Citizens’ Collective launches national campaign, urges EC to ensure electoral transparency
New Delhi: A collective of concerned citizens, civil society organisations, and technical experts has launched a nationwide campaign for accountability in the electoral process, raising serious concerns over the functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the lack of transparency in the conduct of elections.
Coordinated by the platform ‘Vote for Democracy,’ the group has submitted a detailed memorandum to the ECI, reiterating six key demands aimed at restoring public faith in the electoral system. The memorandum comes in the wake of mounting scepticism around the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and allegations of procedural manipulation, particularly after recent elections in Haryana, Maharashtra, and Delhi.
Among the central questions posed in the memorandum are:
- Why are the complete past and present voters’ lists not available in a searchable database on the ECI website?
- Why are Forms 17C, which record the number of votes polled, and other aggregate voter count data not publicly accessible in a digital format?
- Why is there no transparency in publishing Forms 9, 10, 11, 11A, and 11B that document additions and deletions in the voter rolls?
- Why is the EVM source code not open for public inspection to ensure software integrity?
- Why is there no full disclosure of Symbol Loading Unit (SLU) contents with oversight from independent technical experts?
- Why are VVPAT slips not counted in their entirety, and why can voters not verify and deposit the slips themselves?
The group has termed India’s current electronic voting system as semi-automated and riddled with vulnerabilities, demanding immediate systemic reforms. The six specific demands include:
1. Making all voter rolls—past and present—searchable and publicly accessible online.
2. Publishing Form 17C data from each booth and constituency in a searchable format.
3. Releasing Forms 9, 10, 11, 11A, and 11B detailing voter roll revisions.
4. Making the EVM source code open-source for public and expert scrutiny.
5. Publishing SLU contents and allowing monitoring by independent technical experts.
6. Restoring the integrity of the voting process by allowing voters to physically verify and deposit their VVPAT slips, followed by 100% slip counting. Final vote tallies, they argue, should be based solely on these physical paper records.
The memorandum, endorsed by 83 prominent individuals including former civil servants, judges, computer scientists, journalists, and grassroots activists, highlights concerns over the increasing opacity in electoral procedures. Among the signatories are MG Devasahayam, former IAS and Army officer; computer science experts Madhav Deshpande and Professor Harish Karnick; Justice D. Hariparanthaman and Justice B.G. Kolse Patil (retired High Court judges); Aruna Roy (Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan); Venkatesh Nayak (CHRI); Anjali Bhardwaj; E.A.S. Sarma, IAS (Retd); Teesta Setalvad; Prashant Tandon; and Raju Parulekar.
The signatories cited a recent CSDS survey that shows only 28% of Indians trust the ECI today, indicating serious democratic backsliding. They criticised the Commission’s perceived closeness to the political executive and its reluctance to act against violations of the Model Code of Conduct, including hate speech during elections.
During a recent three-hour national consultation with people’s organisations and civil society groups, participants highlighted the urgent need for systemic reform and greater transparency. State-wide consultations with expert committees are expected to follow.
Participants raised serious concerns over the integrity of voter rolls. In Maharashtra alone, 37 lakh new voters were reportedly added in the five months leading up to elections, without a credible explanation from the ECI. Similar concerns about large-scale voter additions and deletions have been flagged in states like Haryana, Delhi, and West Bengal.
The campaign aims to create national consensus around the need to replace EVMs with paper ballots, citing growing public mistrust. It seeks to address all facets of electoral conduct, from the misuse of the Model Code to the manipulation of voter lists, demanding a level playing field for all political actors.
The memorandum calls on the Election Commission to open itself to dialogue with citizens, technical experts, and political stakeholders. It warns that continued silence or inaction will deepen the erosion of public confidence in India’s democratic institutions.
The nationwide campaign is being led by several prominent voices including MG Devasahayam (Citizens Commission on Elections) and Teesta Setalvad (Vote for Democracy). A detailed programme outlining the next steps of the campaign is expected to be released shortly.
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UK Professor Nitasha Kaul's Overseas Citizenship of India cancelled
Academician decries move as "transnational repression"
London/New Delhi: Professor Nitasha Kaul, a London-based academic, announced on May 18, 2025, via a social media post that her Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card has been cancelled by the Indian government. She described the move as a "bad faith, vindictive, cruel example of transnational repression" intended to punish her for her scholarly work critical of the Modi government's policies concerning minorities and democracy.
The cancellation follows an incident in February 2024 when Professor Kaul, who holds a British passport and held an OCI card, was denied entry into India upon arrival at Bengaluru airport. She had been invited by the then Congress-led Karnataka state government to speak at a conference on "The Constitution and Unity in India."
According to an image of the letter shared by Professor Kaul, the Indian government stated that it had been "brought to the notice of the Government of India that you have been found indulging in anti-India activities, motivated by malice and complete disregard for facts or history." The letter further accused her of regularly targeting India and its institutions on matters of India's sovereignty through "numerous inimical writings, speeches and journalistic activities at various international forums and on social media platforms."
Professor Kaul, who is a Professor of Politics, International Relations, and Critical Interdisciplinary Studies and the Director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy (CSD) at the University of Westminster, London, vehemently rejects these accusations. She stated she had provided a 20,000-word response to what she termed the government's "ridiculous inanity about ‘anti-India’," but the OCI was cancelled through a "rigged process."
In her social media posts, Professor Kaul lamented the decision, questioning how the "mother of democracy" could deny her access to her mother in India. She characterized the action as stemming from "thin-skinned, petty insecurity with no respect for well-intentioned dissent."
The February 2024 denial of entry had already sparked controversy. At the time, immigration officials reportedly cited "orders from Delhi" without providing formal reasons, though Professor Kaul mentioned informal references to her past criticism of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The Ministry of External Affairs had then responded by stating that the entry of foreign nationals into India is a "sovereign decision." Unofficial government sources had indicated that a "preventive lookout circular" was issued against her due to her alleged "pro-separatist" and "anti-India" stance on Kashmir.
The BJP in Karnataka had criticised the state government for inviting her, labelling her an "anti-India element." Conversely, the then-Karnataka government and various international human rights organizations and academic bodies had condemned the denial of entry.
Professor Kaul has been an outspoken commentator on Indian politics, including the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, and has testified before international bodies such as the US Congress on human rights in the region. She maintains her work is academic and pro-democracy, not anti-India.
The cancellation of her OCI card effectively bars her from entering India, a country to which she has personal and academic ties. This incident adds to a growing list of academics, journalists, and activists of Indian origin whose OCI status has been revoked or who have been denied entry to India in recent years, raising concerns about freedom of speech and dissent. Reports indicate that over 100 OCI cards were cancelled by the Indian government between 2014 and May 2023. Furthermore, in 2021, new rules were introduced requiring OCI cardholders to obtain special permission for activities such as research and journalism.
