In a recent report by Al Jazeera, the Indian election has been marred by allegations of voter suppression and discrimination against Muslim communities.
The report underscores the growing concerns among minorities under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Muslim voters have reported numerous incidents of their names being mysteriously omitted from voter lists, leading many to believe this is a deliberate tactic by the Modi government to marginalize Muslim communities and influence the election outcome. “It is clear that Muslim voters are being suppressed,” Al Jazeera reports.
Accounts of harassment at polling stations have also emerged. One voter recounted a distressing experience, claiming that police officers harassed and assaulted Muslim voters.
“My father was seriously injured by police batons, and we had to rush him to the hospital,” he said.
This voter also reported that his voter slip and Aadhaar card were torn up by a police officer before he was forcibly taken into a police van and tortured.
Ziaur Rahman Barq, a candidate for the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, accused local authorities of colluding with the police to intimidate Muslim voters at the BJP’s behest. “I saw children and elderly people with severe injuries from brutal beatings by the police,” Barq told Al Jazeera.
The recent inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya has added to the controversy. Critics argue that the event underscores the Modi government’s strategy of using religious identity to polarize voters and gain electoral advantage. Indian media has also criticized the BJP for leveraging divisive religious rhetoric to influence the electorate.
