The group is seeking action against shadow social media accounts of the BJP, the prohibition of publishing advertisements on polling day, and the distribution of voter slips carrying the party symbol
Waquar Hasan| Clarion India
NEW DELHI – Reminding the past manoeuvres by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to influence voting, the Jharkhand-based civil rights group Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan (LBA) has filed a complaint with the Election Commission seeking to ensure fair polling as per the standard norms set by the election body.
In the first phase, 43 constituencies of the Jharkhand assembly will vote on Wednesday (November 13) while polling in 38 constituencies will take place on November 20.
In its complaint with Jharkhand’s Chief Election Officer (CEO) K Ravi Kumar on Monday, the group criticised the poll panel over its failure to act against BJP leaders for making communal speeches and violating the model code of conduct (MCC).
“It’s a matter of concern that you have not taken any action against the communal and religiously polarised speeches of BJP leaders which violate the model code of conduct and People’s Representation Act 1951 despite frequent complaints against them,” noted the complaint.
In the last few weeks, the group has filed several complaints against the BJP and its leaders for making hate speeches targeting Muslims and running communal election campaigns in the state. Within a week, four complaints were filed against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for making inflammatory speeches against the minority community.
When international civil advocacy groups released a report on the communal and Islamophobic advertisements being run by the pro-BJP pages on Facebook and Instagram, the group demanded the shutdown of these pages and legal action in this regard.
“Recently, an investigative report revealed the shadow social media accounts which put out communal, divisive, and anti-Adivasi content. But you have not taken any action against this. These pages are still active. In this situation, serious questions are raised over the fairness of the Election Commission,” said the complaint.
The group pointed out that the BJP had violated the MCC to influence the voters in different ways during the last 48 hours of the Lok Sabha elections. “On the polling day, the BJP published the electoral advertisement along with the party symbol and photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On the polling day itself, the BJP workers had distributed voter slips carrying the photo of PM Modi and election slogans. Besides, various polling agents had not given verification forms 17 c to booth agents,” said the complaint reminding the past violations of the BJP.
Noting that “It is suspected that BJP will again indulge in these manoeuvres to influence voters”, the group put out six demands ahead of Wednesday’s polling.
It sought action against the shadow social media accounts of the BJP, the prohibition of publishing advertisements on polling day, and the distribution of voter slips carrying the party symbol.
The group also demanded special attention towards the fairness of the forces deployed by the Central Security Forces and the transparency in the process related to the EVM.
“The numbers of EVM ID should be matched from the beginning to the end, mock votes should be zero before polling. The polling officer should be fair. At the end of polling, the battery status of the control unit should be registered. Special attention should be paid to the strong room and counting time,” demanded the complaint.
Every polling agent should be given Verification Form 17 at the end of the polling, it added.
