SRINAGAR: PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday warned that India could “resemble a banana republic” if electoral rolls continued to be altered according to the wishes of the ruling BJP, while describing the reported objections raised by two Election Commissioners as an important safeguard for democracy.
Mufti was referring to reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on multiple occasions over decisions concerning electoral-roll management. The Indian Express reported on Wednesday that the two commissioners had formally objected at least 14 times over the past 10 months on issues including voter registration, deletion and restoration of names and the handling of electoral-roll data.
However, Election Commission officials said on Wednesday that all decisions of the poll panel, including those concerning the nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, had been taken unanimously with the approval of the Chief Election Commissioner and both Election Commissioners.
Speaking about the reported differences within the Election Commission, Mufti said dissent from officials responsible for overseeing elections was important for the functioning of Indian democracy.
She alleged that attempts were being made to undermine the electoral process through changes to voter lists, saying the reported objections by the two commissioners had highlighted concerns over the addition and deletion of names.
Mufti said India and Pakistan appeared to be competing in ways that, in her view, were damaging their own people and institutions.
She also referred to India’s description of itself as the world’s largest democracy and to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s references to the country as the “mother of democracy”.
Mufti said that continued changes to electoral rolls according to what she described as the BJP’s wishes could eventually lead to India resembling a “banana republic”.
“If we continue like this,” she said, “there will be a time when we are going to resemble a banana republic. There will be no democracy.”
Turning to Pakistan, Mufti criticised the detention of the sisters of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, saying their reported detention while protesting peacefully raised questions about the country’s treatment of dissent.
She contrasted Pakistan’s international projection as a peacemaker and mediator with what she described as the suppression of dissent at home.
Mufti said the detention of women protesters who, according to her, were unarmed and demonstrating peacefully was inconsistent with that image.
She said the reported objections by the two Indian Election Commissioners represented the “only silver lining” she could identify, as they had shown the willingness to question decisions concerning the electoral process.
Mufti declined to name the two commissioners directly, saying she did not know what consequences they might face.
She referred to the possibility of enforcement actions against them, asking whether they could face Enforcement Directorate or Income Tax raids.
The PDP president also referred to the deletion of voters from draft electoral rolls and stressed the importance, in her view, of independent officials within the Election Commission.
Her comments came amid fresh scrutiny of the functioning of the Election Commission following reports that Sandhu and Joshi had raised objections to several decisions concerning electoral rolls and the management of voter data. The reported objections have included issues relating to new voters, deletion and restoration of names and the centralisation of electoral-roll systems.
