Former union minister Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz today alleged that the BhartiyaJanata Party (BJP) leaders have made 2019 election the ugliest since the independence of India.
He said the ElectionCommission of India (ECI) too has shown itself in poor light.
“When Sunil Arora was appointed as Chief ElectionCommissioner of India certain people had apprehended that it would not bepossible for him to be steadfast on set norms of the Commission. In thatconnection, they had also mentioned the extensions in service he had been givenby the present dispensation from one superannuation to another,” the statementstated.
“I do not like to believe such critics even today. But myassessment on the performance of the ECI is that it has shown a kind ofpartisan attitude in the discharge of its duty. When it decided to lodge an FIRagainst Pragya Thakur, the other day, I was disgusted to see that ECI had notshown its nerve to deal with the terror accused Pragya on bail under the lawfully,” Soz said.
He said, “The broader question is that the ECI had not evenbated its eyes on PM Modi and Amit Shah, who have been promoting extremelysectarian narrative in utter disregard of the Constitution of India.”
“Hasn’t PM Modi been bringing in armed forces in hiscontinuous narrative around Pulwama, Balakot and the like? Haven’t the duobrought in sectarian Hindutva ideology during their election campaign in thefullest possible manner?,” the statement stated.
“The ECI has tried to practically show that PM Modi and AmitShah are entities above law of the land! The ECI should also verify factors onwhether or not Amit Shah is a murder-accused,” Soz said.
He said, “As for terror accusedPragya, the Commission’s FIR against her is not its adequateresponse to her open propagation of sectarian Hindutva, her disrespect to theconstitution of India by clear communal reference to Babri Masjid andderogatory and unlawful remarks against HemantKarkare. All this has notconstituted any serious offence in the eyes of the ECI.”