Gandhiji’s Warnings
By George Kallivayalil
Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, pointed out that electoral irregularities, corruption, and hypocrisy are incompatible with democracy and constitute an act of violence against the people. He stated this in a 1934 press release and a 1938 article in the Harijan weekly. He emphasized that purity of means is more important than political victory. Gandhiji believed that true democracy ensures equal opportunities even for the weakest and genuinely distributes power among everyone (Young India 1925, 1927).
Gandhij asserted that if truth and non-violence are sacrificed in political struggles, democracy becomes meaningless (Harijan, 1935). The democracy envisioned by the Father of the Nation does not exist today. He noted that victories achieved through devious means and corruption have no real value. He also reminded us that democracy requires building power from the bottom up through empowered local communities, rather than centralizing power within an elite class.
Inclusive of Minorities
We must not forget Gandhiji’s words that rather than forcing compliance through coercion or sheer numbers, the majority must respect and accommodate the opinions of minorities. He assessed that centralized state power is militarized, capitalist, and paves the way for exploitation. Gandhiji warned that an undisciplined populace lacking a moral foundation could lead the political system toward dangerous popular tyranny or mobocracy.
Gandhiji’s words are crucial at a time when protests against the intensive electoral roll revision and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar are flaring up. Many of the issues Gandhiji feared and warned about have crept into India’s democracy. Controversies involving the Central Government, the Election Commission, and the courts shake the foundational pillars of democracy. It is grave that those tasked with ensuring adult suffrage have themselves removed eligible voters. Dissent expressed in writing by two members of the Election Commission regarding these irregularities is no trivial matter.
Gyanesh Kumar is Not Alone
Protests against CEC Gyanesh Kumar and the intensive voter list revision are strengthening daily in Delhi and elsewhere. Led by the Congress, parties in the INDIA alliance, alongside students under CJP leadership and various NGOs, have initiated nationwide protests. Although an effort to impeach Gyanesh Kumar may not succeed, such a resolution will allow his actions to be examined in detail inside and outside Parliament.
An impeachment procedure will help bring out the facts behind allegations that the Chief Election Commissioner yielded to the wishes and hidden agendas of the ruling central government. The dispute within the Election Commission over the controversial SIR (Special Intensive Revision) procedures is not merely an internal affair. The 14 dissenting notes written by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi validated the long-standing complaints raised by Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi.
Course Correction or Evading Responsibility?
The Election Commission has yet to transparently and factually refute Rahul Gandhi’s analysis highlighting thousands of duplicate entries and unverified addresses in constituencies like Mahadevapura in Karnataka, the inclusion of a Brazilian woman in Haryana’s voter rolls, and mass registrations. The Commission’s refusal to release machine-readable digital voter data and CCTV footage has heightened suspicion. Concerns also remain over last-hour spikes in voter turnout and discrepancies between votes recorded and votes counted.
The objections raised by two Election Commissioners regarding unilateral decision-making during voter list updates and the reliability of the database clarify the situation. When the BJP defends these controversial actions as baseless slander by those who lost, suspicions only deepen. However, the corrective measures recently announced by the Election Commission itself confirm these allegations and irregularities.
Neither Credibility nor Validity
The nine administrative and technical measures announced by the Election Commission following a full board meeting in the wake of controversies call into question the credibility and validity of the electoral process conducted so far. The measures corrected issues raised by Commissioners Sandhu and Joshi regarding voter list procedures, IT systems, and decision-making processes. Notably, voters receiving SIR notices regarding personal documents are no longer mandatorily required to attend direct hearings. Instead, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will visit homes to collect documents and upload them to ECI Net.
Other corrections to Gyanesh Kumar’s actions include:
- Distributing agendas and minutes before and after Commission meetings.
- Reviewing the ECI Net system and IT modules via an expert committee.
- Removing the controversial third question in Form 6.
- Re-including 97 excluded voters in Goa.
- Granting field officers greater operational freedom.
- Making prior approval mandatory for foreign trips by officials.
- Extending the deadline for filing complaints in states like Maharashtra.
Overhauling Democracy
The credibility of the Election Commission, built over seven decades, has been shattered. As protests across the country demand the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar, a few cosmetic corrections to escape the situation will not suffice. Halting the SIR, making the voter lists faultless, repealing two controversial 2023 laws brought by the Modi government, and securing the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar are imperative. Nothing less will be acceptable to restore the credibility, neutrality, transparency, and integrity of the country’s electoral system.
From Central Government pressure on the Election Commission, misuse of investigative agencies, political, religious, and caste polarization, communalism, lack of transparency and inequality in party funding, political criminalization, and systemic corruption, to obstacles facing independent journalism and algorithmic manipulation on digital/social media platforms—the democratic process is being undermined in various ways. The democratic framework, including the Election Commission and the voting process, needs a thorough overhaul. Public trust and the will of the people are paramount.
Core Takeaways of the Column
- Gandhian Perspective: Invokes Mahatma Gandhi’s principles on purity of means, decentralization, minority protection, and warnings against “mobocracy” to evaluate current democratic standards.
- Electoral Integrity Concerns: Highlights internal dissent within the Election Commission (14 dissenting notes by Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi) and allegations of irregular voter list deletions and additions raised by the opposition.
- Recent EC Policy Reversals: Views the 9 administrative/technical changes recently announced by the EC as tacit acknowledgment of prior systemic missteps in the voter revision process.
- Call for Reform: Demands a complete overhaul of the electoral system, cancellation of controversial revision procedures, repeal of 2023 election laws, and resignation of the CEC to restore public trust.
