Two days of protests in the capital have pushed a technical dispute into the streets. On 6 October, opposition MPs tried to march from Parliament House to the Election Commission’s headquarters. Police stopped them, saying no permission had been given, and some leaders who refused to leave the Akashvani Bhavan premises were detained. On 7 October, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were detained as they tried to reach Jantar Mantar. Delhi Police has since registered FIRs over the protests.
The opposition’s charge is serious. Congress, the Trinamool Congress, the RJD, the CPI(M) and the Samajwadi Party allege irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, and say the Commission is favouring the BJP. They want Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign and a detailed inquiry into recent additions and deletions of voters. The Congress also cites a newspaper report that objections raised by two election commissioners were not addressed during the exercise. The BJP says the protests reflect frustration and that the opposition has no proof.
These are allegations, but they cannot be brushed aside. The electoral roll is the foundation of every election. A citizen whose name is wrongly removed loses the right to vote, and a roll that includes ineligible names weakens everyone else’s vote. A revision of this scale must be beyond reproach.
What is missing so far is a public answer. The Commission has not yet been reported as answering the specific charges. The Commission should publish clear data on deletions and additions, explain how the process was carried out, and address the reported internal objections openly.
The response of the state deserves scrutiny too. The right to protest peacefully is part of democracy, and opposition MPs have a duty to follow the law while exercising it. But detaining the leaders of the main opposition party, and registering cases against them, does little to settle the underlying question. It only turns a dispute about voters into a contest of force.
The same tension has reached Tripura, where the state Congress has planned a march in Agartala on 8 October over the revision.
The way forward is not complicated. The Commission should answer, the opposition should present its evidence in forums where it can be tested, and the courts and Parliament should hold both sides to account. Voters ask only that their names be on the list and their votes be counted. That is the standard against which everyone in this dispute should be judged.