This is how to do it Mr Sharif. The Indian PM Narendra Modi attacked the Election Commission (EC) on Sunday, accusing it of not acting impartially and dared it to take action against him. And he’s also told them to file an FIR against him if they think he is guilty for any misconduct. Modi is irate, and says that if EC was able to hold election without rigging in Bengal, Bihar and UP then only, they can claim credit for the election being fair.
The Election Commission is in quite a bind thus. Most recently, the Election Commission has denied reports that it had discovered three lakh bogus voters in Varanasi, the constituency represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Instead they say that there are 6.47 lakh repeated names. It is unclear whether people were voting twice, or if they have been recorded twice, Reports differ, some say that these are repeated names, some say they are fake names, some say that previously deleted names also had votes cast, while some say that the whole story is fake. It sounds like rigging, and looks like rigging…“that which we call a rose, By any other name would smell as sweet.” Remember that Narendra Modi ‘won’ this seat by 3 lakh 71 thousand and 784 votes.
If this is true, what next? According to Article 329 of the Constitution of India, for an election to be set aside, an election petition must be presented “to such authority and in such manner as may be provided for by or under any law made by the appropriate Legislature.” The last time the election of a sitting Prime Minister has corruption allegations, i.e. in 1975 with Indira Gandhi, a state of emergency was declared. But this will hardly come to pass under Modi’s watch. And if rigging in Varanasi actually happened, would we expect anything less of Modi, a Prime Minister who has watched over the continuous humiliation of minorities and murderous attacks on them? Someone who supervised the wholesale handing over of the country to the biggest and most corrupt corporate bidders? Modi has already lambasted the EC, just like a Machiavellian Prince should have. But can Modi’s election be set aside through due process?