Hyderabad: Citizens send 400 postcards to ECI urging action against poll violations by PM Modi, BJP

Hyderabad: On Saturday, as many as 400 postcards were sent to the Election Commission of India from Hyderabad as part of the ‘Grow A Spine or Resign’ campaign led by citizens and members of various civil society groups in the city.

Hyderabad joined the nationwide postcard campaign from Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Delhi demanding the ECI to action against alleged poll violations by various political leaders during the ensuing Lok Sabha elections.

People braved the heat on Saturday and gathered at the post office at Abids to post more than 400 postcards addressed to the chief election commissioner. The postcards had images of a human spine emphasising the need of the hour for the ECI to take action on erring politicians and political parties.

A complaint was also submitted to the Telangana chief electoral officer Vikas Raj in Hyderabad on various issues such as. Along with these organisations, the letter was signed by 222 people from various walks of life, including lawyers, activists, filmmakers, academics and concerned citizens.

The issues raised by them include:

Voter turnout data in percentages

The ECI has shared voter turnout data only in percentages and not in numbers, raising concerns about manipulation of vote count.

The complaint said that, in 2019, reports indicated discrepancies between votes polled and votes counted in the Lok Sabha elections in 373 constituencies, including a surplus of more than 18,000 votes in Kancheepuram, 14,512 in Sriperumbudur, etc.

“So far, the ECI has not explained the discrepancy. This time around, the ECI has refused to share the data about the votes polled, instead sharing only the percentage of votes polled. This is leading to fears of vote counts being manipulated,” the complaint said.

Failure to combat hate speech during elections

The complaint said that prime minister Narendra Modi has made several speeches which ‘pit communities against one another and promote hatred between communities on religious lines.’

“This amounts to a violation of the Model Code of Conduct, to a corrupt practice under the Representation of People’s Act and a violation of the ECI’s advisory to political parties. So far PM Modi, who is a star campaigner, has not even been served a notice. Similarly, the BJP has released several videos which are again spreading hatred. In Karnataka, an FIR was registered over the hate-filled video but it was not taken down till the voting got done in Karnataka. No action has been taken against the BJP for using religious symbols or for all their hate speeches. No action has been taken against the BJP for distorting points from opposition parties’ manifestos as well,” the appeal said.

Acting only against MCC violations by opposition parties

Another major complaint was regarding Opposition parties and leaders allegedly being unjustly targeted. The appeal said that while Randeep Surjewala of Congress and K Chandrashekhar Rao of BRS have been banned from campaigning for 48 hours over MCC violations, more serious violations by the BJP have been ignored.

Failure to take action against surrogate ads

The appeal said that the expenditure on surrogate advertising and targeted online campaigns by political actors to influence voter perception and beliefs are not under adequate scrutiny.

“The ECI must ensure accountability of political parties and digital platforms by adopting rights-based standards for regulating political expenditure on online ads and targeted campaigning. The ECI has also failed to disclose any action taken on such surrogate advertisements,” the complaint said.

A major issue was concerning how technology has affected electoral outcomes including the use of deepfakes and voter surveillance.

Failure to address the withdrawal of candidates due to intimidation

Several candidates have reported threats by the BJP, the ECI was informed in the letter.

“In Gandhinagar and elsewhere, some candidates have switched over to the BJP at the last minute. In Surat and Indore, there were no elections held and winners were declared. This is a subversion of democracy. Threatening a candidate or promising incentives to withdraw are corrupt practices under the Representation of People Act. However, ECI has neither conducted any inquiry nor taken any action.”