[IMC Bombay] An Appeal to the Election Commission of India

[Sukla Sen]

Dear Friends,
The following is an open appeal to the Election
Commission of India not to go in for an early election
in Gujarat. In case you agree with the content, please
write to the EC on similar lines, or simply append
your signature to this appeal and send.
Time is running out!
In solidarity,
Sukla Sen
  
To
The Election Commission of India
Nirvachan Sadan
Sardar Patel Chowk
New Delhi
<jmlyngdoh@eci.gov.in>

SUB : An Appeal to the Election Commission of India :
A Snap Poll in Gujarat at this juncture will be
Grossly Violative  of  Democratic and Constitutional
Principles


Sirs,

As an ordinary citizen of India, concerned about its
future and continuance as a secular democratic
republic, I submit the following facts and arguments
for your kind and judicious consideration while
finally deciding the timing of the next assembly
election in Gujarat. For I believe that this decision
of yours, which you are now expected to take and
announce soon  having concluded your on-the-spot
investigations in Gujarat, will be a momentous one -
just not shaping the future course of development in
blood and shame stained Gujarat, but the very
continuance and existence of India, as we know of it
today.
 
1.  As the now dissolved Gujarat assembly came into
being in mid-March of 1998, if allowed to run its full
course, the next elected assembly would have been due
by next year mid-March. But the Chief Minister of
Gujarat, duly backed by his cabinet, recommended the
premature dissolution of the state assembly last month
to force an early election, and this was promptly
accepted by the state Governor. Moreover, the
incumbent government was asked to continue till the
next government takes over after the coming assembly
election. 
2.  The constitutional right of the Chief Minister,
enjoying the confidence of the assembly, to recommend 
  its premature dissolution and seek an early election
in the quest for a favourable mandate from the
electorate at a time of his own choosing is, no doubt,
unassailable. In fact, to my knowledge, even the worst
critic of the Chief Minister has not challenged his
right to do so.
3.  But the timing and the actual conduct of the
election eventually rests with the Election
Commission, and the Commission has to take into
account a number of factors in a holistic manner, not
excluding the broader and the specific contexts, and
just not the Chief Minister’s constitutional
prerogative while taking the final decision.
4.  This, in fact, has been implicitly conceded even
by those, viz. The BJP, who are demanding an early
election, preferably in September-October, in so far
as they are buttressing their contention based on a
couple of constitutional and political arguments.   
5.  The votaries of an early election are essentially
putting forward twofold arguments :
    One, it is imperative, in fact constitutionally
obligatory, for the EC to conduct the election in such
a way that the next assembly session can be held by
early October - before the expiry of the six month
period since the closing of the last session.
    Two, popular elections constitute the central
piece of a democratic system, and hence in view of the
widespread allegations against the Narendra Modi
government of engineering a communal carnage in
Gujarat it would be only proper to seek a fresh
mandate from the electorate and thereby test the
validity of such allegations - which according to the
BJP are evidently false, malicious and politically
motivated, in terms of the of the outcome of the poll;
as in a democracy, the "people", i.e. the electorate,
are the supreme and final arbiter. Hence, the Chief
Minister, Narendra Modi, is these days quite often
referring to and swearing by the "Janata Janardan"
(people the divine).
    There is also a third, even if supplementary,
argument. If elections can be, and could be, held in
Jammu and Kashmir (and the North-East), then why not
in Gujarat? 
6.  Despite apparent plausibility, all these arguments
are essentially flawed, contrived and even gravely
dangerous - we will try to establish as we go along.
7.  The first argument contends that the Article 174
of the Indian Constitution provides that the interval
between the last day of the preceding session of a
state assembly and the first day of the following
session must be less than 6 months. It is, in fact, on
the strength of this argument the Narendra Modi
government went in for recommending premature
dissolution of the assembly, instead of simply
proposing an early election, to force the hands of the
EC.
    But the argument is at best spurious. Read
together with the other provisions, it evidently
refers to the two successive sessions of the same
assembly, and not two different assemblies separated
by an intervening election. In fact, that is the stand
the union government has taken in a case before the
Supreme Court pertaining to the UP assembly. 
    The unsustainability of this line of logic becomes
all the more evident if we consider the fact that
nothing in the Constitution prevented Narendra Modi to
go in for dissolution of the house just before the
next session becomes due. In that case meeting the
alleged deadline of six months for the next session
would have simply become an impossibility. 
8.  The second argument, however, is positively and
extremely dangerous. It equates majoritarianism with
democracy, and is based on a partial and perverted
definition of the latter.   
    Democracy, of course, means the rule of the common
‘majority’, an ever-changing conglomeration of
individual citizens - or rather their elected
representatives, clearly contrasted with other systems
of governance - which provide for the reign of a
solidly entrenched privileged few, or ‘minority’,
quite often - but not always, selected through
heredity.
    But it does not mean just that. It also means,
among many other things and values, the right to
dissent, special protection for the (vulnerable and
underprivileged) ‘minorities’, and certain civilised
norms of social transactions.
    So, faced with a terrible famine, if ninety-nine
out of a hypothetical community of a hundred decide to
slaughter the hundredth one and partake his/her flesh
just to ensure their survival - that would definitely
not be democratic, even under those extreme
circumstances. That is precisely why Hitler, who at a
point of time polled overwhelming majority votes of
the German electorate, is considered the worst
dictator and criminal the civilised world has seen
till date as the perpetrator of the "holocaust".
"Popular mandate" could in no way mitigate the
enormity of his crimes. That is why a "popular
mandate" cannot set aside the verdict of a court as
regards the culpability either of an individual or a
group.
    The Indian Constitution, like in all other
democracies, clearly recognises this limit to
"people’s power". Hence, there is separation of powers
among the legislative, executive and judicial wings of
the state. And the basic features of the Constitution,
howsoever nebulous and undefined they stand, are
considered unalterable.
9.  Now, if we look at the specific context of Gujarat
- we find that the BJP-led government of Gujarat,
which in the recent days was encountering a virtually
uninterrupted series of serious electoral reverses at
all the three levels - panchayat, assembly and
parliament, has suddenly gone gung-ho about elections
just with the onset of the blood-bath in the state in
the wake of the Godhra carnage. That is why the talk
of a snap poll started doing rounds virtually from the
day one. Evidently bestial sectarian violence has been
looked upon as an extremely effective instrument, made
readily available through the control over the state
machinery - of course through an earlier round of
election, to polarise and mobilise voting ‘majority’
in its favour. That is why the state government
behaves in such a revoltingly biased manner - openly
and demonstratively. To take only a few examples, the
Godhra victims, overwhelmingly Hindu, are offered
compensation at a rate double of that offered to the
subsequent victims, overwhelmingly Muslim. Draconian
POTA is made applicable in case of the Godhra accused,
and routine criminal laws for the subsequent ones.
Senior and experienced lawyers, with higher fees, are
appointed as prosecutors for the Godhra cases, and
greenhorns for the riot cases. When the board
examinations, which could not be held because of the
carnage, were held after the violence subsiding to a
significant extent - all the centres from the
‘minority’ Muslim areas were shifted to ‘safe’ Hindu
areas, regardless of the fact that the victims of
violence were overwhelmingly Muslims. The few
functionaries of the state, who tried to discharge
their duties with at least some degree of integrity,
got summarily transferred to inconsequential postings.
The criminal and deliberate callousness towards the
tasks of relief and rehabilitation and bringing the
culprits of unspeakable violence to book is, however,
too evident to merit any special mention.    
    As a result, even if the explicit violence has
significantly, though not completely, abated (in fact,
too many are even today unable to go back to their
erstwhile homes) - in today’s Gujarat terror and
hatred permeates the very air that we breathe. That is
why the BJP is so insistent on holding the elections
right now, lest the terror and hatred dissipates with
time. That is why the VHP is talking of election as
‘Dharam Yudh’ (crusade) and the BJP is talking of
‘Gaurav(!) Yatra’ (Glory March).
    That is precisely why the election must be
deferred till a modicum of ‘normalcy’ is restored. And
the only authentic evidence of the ‘normalcy’ would be
the normalcy restored to the lives of the riot
victims. Otherwise the election will be neither "free"
nor "fair".
10. As regards the third argument, it has to be
clearly recognised that Jammu and Kashmir (along with
parts of the North-East) is a completely different
case - in a class of its own, in so far as it is faced
with secessionist insurgencies enjoying supports from
beyond India’s territorial limits. Here, the Indian
state, rightly or wrongly, has decided, with support
from all the mainstream political parties, to suspend
the democratic rights of the local populace, and
rigged elections have been considered over the years
one of the many instruments to thwart insurgency. Just
because the Indian state, for evident reasons, cannot
go public about this approach, there is no sense in
equating Jammu and Kashmir with Gujarat, where the
government of the day, and not any insurgents, is
patronising sectarian violence to promote its
nefarious political agenda.
11.  In conclusion, your attention is most humbly
drawn to the fact that if an early election held in an
ambience of terror and hatred brings in hefty
electoral reward for the perpetrators of bestial
violence, which in fact is not too unlikely given the
level of communal polarisation in the civil society of
Gujarat, brought about by the active intervention of
the state ably aided by the vernacular media, the
bloodbath in Gujarat will stand politically, if not
legally, legitimised putting the lives of millions in
grave jeopardy. Not only that, in such an event this
gory experiment will in all likelihood be attempted to
be replicated all across India with disastrous and
unimaginable consequences.
   An immediate election will also definitely halt
whatever relief and rehabilitation works have been
undertaken by a reluctant government, and reverse the
process of normalisation, albeit at an excruciatingly
slow pace, by raising the pitch of political/communal
conflicts. 
12. To sum up, you are once again urged not to give in
to the bullying tactics of the union government and do
full justice to the independent and constitutional
positions that you hold. 
    In the case of electoral reforms, you have already
shown exemplary boldness in implementing the Supreme
Court directives. The people of India are keenly
looking forward to the same sort of fearless
dispensation of justice in this case as well.
    The future of India lies in your able hands!    

Thanking   you,

Yours sincerely,
Sukla Sen
EKTA (Committee for Communal Amity)
Mumbai


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