Axe On The Root?

Opposition parties and the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, are engaged in a fiery battle of words over transparency and independence in the conduct of India's top constitutional poll body.

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Criticism and questioning form the bedrock of democratic governance, but what is unfolding between opposition parties and the CEC is beyond criticism. It bears the semblance of a bitter animosity that is loaded by prejudices on both sides of the spectrum. The narrative of the Election Commission of India being on the side of the government—whether true or not—has cast a shadow on the credibility of the Indian democracy in function. At stake is something as vital and fundamental as people's right to vote. For instance, Bihar's Special Intensive Revision (SIR), especially the rush with which it is being carried out, has raised disturbing questions and a burning controversy. Critics—and there is no dearth of them—have alleged that the EC is working at the behest of the ruling NDA to recompose the electoral roll in a partisan and unfair manner. The ambiguities of the allegations, as well as their defence, are so profound that the Supreme Court had to intervene in the matter.