Muslim Body Alleges Voter Suppression Targeting Muslims, Marginalized Communities (image-twitter/JIHMarkaz)
Malik Moatasim Khan, Vice President of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) has condemned ‘the disturbing incidents of voter suppression targeting Muslims and marginalized sections during recent Lok Sabha elections’ in India.
He while speaking to the media emphasizing the recent lathi-charge incident against Muslims, said that there are several media reports suggesting that in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal district, people in at least four Muslim-populated villages have filed complaints that the state police resorted to unprovoked lathi-charge at polling booths. This has resulted in injuring hundreds of voters. He also highlighted that in many of the constituencies, many eligible voters were not allowed to cast their votes. “In the Aliganj Assembly segment in the Farrukhabad Lok Sabha constituency as well as in Aonla Lok Sabha constituency many eligible voters were reportedly prevented from casting their vote,” Malik Khan said.
Apart from this, Mr Malik also brought to the attention that there are several alarming reports on bogus voting in the Rasulabad Assembly segment of the Kannauj Lok Sabha constituency.
Malik Moatasim Khan stated, “This heavy-handed police action on innocent voters undermines the basic democratic right of citizens to participate freely in the electoral process.”
He then pointed out that it is the right of each citizen, irrespective of their background or beliefs, to be encouraged and facilitated to cast their vote without fear or obstruction as India being a democratic country. The above incidents, however, highlight the troubling trend where Muslims and other marginalized communities are systematically targeted and disenfranchised, Malik highlighted.
Malik Khan urged the Election Commission of India to look into the matter and to ensure that such unfortunate incidents do not repeat in the future.
“Jamaat-e-Islami Hind calls upon the Election Commission of India to thoroughly investigate these incidents and take immediate corrective measures to ensure that such incidents are not repeated in future electoral phases,” he said.
