India’s Opposition parties staged one of their biggest shows of strength in recent times with the ‘Chalo Dilli’ rally at the Ramlila Maidan on Sunday, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) were the only prominent Opposition parties missing at the event. Many regional and Left parties actively participated in the agitation, which was led by the Congress and the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi. The rally has lent momentum to the ongoing protests against the exclusionary implementation of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. It will serve the Opposition’s efforts to keep the resistance alive and expand its scope beyond political considerations.

In a politically charged counter-move, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) organised protests in Delhi and elsewhere on the same day, highlighting the anti-Sikh riots following the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. While questions can be raised against the Congress over the anti-Sikh riots, just as they can be posed to the BJP over the 2002 Gujarat riots, it is difficult to see how the 1984 violence can provide a counter-narrative to an undemocratic electoral roll revision. The SIR is a live issue, directly posing a threat to the democratic rights of millions of people and undermining a constitutional office. The BJP’s continued support for the actions of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and its chief also lends credibility to questions about the party’s interest in the matter.

Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, voices aligned with the dispensation have referred to a “foreign hand” behind the agitation, calling the protesters anti-nationals and anarchists. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat has warned of an international conspiracy, and BJP leaders have accused the Opposition of working with foreign forces to destabilise the country. Alleging foreign interference is the easiest counter-move in the face of formidable political opposition. But when such a serious charge is made, the government should produce evidence in support. When protests peaked during the Emergency, Indira Gandhi claimed that a foreign hand was working against her. Governments that find it difficult to counter the issues raised by the Opposition and are forced to go on the defensive invariably raise the foreign-hand bogey. The Modi government has wrongly supported the CEC, whose position has become untenable in view of the damage his office has done to the country’s electoral system. (Source: DH)