As I listened to Rahul Gandhi’s emphatic, fact-backed, passionate proof of the Election Commission’s complicity in massive voter fraud—proof worked out like a neat school project with all the answers right there—I waited for the Commission to do what any responsible guardian of democracy should do: reassure the people of India that everything was in order.
Instead, what did we get? Rules. Regulations. Clause this, Sub-clause that. It was like watching a patient collapse in front of the emergency room and the doctor—white coat on, coffee in hand—saying, “First fill the forms, please!”
“But he’s dying!” you cry.
“Yes, yes, we understand,” says the doctor, stirring his sugar, “but you see, according to Regulation 12, Form 4B must be completed in triplicate before we can even check his pulse.”
It’s funny till it’s you gasping for breath on the stretcher.
I’ve seen the other side. I’ve seen my wife, a doctor, ignore paperwork, rush a patient straight into the ICU, and save a life. Rules can be filled later; a heart can’t be restarted later.
That’s why I know what I’m talking about.
Do you?
Do you, people of India, understand that it’s not Rahul Gandhi’s vote that’s been stolen, not the Congress’ vote—it’s yours. Mine.
Our democracy’s vote.
Every time you shrug and say, “Ah well, politicians and their games,” you miss the point. This isn’t about one party crying foul because it lost. This is about the patient—India’s democracy—turning blue while the people in charge are busy checking if you’ve stapled the right corner of Form 17A.
And yet, here is one man—day after day, speech after speech—pointing to the fraud, the lies, the injustice. You may like him hate him, call him Pappu, but you cannot deny that he’s standing up while most others, including you, have chosen to lie flat and play dead.
But supporting him? That’s tricky, isn’t it? You might lose your friends, your WhatsApp group invites, even your seat at the colony’s Diwali dinner. So instead, we slip into our comfortable armchairs, complain about the heat, the price of onions, and the traffic, while the ballot box is quietly stolen.
Let me put it plainly. If the Election Commission won’t act without “forms,” and we—the people—won’t act because of “fear,” then what’s left? We’ll wake up one morning to find the patient dead, the doctor on his third coffee, and the paperwork still pending.
So yes, support him. Support anyone—left, right, or centre—who is bold enough to fight for the truth when the truth is being locked in a file cabinet. Because if we let this moment pass, we won’t just lose an election—we’ll lose the right to ever choose again. And then, my friends, you can fill all the forms you want… but they’ll be in triplicate for your own obituary…!
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Robert Clements is a newspaper columnist and writes a daily column, which has graced the pages of over 60 newspapers and magazines, from a daily column in the Khaleej Times, Dubai, the Morning Star, London, and in nearly every state in India, from The Statesman in Kolkata, to the Kashmir Times in Kashmir to the Trinity Mirror in Chennai.
You said it.
Thank you Saji
We need more people with the boldness to call ” a spade a spade!” People ready to take on the task for a nation that seems to have lost its ability to think!
Very true, we need to support the truth
Thank you Edmund
90% of the election commissioners, starting from the top to state level are khaki nicker and black cap walas. They all want to present in a coffin Indian Constitution and democracy on the occasion of the centenary celebrations of राष्ट्रीय संहार संघ।
Yes Edward. Thank you
Absolutely true. 💯
Thank you Mrs Ray
E.V.M. should be stopped.
Ballot voting will rightly determine the people’s choice.
Corruption and fraud should be penalized immediately too. Here’s a man showing proof, and he is asked to give proof of himself through an affidavit!!!
The same sad story that unfolds in our beloved country happens in many of our “co-operative” housing societies, too. The honest people who fight against corruption in the managing committee not only receive very little support from other members, but they are also very badly victimised by the corrupt office-bearers.
Yes Reynold, the rot quite often is seen locally. Thank you for your insights.
Very well said Bob. We are praying for the truth to be out and justice done.
Thank you Vivek.
What you said is absolutely right. From the response of ECI, I feel that EC is not joining BJP, but supporting it from outside.
Thank you Lawrence.
All this is fine…but where does one go from here.
Will everything wd be forgotten when your next article is published…
All this is fine…but where does one go from here.
Will everything wd be forgotten when your next article is published…
When posted I get…Duplicate comment detected; it looks as though you’ve already said that!
Not likely
Many Indians have not taken voting seriously.
I am talking about the people of my area.
If I really value my vote I will surely not keeping quiet if it gets stolen.
That’s so true. Thank you
It’s our duty to stand up for whoever is voicing out a genuine concern which is eating up our democracy…. Well said Bob..!!
Exactly Daniel. Thank you