New Delhi: The Congress on Friday asserted that India's electoral democracy is under the "gravest of threats" from the current government. The statement follows a joint appeal by multiple opposition parties urging the Supreme Court to intervene and protect the transparency and fairness of the voting system.

In a formal letter addressed to the Chief Justice of India (CJI), prominent Opposition figures warned that "democracies turn to anarchies when institutional mechanism fails" and cautioned that "when the judiciary fails, it indicates a complete breakdown of the Republic".

The coalition demanded an immediate halt to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, proposing it only be initiated when upcoming assembly elections are at least five years away. In addition, they highlighted the alleged weaponisation of federal investigative bodies and requested a serious evaluation of reintroducing physical ballot papers where necessary.

Sharing the joint communication on X, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal emphasised the judiciary's mandate to safeguard democratic processes against executive overreach.
 

"Electoral democracy in our country faces the gravest of threats from the Modi-Shah regime," Venugopal stated in his social media post.

He noted that on June 28, a group of 24 Opposition parties alongside an Independent MP reached out to the CJI regarding the flawed SIR system, the "partisan role" of the Election Commission of India (ECI), and other systemic electoral issues.

"It is the role of our judiciary to guard our democracy from the excesses of the executive - especially one which is hell-bent on destroying the Constitutional framework that gives us our democracy. In our democracy, the Supreme Court is entrusted with the onerous responsibility of ensuring injustice doesn't prevail. Therefore, it has a vital role to play in protecting the free and fair nature of elections, and also to make sure that they seen to be free and fair. Without this, injustice against 1.4 billion voters persists every single day," Venugopal added.

"We are releasing this letter, in the interest of transparency, and in the hope that the Hon'ble Supreme Court will take the firm steps urgently required to restore the integrity and accountability of and faith in the election process of crores of our people," he stated.

TMC MP Derek O'Brien also underscored the development on X, remarking, "Significant. This is the first time since five meetings of the INDIA bloc have been held, that parties opposed to the BJP, have jointly signed a letter/document".

The political leaders clarified in their correspondence that the appeal to the Supreme Court through the CJI was not intended to disrupt or influence any ongoing sub-judice matters.

"We all, representing like-minded political parties, firmly opposed to the BJP, believe that the electoral process is being manipulated and outcomes in multiple instances do not reflect the will of the people. There are several reasons for this. First, how the Election Commission (ECI) is constituted is and has always been decided by the government in power," the joint letter stated, expressing deep concerns over the ECI's administrative functioning.

The opposition further critiqued the implementation of the electoral roll revision, pointing to a "complete lack of transparency and administrative confusion in the implementation of this process exacerbated by the timeframe within which it was required to be done."

"The whole process of the SIR, according to us, was meant to favour the BJP," they alleged.

The signatories also claimed a "massive deletion of names" from voting lists in West Bengal, calling it a "devious plot" that stripped 27 lakh citizens of their franchise. They further alleged that recent elections held in Delhi, Haryana, and Maharashtra were "manipulated".

"In light of what we have stated, we do expect the impending SIR process be suspended and be launched at a time when the next Assembly election is at least five years away so that representatives of the Commission can go to each house for verification of voters, instead of a process of documentation which has never been adopted in the past," the letter requested.

"We believe this is a matter that warrants wider public discussion, including a serious consideration of restoring ballot papers where appropriate."

Addressing the perceived misuse of Central enforcement squads, the Opposition wrote, "We find, and it is a matter of grave concern, that the agencies of the government, in particular the CBI, the ED and the NIA, are used only to target those in Opposition. These agencies are also used for the purpose of manipulating the outcome of results in the elections, apart from bringing down elected governments."

Reminding the judiciary of the ground realities, the letter noted that judges do not live in ivory towers, adding, "You too are aware of what is happening on the ground."

"We respect all institutions as we must. We honour them as we must. But when institutions themselves become instruments of oppression, carry forward the agenda of the government, then the future of our democracy is fraught with grave consequences. When all else fails, people still repose their trust in the judiciary. So when the judiciary fails to respond, it indicates a complete breakdown of the Republic. Democracies turn into anarchies when institutional mechanisms fail completely," the letter concluded.

Reiterating that they were not challenging the authority of the court, the leaders stated, "We turn to the courts when every mechanism fails. When this too fails, it leaves the question - who do we now turn to? We leave that question for you to ponder upon."

PTI