The sacrosanct code

INDIAN general elections are not just the largest democratic exercise in the world, but the nastiest too. Social media, its fake news and its trolls have only added another foul dimension to an already vitiated arena of petulant pugilists who brook no rules. It is difficult to be a referee in such a free-for-all sport. Yet, the Election Commission of India has a grave responsibility to force the contestants to remain within the margins of the model code of conduct. No one, definitely not the Prime Minister of India, is above the poll code. It is the code that lends credibility to the entire poll process and hence it remains the gold standard for our democracy. Now, there are complaints against the Prime Minister for violating it by referring to the dead soldiers of Pulwama and the effectiveness of the Balakot airstrike. Narendra Modi made these speeches in early April. The latest controversy is over his claim of 40 Trinamool Congress MLAs waiting to switch over to the BJP. There are complaints galore against Congress president Rahul Gandhi as well. Rahul made a faux pas by referring to a Supreme Court order while attacking the PM for which he is facing contempt of court proceedings.

The ECI has its plate full, no doubt. But it needs to empty it regularly. The ECI has taken action against leaders of the BJP, the Congress, and other parties; that is not enough. A Congress MP from Assam, Sushmita Dev, moved the Supreme Court against the ECI over the petitions pending against Modi and Amit Shah for many weeks. The apex court took it up for hearing on Tuesday and the ECI too decided to examine these complaints on Tuesday. 

As the ultimate arbiter of our elections, the ECI has a responsibility to dispose of election complaints as soon as they come in during the campaign period itself. This would check malpractices, hate speeches and keep the campaign standards high. Any delay in disposal of cases could lead to more serious complaints of bias, and the petitioners would obviously seek redress from the judiciary, eroding the ECI’s authority.