Senior advocate Adish C Aggarwala claimed that the second wave of COVID-19 was the worst tragedy witnessed by India since the partition and that it became severe also due to the negligence committed by the people of the country during the elections held in four states -- Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal -- and in the Union Territory of Puducherry.
A letter was written by a lawyer to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India on Monday, urging him to defer the upcoming Assembly elections in Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand till the threat posed by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is over.
"Now, five other states are going to have Assembly elections as per the schedule, without considering that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is gaining peak and health emergencies have been imposed in many Indian states and various other countries," the letter read.
Aggarwala alleged that the Election Commission has taken the decision to go ahead with the elections in the interest of the political parties and not the public. "Article 21 of the Constitution of India mandates right to life and no constitutional authority shall violate this most valuable right. The aspirations of political parties to hold elections on time cannot and should not be greater and valuable than the right to life," he wrote in the letter to the CEC.
The lawyer said while in many states, including Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Manipur, Punjab and Uttarakhand, a night curfew has been clamped and adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviour is being stressed upon, a large number of people are gathering at election rallies without following the Covid protocols.
"Please take note that if the elections in these states are not postponed till Omicron COVID-19 is over, then again lakhs of people will die in India despite best efforts of the central government and the state governments, similar to what happened during the second wave of COVID-19. Keeping in view all the circumstances, it is humbly requested to defer the upcoming elections in Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand till Omicron COVID-19 is over," the letter read.
With inputs from PTI.