The subversion of voter lists
text_fields
With the legislative assembly elections scheduled for March and April, opposition parties—including the Congress, CPI(M), CPI, and CPI(ML)—have submitted a memorandum to the State Chief Election Commissioner against the widespread filing of fraudulent complaints aimed at the removal of voters from the special draft electoral roll in Assam. The opposition's grievance is that, ahead of the January 22 deadline for receiving applications to update the voters' list, a massive number of unilateral, illegal, and unconstitutional objections have been submitted. The memorandum points out that Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's public statement—asserting that ‘certain uncomfortable measures would be taken within the legal framework’ during the voter list revision process to pressure Bengali Muslims—indicates pre-planned, arbitrary, and unconstitutional actions targeting a specific community. On the other hand, in West Bengal—which is also set to face Legislative Assembly elections in the months of March and April—the statement issued by Nobel laureate and renowned economist Professor Amartya Sen, expressing concern amidst intense protests over the inclusion of names in the voters' list, should also be taken seriously. He warns that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bengal is being conducted in haste and that this will endanger democracy. Professor Sen points out that processes like the SIR should be carried out with extreme caution and allowing sufficient time, which is not the case in Bengal. Reminding that the victims of these actions are those at the grassroots level of society, Amartya Sen highlights the difficulties faced by religious minorities, including Indian Muslims, in securing their rights. He also highlighted the role played by Hindutva extremists in this matter.
Given that the chief ideologue of the RSS, MS Golwalker has identified the presence of Muslims, Christians, and Communists as internal threats facing India, in an Indiacompletely under the grip of this extreme-Hindutva paramilitary organization, which boasts the largest number of branches in the country., one can only expect to see a plot to destroy democracy along fascist lines and use of false propaganda. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi proclaims the virtues and greatness of Indian democracy on every possible platform, the Central Government led by him—and the State Governments moving in the same direction—are adopting systematic measures that sever the very roots of that democracy. As Amartya Sen pointed out, the worst victims of the denial of justice and discrimination are the religious minorities and the marginalised sections of the Hindu community. Consequently, when these groups offer support to parties they believe will show at least some degree of commitment to secular democracy, the current circumstances compel one to conclude that the "artificial revision" of the electoral rolls is being swiftly implemented to end that trend by denying them their right to vote.
The country witnessed incidents in the Maharashtra and Bihar Assembly elections where hundreds of thousands of voters were removed en masse from the rolls in areas densely populated by the pro-people, Dalit, and oppressed sections—groups not expected to vote for the far-right. The legitimate grievance of the opposition, and of those who wish for the rule of law to prevail, is that this is now being repeated even more terrifyingly in Assam and West Bengal. However, the bitter reality is that the Election Commission, whose wings have already been clipped only kneels before the Central and State governments. By categorising people as deceased, relocated, or lacking the birth and death records of parents who left this world long ago, the names of millions are being removed from the lists overnight. Simultaneously, those certain to vote for them (the ruling party) are being added to the rolls using fraudulent addresses, even if they are from other states. It is with the backing of these fake voters that the far-right is then declared "winners" with a massive majority. What else can we call this systematic project other than the slaughter of secular democracy and pure fascism? If full public support is not ensured for the protests being led by Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi against this "vote theft," the day is not far when India will fall completely under the thumb of the far-right.
