India: Election Commission threatened with prosecution for "murder" after mass rallies
Supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu Nationalist Party (BJP) at an election rally in Calcutta, West Bengal, April 5, 2021. AP - Bikas Das
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Overwhelmed by a second wave of the pandemic, India is recording more than 320,000 daily cases of Covid-19 these days, the highest rate ever recorded in the world.
The government has been regularly criticized by the opposition and civil society for the weak measures taken to prevent this second wave.
It is now justice that is getting started: senior magistrates accused the elections commission of being responsible for this violent resurgence of cases, by letting the regional elections take place throughout the month of April.
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With our correspondent in New Delhi,
Sébastien Farcis
“
You should be prosecuted for murder.
The judges of the Tamil Nadu Court of Appeal at the southern tip of the country do not have enough harsh words to qualify the laxity of the elections commission.
The magistrates accuse its members of having allowed electoral meetings of thousands of people to be held during the regional elections in April in this Indian state and in four others.
Which, according to the judges, is the main reason for the explosion in the number of Covid-19 cases.
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Read also: Covid-19 in India: Modi calls for restraint during a mass Hindu pilgrimage
Huge crowds without a mask
The crowds were indeed huge, usually without a mask, and encouraged by the highest dignitaries of the state, such as the Prime Minister.
The commission replied that it recalled the distancing rules when cases increased, and restricted gatherings to 500 people on April 22.
But it was already very late: the elections were then almost over, and the country recorded more than 320,000 cases per day.
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To read also: Covid in India: anger rises in the face of the management of the crisis, Modi responds
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Narendra Damodardas Modi
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