Members of Eddelu Karnataka, an umbrella organisation of social and political activists, have criticised the Belagavi district administration for its refusal to permit them to meet members of a foreign delegation that is visiting the country to witness, study first-hand the ongoing general elections.
A delegation of activists met Deputy Commissioner Nitesh Patil with a request to permit them to meet election representatives from five foreign countries who were in Belagavi on Monday and Tuesday.
However, Mr. Patil refused to permit them, saying he did not have any authority to issue such permits.
“We told him that we have valid reasons to raise objections to the election process being followed by the Election Commission of India and that we want to bring this to the notice of the foreign delegates. But he did not listen. He said that we are free to complain to the Election Commission of India or to approach the Supreme Court, if there are any issues,” they said.
“Then we decided to present a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner with a request to pass it on to the foreign delegates,” farmers leader and Eddelu Karnataka member Sidagouda Modagi told reporters here on Tuesday.
The memorandum says that the Election Common of India has failed to conduct free and fair elections due to its dereliction of duty.
The process of appointing the Chief Election Commissioner is biased, thereby affecting the Election Commission’s autonomy. The Model Code of Conduct is being selectively implemented and complaints against the ruling party are not taken seriously and grievances about EVMs are not addressed, the memorandum says.
The Election Commission of India has not acted against narrative by leaders like the Prime Minister of hate and divisive politics that openly targets a specific minority group and no action has been taken against the ruling party for attacks on the opposition like the arrest of Chief Ministers, the memorandum says.
It has not taken action against coercion to ensure withdrawal of opposition candidates and freezing of accounts of opposition parties, misuse of mainstream media and distribution of offensive material through social media and fake news, it says.
The Election Commission of India has not stopped the blatant use of money collected through unconstitutional electoral bonds and efforts at tampering with of electoral rolls to delete names of minority voters, while there is no transparency and verifiability in decisions taken by itself (Election Commission of India), the members have said.
The Eddelu Karnataka team has said that the Independent Panel for Monitoring the Indian Elections (IPMIE) compiled its reports on verified data and information on the allegations that it is making and that it wanted to share the evidence with the foreign delegates.
Leaders Shivaleela Misale, M. Makandar and others were present.
