– Mohammed Atherulla Shariff
Bengaluru, May 23: Civil society bodies have announced plans to form a citizen’s vigilance commission to develop an action plan to protect India’s democracy. Over 120 civil society organizations came together on Tuesday under the banner of ‘Wake up Karnataka.’
Activists, former bureaucrats, and experts held a six-hour-long discussion highlighting the Election Commission’s “failures,” which have raised concerns over the “possible manipulation” of votes on counting day. They have resolved to hold the Election Commission (EC) accountable.
Briefing the media, political economist Parakala Prabhakar stated that the event was necessitated by the EC’s repeated failures. “We have a serious and limited objective: that the people’s will should be reflected on the ballot, whatever it is. If that does not happen, civil society will have to challenge it to assert the civic rights of the people,” he said.
Prabhakar emphasized, “We are not accusing the EC of anything. However, it is for the EC to establish that our doubts are unfounded,” noting that the EC’s actions (and inactions) have compounded these doubts.
He cited several concerns: the EC’s failure to act against repeated violations of the model code of conduct by the prime minister and other prominent figures, its refusal to publish Form 17-C (the final count of the polling data) “even today,” the role of the EC in voter disenfranchisement, and the manner in which the EC communicates with political parties. These actions, he said, do not inspire public confidence.
Retired IAS officer M.G. Devasahayam remarked that Indian elections have never before been clouded by such doubts and suspicions. “The stumbling block is that, by and large, elections are not free and fair,” he said.
Devasahayam warned that the EC’s resistance to cross-verification of votes with VVPAT could lead to significant theft of the people’s mandate.
“As civil society, we are telling the returning officer that we are watching you. We don’t doubt your integrity. All we want is that the will of the people prevails,” he said.
Activist Teesta Setalvad highlighted the complete capture of the media, underscoring the need for a Citizens Vigilance Commission, which would include former judges, bureaucrats, and police officers, to monitor the entire EC process.
Nadeem Khan of United Against Hate reported that in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambal and Amethi, voters were lathicharged by police, with security forces misbehaving with women.
“We have lost faith in the EC. We have two doubts: first, they will steal our vote. Second, they will steal the mandate by forcing winning candidates to join their party. People will come together to ensure both don’t happen,” he said.
Farmer leader Badagalpura Nagendra described the 2024 election as a contest between the people of India and a dictator.
“Dictators don’t accept defeat; they will try to avoid accepting the result. We will not allow that to happen,” he declared.
