Jammu and Kashmir: Mehbooba Mufti Cautions Against Electoral Roll Alterations

Srinagar, September 23: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday expressed strong concerns that India could degenerate into a “banana republic” if electoral rolls are manipulated to favour the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She praised two Election Commissioners for raising objections to decisions within the Election Commission, viewing their dissent as crucial for the vitality of Indian democracy.

Information was available with The Chenab Times that Mufti stated the actions of the ruling party were an attempt to undermine the electoral process, the cornerstone of Indian democracy. She highlighted reports indicating that two Election Commissioners had on multiple occasions voiced objections to the positions and decisions taken by the poll panel, emphasizing the significance of their dissenting voices for the health of democratic institutions.

Mufti drew a parallel between India and Pakistan, referring to them as “sibling states” that appeared to be engaged in a detrimental competition that harmed their own populations and institutions. “I feel that our both the sibling states, India and Pakistan, they are trying to undo each other, competing with each other — who can damage their people the most, who can damage their country the most,” she stated.

Addressing India’s self-perception as the world’s largest democracy, Mufti underscored the centrality of the electoral process to this identity. “Our country India, which is seen as the largest democracy in the world and which our Prime Minister proudly talks about, ‘mother of democracy’, whenever he is abroad,” she said. However, she warned that if electoral rolls continue to be subject to additions and deletions at the behest of the BJP, the nation risks resembling a “banana republic” with eroded democratic foundations.

The PDP president also contrasted the domestic political climate in India with developments in Pakistan, referencing the detention of the sisters of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. “At the same time, look at Pakistan, which goes around the world as a peacemaker, as mediator of peace, is crushing dissent within its country with an iron hand,” Mufti observed. She questioned the detention of unarmed women protesters, including Imran Khan’s sisters, for peacefully demonstrating in support of their brother, deeming it contradictory to Pakistan’s international image as a peacemaker.

Mufti identified the willingness of officials within India to question those in power as the “only silver lining” in the current political scenario. “The only silver lining I can see is that in India we still have people like the two Election Commissioners who have the courage and integrity to question the people in power,” she remarked. She contrasted this with Pakistan, where she perceived a lack of comparable voices within the establishment willing to challenge what she described as the “arbitrary detention” of Imran Khan’s sisters, characterizing the situation in both countries as a “very, very sorry state of affairs.”

Referring to the deletion of voters from draft electoral rolls, Mufti stressed that the significant scale of these changes made the independence of Election Commission officials particularly vital. “If we do not have people like the two Election Commissioners, I don’t want to take their name at this point of time. I don’t know what trouble they are going to go through,” she expressed, alluding to potential repercussions such as investigations by the Enforcement Directorate or Income Tax Department. She concluded by reiterating her dire warning that continued manipulation of electoral rolls would lead to the erosion of democracy, transforming India into a nation that resembles a banana republic.

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