Belagavi
Members of Eddelu Karnataka, a coalition of social and political activists, have expressed their disappointment with the district administration’s decision to deny them permission to interact with a foreign delegation visiting the country to observe the elections. A group of activists, led by farmers’ leader Sidagouda Modagi, approached Deputy Commissioner Nitesh Patil, requesting permission to meet representatives from five foreign countries, who were in Belagavi.
However, Deputy Commissioner denied their request, stating that he lacked the authority to grant such permits. Modagi told media persons, we told Deputy Commissioner that we had valid reasons to raise objections to the poll process followed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and we like to bring this to the notice of the foreign delegates, but he did not listen. He said we were free to complain to the ECI or to approach the Supreme Court if we had any issues. Then we decided to present a memorandum to him with a request to pass it on to the foreign delegates.
The memorandum alleges that the ECI has failed to ensure free and fair elections due to various shortcomings. These include a biased process of appointing the chief election commissioner, selective implementation of the Model Code of Conduct, inadequate action against complaints involving the ruling party, and unaddressed grievances regarding EVMs.
