Election Commission of India (ECI) must wear its impartiality on its sleeves: SDPI

New Delhi 02 May 2019: The credibility of the poll panel was never before pushed to the edge as in the 2019 Lok Sabha Election. The decisions of ECI are being viewed with
disbelief, distrust, and anguish. Mr. Narendra Modi had made a patently communal remark at a poll rally in Wardha, Maharashtra on Congress President Mr. Rahul Gandhi
for contesting election from Waynad seat but the ECI surprisingly held that the PM did not violate the poll code. It seems that Modi-shah duo got absolute impunity from the ECI as they have been breaking and violating all norms of the code during the electioneering.
Very recently an action the EC has sent shivers down the spine of election bureaucracy when an honest and upright officer like Mr. Mohammad Mohsin, General Observer of Sambalpur was hurriedly suspended for fearlessly performing his duty.
The rejection of nomination of Mr Thasleem Rahmani of SDPI from North East Delhi parliamentary constituency was also highly arbitrary and autocratic. Even though this arbitrary decision was brought to the notice of the ECI, the ECI did not act upon it. This subservience is seen again in Varanasi where the election machinery has been in an alarming mode to engineer an easy walk over for the PM. The election authorities citing ministerial and technical grounds for the rejection of nomination papers of other candidates, including, Tej Bahadur SP-BSP-RLD candidate who is widely recognized as one of the main contestants against Mr. Modi.The nomination papers of another strong candidate, Bhagwan Das Vedant Acharya, representing the local feelings of Varanasi in view of damage to the cultural ethos as well as heritage of the city is also rejected. All these action show that the ECI is trying to curry favor with BJP top guns.
SDPI strongly feels that it is unavoidable call of democracy to all individuals, organisations and political parties to seriously and immediately take up the matter regarding the failures of ECI so that democracy is saved and India may not turn into a banana republic. ECI must come out clean and restore the credibility of the Commission.

Sharfuddin Ahmad
National Vice President
Social Democratic Party of India