AISA Chief Neha Bora Refuses To Sign ‘Peace Bond’, Accuses Modi Government Of Curbing Dissent

All India Students’ Association (AISA) president Neha Bora launched a sharp attack on the Modi government at a press conference on Saturday over the ongoing developments surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and protests demanding a halt to the exercise.

Bora said people had witnessed the recent movement across the country demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and a halt to the SIR exercise.

‘Will Not Sign Peace Bond’

She alleged that the right to democratic dissent was being taken away from citizens and said AISA would not sign the ‘peace bond’.

“We will continue to challenge it because signing this peace bond would send a message that such bonds can be used in this country to stop any democratic and peaceful protest,” she said.

Bora said the steps taken by the government to prevent people from protesting were evident to everyone. She explained that the group had approached the High Court because it felt the notice it had received needed to be challenged.

‘What Does Democracy Mean?’

“Democracy is not something that is difficult to understand,” she said, adding that ordinary citizens in a large country like India understand democracy in terms of two broad categories.

According to Bora, these include the right to vote and the right to raise one’s voice when one’s rights and entitlements are under attack.

Targeting the government, she alleged that the right to vote was being taken away from ordinary citizens through the SIR exercise.

Bora further claimed that 13 crore people were being removed from electoral rolls. She said elections were what made India a democracy, but alleged that the electoral process itself was not being allowed to function democratically.

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