Exclusive: Can’t fix elections in India, not even for a municipality, says PM Modi on Opposition charges

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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“You cannot fix the election of such a big country; even for a municipality, you can’t fix this,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during an exclusive interview with Network18 Group’s Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi.

PM Modi’s assertion came in response to the Opposition’s allegations that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was attempting “match-fixing” after the party’s Mukesh Dalal was elected unopposed from Surat after all other candidates withdrew from the fray.

The Congress candidate from the Indore Lok Sabha seat, Akshay Kanti Bam, also withdrew his nomination on Monday. April 29. This, Congress believes, is a “threat to democracy.” The party wondered if there is a free and fair poll when the Election Commission “looks the other way” while candidate after candidate is being “intimidated.”

After withdrawing his nomination, Bam reportedly reached the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) office in Indore.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh has separately alleged that the BJP was using the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to “break our ministers and MLAs” after Arvind Kejriwal was arrested in a money-laundering case stemming from the alleged excise policy scam.

“In 2014, they (Congress) had ED and CBI, then why did they lose? They even put my Home Minister (Amit Shah) in jail, then why did they lose?” came PM Modi’s response to the queries, refuting all claims. The year 2014 was the first time when the Congress party lost the general elections in India after two consecutive terms — it was also the first time that the Narendra Modi-helmed BJP took power at the Centre. The Congress lost all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, drawing a blank, compared to the 2009 polls when it had bagged all.

Since 2014, 25 high-profile politicians facing corruption allegations have joined the BJP, with an acceleration in crossovers before the elections of 2024. As per a report in The Indian Express, six politicians made the switch to the BJP just before the recent general elections.

The report also revealed that in 23 of these cases, the move to BJP has resulted in leniency. Three cases were closed, while 20 others remain inactive, indicating a lack of action from investigative agencies post-switch.

Incidentally, the individuals who went over to BJP spanned various party affiliations—10 from the Congress, four each from NCP and Shiv Sena, three from TMC, two from TDP, and one each from SP and YSRCP.

However, the Prime Minister denied any interference in their proceedings and stressed that the courts would decide the outcomes of cases impartially.

“First, not one case has been dropped. Whatever the courts decide, it will happen. They are independent. Second, how many such cases pertain to the political leadership? Only 3%. Even big bureaucrats are in jail. After all, why were these agencies formed? If these agencies were formed with a purpose, won’t they fulfill that?” he said emphasising that corruption should not be taken lightly.

“I see that slowly an environment is being created where it is being thought: ‘Oh, that’s alright. That happens.’ (But) Poor people are dying. We have to rid the country of corruption. That should be the country’s resolve. I believe in making the system policy-driven,” he added.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow