Where is our watchdog?

Making sense of the status of the Election Commission of India amidst election time.

Growing up, I vividly remember learning about the election commission. My civics CBSE textbook had allotted a decent 4-paragraph space to explaining the impartiality of India’s watchdog during what is known to be the celebration of democratic elections. Although it is ironic that in a CBSE-issued notebook, such a crucial section still has not been taken out, it is safe to say that what I had read is not what the spirit of the Election Commission embodies. “Did it ever embody these values?” is a question for another day, but its effects have extrapolated into the drastic scene that happened on Sunday.

The Prime Minister of India, in a national speech addressing thousands of civilians said the following:

“When the Congress-led government was in power, they had said that Muslims have the first right over the country’s assets. This means that they will distribute wealth to those who have more children and those who are infiltrators. Is this acceptable to you?”

Here is what Manmohan Singh exactly said in 2009,

 “We will have to devise innovative plans to ensure that minorities, particularly the Muslim minority, are empowered to share equitably in the fruits of development,” ; “They must have the first claim on resources.”

What had been said about access to resources has swiftly been changed into resource-grabbing, blatantly reflecting what Modi thinks about Muslims in India. Their “couragerous” stand for Hindutva is them cowering in anxiety about what the “other” could do to them: what they (Hindutva supporters) are currently doing to them.

The first paragraph of the ECI’s Model Code of Conduct (MCC) says, “No party or candidate shall include in any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities, religious or linguistic.” The EC, in a recent comment to SC, claims that they do not have enough power to ban or suppress hate speech.

However, one particular instance points to the opposite. Earlier this year, in January, in the mayoral elections held in Chandigarh, video footage was found of presiding officer Anil Nassih tampering with eight ballots that had voted for the Aam Aadmi Party candidate, Kuldeep Dhalor. It had declared them invalid, making BJP the defacto winner. What did the ECI do? Let them win with no reconsideration of a re-election. Hence, there lies a simple contradiction in the ECI statement to SC: it is not that they hold no power, but they have the power to selectively ignore what they don’t want. After passing the bill in August last year that allows the Union government to control the appointment to the commission, it is no surprise that they are playing to the centre's interests. It is not that the watchdog is weak, but merely that the watchdog watches for someone else.

Picture Credits: https://www.newsclick.in/Elections-2019-ECI-Model-Code-Conduct-Violations-Media-TRPs