Tehelka Web Desk
Former J&K Chief Minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday warned that continued changes to electoral rolls could undermine democracy in India, saying the country could eventually “resemble a banana republic.”
Reacting to reports that two Election Commissioners had objected to decisions by the Election Commission, Mufti said their dissent was important to protecting the electoral process.
“Today they are trying to subvert the very fundamentals of Indian democracy, which is the electoral process, by, you know, fudging the electoral rolls, which the two Election Commissioners have pointed out,” she said.
Mufti said that if the deletion and addition of voters continued according to the wishes of the ruling BJP, it could pose a serious threat to democratic institutions.
“But if it continues to be like this, you know, where electoral rolls—deletion and addition—happen at BJP’s will, then there are dangers that at some point in time our country, which is the largest democracy in the world, is going to resemble a banana republic,” she said.
She described the two Election Commissioners as a “silver lining”, saying they had the “courage and integrity” to question those in power.
Mufti also criticised Pakistan over the detention of the sisters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, saying the action showed a contradiction between the country’s international image as a peacemaker and its treatment of dissent at home.
She said the independence of institutions such as the Election Commission was crucial for democracy.
“If we continue like this, I mean, there will be a time when we are going to resemble a banana republic. There will be no democracy,” Mufti said.
