Press Release: Hindus for Human Rights Demands Free and Fair Elections in India
Hindus for Human Rights Demands Free and Fair Elections in India
Calling for Transparency and Integrity in the Lead-Up to the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections
March 26, 2024 – Hindus for Human Rights demands that the Indian government ensure free and fair elections in April and cease its attacks on Indian political opposition. While Hindus for Human Rights does not support any political party, we note that a vibrant political opposition is crucial for a functioning democracy.
Ahead of India’s consequential elections in April, Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal, former Jharkhand Chief Minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Hemant Soren have been arrested for alleged crimes under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). While only proper due process in a fair trial will determine the veracity of the allegations against Kejriwal and Soren, Kejriwal’s and Soren’s arrests and the pursuit of prosecutions of other Indian opposition leaders under the PMLA are no coincidence. The BJP has faced serious allegations that it has weaponized the ED to undermine political opposition, and these allegations have become glaring in the leadup to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In 2024, members of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Indian National Congress (INC), Trinamool Congress (AITC), and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) faced ED raids. In fact, since 2014, the ED has summoned more than 150 opposition politicians vs. only 4 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politicians. Opposition leaders have alleged that members of their parties have defected to the BJP under threat of ED investigations only to see those investigations disappear when politicians join the BJP. These concerns have been echoed by reports in The Economist and Reuters.
Moreover, despite the fact that only 4 BJP politicians have been summoned by the ED, BJP leaders at all levels, including the Prime Minister himself, have been credibly accused of corruption. In fact, close Modi ally and business leader Gautam Adani is currently under investigation by the United States Department of Justice for possible crimes under the US’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, including allegedly bribing Indian officials and fraudulently overvaluing his companies with the help of the current Indian government.
Kejriwal’s and Soren’s arrests also come at a time when INC leaders announced that the party’s bank accounts have been frozen by the Income Tax Department (IT), effectively crushing the INC’s ability to pay for political activities ahead of the election. Parties across the opposition have alleged that not just the ED, but the IT and the Central Bureau of Investigations have taken actions against their parties. During the winter parliament session at the end of 2023, the Indian government suspended 150 Members of Parliament. Taken together, these actions are designed to intimidate and stifle India’s diverse political opposition.
While the ED and IT are supposed to provide important checks on corruption by political actors, in recent years, the Indian government has weaponized this crucial institution to criminalize government critics, including journalists and political opponents. Previously, the ED under Modi raided the offices and froze the bank accounts of Amnesty India, Newsclick, and the Center for Equity Studies, alleging these organizations violated the PMLA. The ED has also raided the houses of activists, like Harsh Mander, for alleged money laundering. The Modi government’s tactics to undermine India’s civil society and opposition before elections are neither unique nor innovative. Instead, Modi has replicated repressive practices in countries like Saudi Arabia and El Salvador, where authoritarians have used anti-corruption operations to criminalize political opposition while ignoring the root causes of corruption and poor governance.
At a time when activists, journalists, and now political opposition, are punished for their criticisms of the Indian government, India’s partners, particularly the US, must ask serious questions about the freeness and fairness of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. And for those questions to be answered, the Indian government must, in good faith, allow political parties, regardless of allegiance to the ruling party, to engage Indian voters without impediment.
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For further comments, interview requests, or to obtain additional information, please contact: David Kalal, david@hindusforhumanrights.org
Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR) is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit nonpartisan organization founded in 2019. We advocate for pluralism and civil and human rights in South Asia and North America, rooted in the values of our Hindu faith: shanti (peace), nyaya (justice) and satya (truth). We work with a broad coalition of partners to educate elected officials and the public in the United States about civil and human rights issues in South Asia.