure their integrity. But the result is quite the opposite,” said the letter.

Calling the SIR “ill-timed and a monumental disaster”, the Opposition bloc said, “The documentation process, adopted for the first time, was inherently exclusionary and politically motivated. Verification of voters based on filling forms and production of documents, questioning citizenship, left voters disenfranchised.”

The bloc further raised concerns about the electoral process ahead of Assembly elections due in several states, saying “serious questions” were also being raised about electronic voting, and “in particular about the role of electronic voting machines”.

The signatories included Leaders of Opposition in both Houses of Parliament – Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi – Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav, TMC’s Mamata Banerjee, DMK’s Tiruchi Siva, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, AAP’s Sanjay Singh and other senior leaders in the bloc.