Lok Sabha mandate "one-sided", casts aspersions on poll process: Sandeep Pandey, others

By A Representative
A group of social activists led by senior academic Sandeep Pandey, supporting Mayawati’s demand to re-conduct polls using ballot papers, have said that :the manner in which recently conducted Lok Sabha elections have given an unprecedented one-sided mandate favouring Bhartiya Janta Party "casts aspersions on electoral process.”
Organized under the Lok Rajniti Manch, they said in a statement, “It appears as if BJP had managed a grip to control all institutions in democracy to get its desired results. We demand that to ensure citizens of India continue to believe in democracy, 100% VVPAT and EVMs data be tallied.”
The statement adds, “If irregularity to large extent is found then as demanded by national leader of Bahujan Samaj Party’s Mayawati, entire election be conducted using ballot paper.” The statement has been also signed by Rajeev Yadav, Gaurav Singh (Lucknow), Yugal Kishore Shastri (Ayodhya), Faisal Khan (Delhi), Lubna Sarwath (Hyderabad), Gurumurti M (Bengaluru), and Mahendra Yadav (Patna).
It says, “To improve election process better, full transparency needs to be brought in electoral bond related process, by which political parties are receiving donations; receiving donations from foreign companies be stopped; and cap on maximum donation to a political party by a company at 7.5% of its last 3 years profit be restored.”
It adds, “Just like maximum election spending is fixed for a candidate, likewise a maximum election spending limit be ascertained for political parties and expenses be accounted for entire five years, not just 15 days before polling. Maximum election spending limit be fixed keeping in mind an ordinary citizen and not big political parties.”

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By Kunal Pant* In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”

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