Accusing the Centre of undermining constitutional institutions and the integrity of the electoral process, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal on Friday said India’s electoral democracy was facing “the gravest of threats” under the PM Narendra Modi-led government.
He made these remarks while releasing the letter that the Opposition had recently written to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. The Alappuzha MP said, “On June 28, as many as 24 Opposition parties along with an Independent MP wrote to the CJI on the flawed SIR process, the partisan role of the Election Commission and other election-related issues.”
“We are releasing this letter, in the interest of transparency, and in the hope that the Supreme Court will take the firm steps that are urgently required to restore the integrity of the poll process and faith of crores of Indians in the process,” he stated.
Venugopal said it was the responsibility of the judiciary to safeguard democracy from executive excesses. He added that the current government was “hell-bent on destroying the constitutional framework” of the Indian democracy.
According to Venugopal, the judiciary has a constitutional responsibility to act as a safeguard against executive overreach. He stressed that the Supreme Court had a critical role in ensuring that elections remained free and fair, and were perceived as such by the public.
He claimed that unless concerns regarding the electoral process were addressed, the rights of India’s 1.4 billion citizens and the credibility of democratic institutions could be adversely affected.
The Opposition also accused the EC of openly “supporting the BJP during the course of and in the outcome of electoral processes”. In its letter, the Opposition also questioned the special intensive revision of electoral rolls, describing it as “ill-timed” and its implementation a “monumental disaster” due to “procedural flaws”.
Election Commission’s actions based on law: CEC
