Uphold Constitutional Accountability of the Election Commission of India
Concerns Over the Arbitrary Gagging of Public Dissent
Urgent Appeal to Review Instructions Restricting Dissent
Uphold Constitutional Accountability of the Election Commission of India
“The following is the published full text of EAS Sarma’s letter to Home Secretary.”
To
Shri Govind Mohan, Union Home Secretary,
Dear Shri Govind Mohan,
A news item in the Print on the 9th of this month reads as follows: “Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan on Friday directed the police chiefs of all states and union territories to take preventive measures to stop members and supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) from assembling in the national capital for the protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar”. I feel deeply distressed at what the above report implies. In recent times, the government at the Centre ad unfortunately blocked web portals of protestors and closed Delhi metro movement to gag public dissent. Several other democratic countries, facing similar protests, seem to be handling such protests in a more dignified, democratic manner.
It is time we decide whether should continue as a truly civilised democracy. It reminds me of the British regime of the colonial era when public protests by Gandhiji and other leaders were sought to be ruthlessly suppressed. Itwas Gandhiji who defied the British through non-violent protests. More recently, we went through the emergency days of 1975 when the then government at the Centre had unsuccessfully imposed restrictions on the Constitutional rights of citizens to organise protests against regressive policies, just to make sure that the political leadership at the Centre could continue to be in power against the will of the people. What we are witnessing today seems to be a repeat of those draconian days
The present political executive seems to ignore the three essential ingredients of a civilised democracy, namely, “discussion”, “dissent” and “debate”. What the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) and others are doing across the country is to represent the concerns of the people, the youth in particular, the concerns about their education and their future employment opportunities and the credibility of institutions that influence their future etc. The Election Commission of India “ECI”, as the custodian of free and fair elections, is one such institution on which the future of our democracy critically rests and, therefore, the future of the youth. We have an Election Commission that has wantonly allowed itself to become a political instrument in the hands of the leaders in power in Delhi and adopt a system of selectively excluding millions of bona fide voiceless voters, discouraging the registration of young voters and disempowering field level Election authorities through a highly draconian software imposed on them.
What is far more distressing is that the present Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls has resulted in unfairly excluding voters belonging to certain sections of the society. Any right-thinking citizen will and should question that unfair process and hold the Election Commission to be accountable to the public. That is what the CJP and other protestors are doing today and perhaps planning to do in the future. To gag their dissent, in my view, is highly undemocratic.
To curb their movement to Delhi is against the grain of our Constitution. Your intelligence machinery has perhaps informed you about what the CJP is going to do by way of protests at Jantar Mantar but it does not mean that such protests are unlawful. In my view, inthe first instance, to prevent the CJP from resorting to protests is unlawful, against the letter and the spirit of Article 19 of the Constitution. I feel distressed that the Home Ministry should issue “instructions” to States to stop the CJP volunteers from reaching Delhi, as they are going to collectively express dissent against the ECI.
In fact, I feel happy that the CJP is planning protests across the country against the ECI, as the latter has become insensitive to public concerns. I wish I could personally join them at Jantar Mantar. You, being a senior civil servant in the Home Ministry, should ponder over this and ask yourself whether gagging the voice of the youth of this country is in line with the democratic values of our Constitution. In my view, you have the responsibility of advising the political executive not to suppress public protests. I hope good sense will prevail over the Home Ministry to force itself to review its undemocratic and unlawful stance and revoke instructions to the States on preventing the youth of the country from collectively expressing their dissent.
Yours sincerely
E A S Sarma,
Hyderabad 10th October 2026,
14-40-4/1 Gokhale Road Maharanipeta Visakhapatnam 530002 Mobile: 91-9866021646 Email: eassarma@gmail.com Website: http://eassarma.in
With a journalistic long journey, we bring you https://primepost.news, a dynamic platform committed to unraveling the intricate tapestry of Indian politics, particularly delving deep into the heart of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Our blog is not just a source of news; it’s a reservoir of insights, analysis, and thought-provoking reviews.
