Citizens meet to intensify public vigilance on counting day, to raise vigilant voter task force

Guwahati: With just five days left for the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections, a citizen's meeting in New Delhi resolved to intensify public vigilance on the entire counting process at the local level at least 250 constituencies on June 4.

A high-level broad consultative meeting of grassroots mass movement, civil society and political parties was held in Bengaluru and Delhi on May 21 and 28 respectively, which was joined by informed & concerned citizens and prominent members of civil society from various walks of life.

“We have all been closely involved in the ongoing electoral process, voter awareness, booth-level vigilance and accountability and transparency from all statutory bodies including and especially the Election Commission of India (ECI),” the resolution of the Delhi meeting stated.

The meeting also decided to raise a vigilant voter task force, which will consist of those present in the meeting and beyond based on the outcome of the Bangalore meeting on May 21 and all interventions made at the May 28 meeting.

The force will build a Reality-based counter-narrative that counters the pre-determined narrative of an entrenched commercial media committed to this regime.

The meeting also decided to encourage independent media and social sector groups to put out their own ground-level polls and share this widely through social media.

The meeting resolved to build up an alternative set of coherent opinions to counter the tactic of psychological manipulation by the government of the day that misuses and manipulates media.

“We are determined to work closely with political parties from the opposition to motivate counting agents to ensure a methodical, step-by-step counting process that is not rushed through by any intimidatory and bullying tactics of by the regime,” the meeting resolved.

“We would like to state with concern that at no point in the history of the Indian Republic has the citizen’s faith in institutions of democracy been at such an all-time low. Given this and the ongoing subversion of the autonomy and independence of functioning institutions of governance, we wish to collectively alert fellow citizens from across the country in the days and weeks ahead," the resolution of the meeting stated.

Widespread voices of resistance against all policies of the current regime have been reflected in real issues of grave threat to the Constitution, agrarian distress, rampant economic inequality and impoverishment, price rise, unemployment and crimes against women being thrown up as the issues of the day during the election campaign, rejecting the divisive efforts of the current regime. Apart from setting the narrative, this extraordinary and widespread mobilisation of India’s civil society in the 18th Lok Sabha polls has ensured that it is on these crucial issues that votes are cast and the present caretaker regime evaluated.

“We collectively express our deep concern at the possibilities of manipulation in the counting process and the transition period that follows thereafter. On behalf of the electorate of India, we would like to affirm that if the counting of votes and declaration of results is done freely, fairly and transparently the mandate will be clearly against the policies of this regime. Moreover, if this mandate is fairly implemented, change is assured to the people of India,” the meeting said.

“However, we are extremely concerned about the process that follows hereon and express our concern about whether this process will proceed smoothly, democratically and constitutionally,” the meeting observed.

The meeting also observed that the entire period of this 18th Lok Sabha election, particularly after the declaration of polls and the operation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) been marked by a hitherto unprecedented violation of the Constitution, Indian law and the MCC and also blatant instances of evident malpractices in electioneering. There is genuine apprehension and fear that these levels of structured manipulations will continue both during the counting process and thereafter, failing to respect the mandate of the people.

“The people of India are prepared and are standing by. The people of India, our farmers, youth, minorities and public intellectuals have fought back the repressive policies of this regime for close to 10 years despite the brute use of state force -- lathis, teargas, drones and incarceration. We have fought this election campaign shoulder-to-shoulder with people’s organisations, farmers and workers movements, civil society and political parties,” it said.

“We have been witness to an empowering sense of unity among all sections of the people of this country. It is the people of India who elect a government. No one is above the people. As the preamble of our Constitution states, We The people of India, are sovereign. We assert our voice and stake in the future of the country and the united struggles of all its people across gender and communities,” it also stated.

“We believe that the mandate based on this collective will and resistance to anti-people policies has been built up with collective participation from across the country on the shoulders of multiple mass movements, civil society organisations and groups,” it further stated.

“We strongly remind all political parties to fulfil their involvement and role in the counting process. We will reject any mandate based on the manipulation of the EVM-VVPATs or by horse-trading. We remind the Supreme Court of India of its duties to ensure free and fair elections,” the resolution of the meeting also said.

“We strongly impress upon the President of India to ensure a smooth formation of government based on a free and fair result. We strongly impress upon the members of the civil services, police, security and armed forces to stand by the people’s mandate which is part of their oath of loyalty and allegiance to the Constitution,” it further stated.

“We remind the ECI and all its state-level officers right down to every booth that they owe their allegiance to the Indian people and the Indian Constitution not to the government in power,” it added.