BENGALURU: Raising their voices against “inaction” of the Election Commission of India (ECI) over politicians spewing hate speech while campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections, members of civil society groups and citizens queued up outside post offices and mail boxes to send postcards to the commission. The protest campaign was held across 11 cities in the country, including Bengaluru and Mysuru, around 11 am.
The #GrowASpineOrResign campaign revolved around citizens demanding the ECI to promote a free and fair election. The message was loud and clear through inked postcards that had a skull and a spine stamped on them and advocated for punitive action against hate speech by several BJP leaders, openly violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) for the elections.
Vinay Kumar, an activist, said, “Whatever action the ECI has taken against hate speech is futile and useless and it has not deterred even the PM from making such statements. Moreover, the concern is that even after the election this will continue to have a long lasting impact on society.”
Over 200 individuals in Bengaluru and thousands across the country have sent postcards designed by Vinay Kumar to the ECI asking it “to wake up and realise that it is an independent body and doesn’t work for the government”. The group also submitted a joint complaint to the Chief Electoral Officer in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Mumbai signed by 20 organisations, including lawyers, activists, filmmakers and citizens.