M J Akhter / New Delhi
Expressing serious concerns over violation of model code of conduct by politicians and reports of EVM malfunctioning, the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind JIH today asked the Election Commission of India to protect the democratic ethos of the nation and credibility of the elections.
Addressing media persons here today, Jamaat’s newly-elected president Syed Sadatullah Husaini said: “four phases of the elections have been completed and the way in which politicians have been flouting the model code of conduct (MCC) is quite unprecedented. Especially, deplorable is the use of communal statements by top politicians to divide the electorate on religious lines. These leaders hope to reap electoral benefits by creating division between religious communities as they have nothing worthwhile to show in terms of performance when they were in government which is lowering the level of political discourse and sullying the country’s image as a mature democracy.”
Jamaat chief urged the Election Commission of India to take a firm stand and punish the guilty on the violations of the MCC. He demanded the EC to protect the democratic ethos of the nation by saving the credibility of the elections.
Mr. Husaini has also expressed concern over the numerous reports of EVM mal-functioning. He said, “We support the petition filed in the Supreme Court, seeking an increase in random matching of VVPAT slips with EVMs. It may be noted that some of the most stable democratic countries like the USA, UK, France and Germany have banned the use of EVMs and use ballot paper for casting of votes. As the accuracy of counting of votes, is absolutely critical for the survival of our democracy, the issue of tampering of EVMs needs to be addressed once for all.”
Jamaat-e-Islami rejects call for Ban on ‘Burqa’ in India
The Jamaat’s President has condemned the recent Maoists attack in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district. Expressing condolences for the soldiers and praying for the speedy recovery of the injured, he has demanded a thorough investigation into the incident and possible security lapses with intelligence failure. Mr. Husaini said, “the Pulwama attack in Jammu and Kashmir and now this attack in Gadchiroli are a serious cause of concern for our nation as it shows that the government of India has completely failed in protecting its own soldiers. Nobody in the government seems to be taking responsibility for the incidents.”
The Jamaat chief was accompanied by two Vice Presidents – Mohammad Salim Engineer and S Aminul Hasan. Engineer Salim briefed the media persons on the issues.