Is the Election Commission being partial to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections?
Sixty-six former civil servants wrote to the President on 8 April, expressing concern about the election commission’s “weak-kneed conduct”. The officers who wrote to the President include several former bureaucrats, including former Delhi L-G Najeeb Jung and many other notable names.
So why has the EC been accused of partiality and what are the issues that have been raised in the letter written by the sixty six former bureaucrats? That’s what this edition of The Big Story is about. Tune in!
In the letter written by the former bureaucrats, they cited a number of recent instances in which the ruling party has violated the Model Code of Conduct, and appeals to the Commission, through the President, “to conduct itself in a manner where its independence, fairness, impartiality and efficiency are not questioned.”
Apart from this letter, many members of the opposition have also accused the EC of being partial to the BJP.
The Election Commission is an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering Union and State election processes in India. They’re also responsible for ensuring that political parties adhere to the Model Code of Conduct.
The letter written on 8 April lists nine violations of the Model Code of Conduct in the recent past where, it says, the EC has been afraid to deal with the BJP with a heavy enough hand.
These are some of the violations the letter has flagged:
NaMo TV’s Questionable Record
The letter criticises the EC for not acting against NaMo TV, a newly launched channel dedicated to broadcasting PM Modi’s speeches.
According to a report in The Print, NaMo TV has neither obtained a broadcast license nor does it have the mandatory security clearance. This makes the channel an illegal enterprise, under the broadcast laws of the country and the first of its kind, that too. Oh and to top this off, when asked how they can unsubscribe from the channel, a number of users were told that there “was no option to delete the channel.”
Still, nothing from the EC on this.
Biopic on Narendra Modi
The next major issue that’s been flagged, quite expectedly, is the PM Narendra Modi movie, which is supposed to be a biopic about Narendra Modi’s life. On 9 April, the Supreme Court said that they couldn’t order a stay on the film, and that it was up to the Election Commission and the CBFC’s discretion. The letter written to the president calls the movie a back-door effort to garner free publicity for a political person. The letter also says that this is true for the 10-part web series called ‘Modi: A Common Man’s Journey’ which was released recently.
A-SAT Weapons Systems Test
Remember Mission Shakti? When PM Modi proudly addressed the nation, announcing that India had conducted a successful Anti Satellite Weapons system test.
In response to questions about this, the panel said that Modi did not infringe the code by making this announcement.
But, the letter says that the country wasn’t facing any threat that required the PM, who is contesting as a candidate himself, to make a public announcement.
The letter adds that parading the achievements of the government like this after the announcement of elections is the same as giving unfair publicity to the party in power.
In fact, since the announcement of election dates and the model code of conduct coming into effect, the EC has received at least 40,000 complaints through the mobile app.
Yogi Adityanath’s Violations
The EC has said that the issue about which they’ve received the most complaints, is UP CM Yogi Adityanath referring to the armed forces as “Modi’s soldiers”. In fact, the letter written by the bureaucrats also says that the tone of political speeches has been another point of contention. The letter refers specifically to UP CM Yogi Adityanath referring to the armed forces as “Modiji ki sena.”
The EC has said that the most complaints the panel has received has been about this speech by Adityanath. The commission has issued a warning to Yogi Adityanath against making such statements in the future.
The letter also appeals to the EC to keep a watch on political speeches and make it clear in no uncertain terms that any attempt to exploit communal or other divisions will attract strong action.
The elections are almost upon us, and an impartial Election Commission could make all the difference to who forms the government for the next five years.
Will India’s Election Commission rise to the occasion?
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