Former Chief Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa questions ECI credibility
Former Chief Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa has openly questioned the credibility of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Speaking at a Kolkata event, he pointed to growing public anxiety and unusual calls for the chief election commissioner to step down.
The main worry? The ECI's recent steps like mass voter deletions and new voter categories, along with new questions in Form 6 without the government's permission.
Critics call voter revision drive undemocratic
Lavasa wasn't alone: actor and activist Prakash Raj called the new voter revision drive a real threat to democracy, saying they divide people into "can vote" and "cannot vote" groups.
Former Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal Jawhar Sircar even suggested criminal conspiracy charges against the ECI, while former Indian Administrative Service officer Anita Agnihotri described rolling back inclusive voting as a "human tragedy."
All in all, there's major concern about whether elections are still truly fair and free.