'Gyanesh, it’s done! Police brutality will not deter us': AISA president Neha Bora

The October 10 CJP protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls will not depend on police permission or a designated venue, All India Students Association (AISA) president Neha Bora said.

In an interview to 'Malayala Manorama' ahead of the protest, she said protesters would assert their constitutional right to demonstrate and gather at Jantar Mantar.

She defended the three demands raised by the CJP, saying the CEC’s resignation alone would not address concerns over the electoral system.

Neha also backed greater unity among opposition forces, including the Congress, against what she described as attacks on democratic institutions.

She said sustained public pressure could force the government to respond to the protesters’ demands, despite police action and attempts to deter the movement.

Neha, an AISA leader, has been among the prominent faces of the recent protests against the Election Commission and SIR in Delhi. She was detained multiple times and sustained injuries during the protests over the past week.

1. Dipke has said that if the police stop protesters on October 10, “wherever they stop us will become our Jantar Mantar.” Tell us about your plan of action for October 10. Will it be a repetition of the July 20 protests?
The Jantar Mantar protest of June-July fundamentally shifted the balance of forces where people now are prepared to speak out and demand accountability from this government despite all attempts at intimidation or deterrence. Our plan of action is at its core based on the people’s right to protest and demand accountability from this government. As such the plan is simple. We will peacefully join at Jantar Mantar with the citizens of this country and assert our right to protest. It is in this spirit that over the course of the protests of last week and the upcoming protest we provide intimation of our protest to the police but do not intend to seek ‘permission’ to protest. We assert that protests do not need permits under the ideas of the Constitution of this country. Our protest does not depend on a permission slip, nor does it depend on a place. Our protest will be a coming together of all people on the common demands against Gyanesh Kumar and against SIR

2. CJP has put forward three non-negotiable demands, including the resignation of the CEC, a halt to the upcoming elections and scrapping the 2023 law amendment. Do you endorse all three demands? Or would the CEC’s resignation alone be enough to call off the protest?
All three demands are connected, so I’d refrain from treating them as multiple choice options. Certainly the CEC's resignation is important as it provides the immediate accountability demand over the voter-roll revision and overriding of the constitutional structure of the Election Commission. However, the 2023 law amendment which replaced the CJI out of the selection panel and replaced them with a union cabinet minister is a part of the larger, structural attack on the democratic processes that the BJP has unleashed in this country. Thus, the demand for the scrapping of the 2023 amendment is also a key demand for us, No one demand can be looked at in isolation from the others. If Gyanesh Kumar goes but the law stays, we have only changed the face, and what is to say, that the corruption within the electoral process, the targeted elimination of minorities and dissenters from the electoral rolls, will stop if Gyanesh no longer presides the EC? So no, resignation alone would not end our concerns.

3. Do you feel the resignation of the CEC would be possible, like that of Dharmendra Pradhan? His resignation would also expose the government. Do you think getting the CEC to resign is going to be easy?
No task in defense of our democracy and our constitution will be made easy by this government. What we saw in the previous Jantar Mantar protests is that, with sustained, organised public pressure, even this government, which reeks of despotism and corruption to its core, was forced to have one of its ministers resign; something it had openly declared would never happen. The limits of what is possible will be decided by the people and their democratic assertion. We will not waver in our conviction of collective struggle as we proclaim our demands and fight together, no matter how difficult they make it.

4. And would the resignation actually yield the desired results? If another CEC comes in and does similar things, what could be done then?
Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation is not the finish line. A new appointee chosen through the same broken system, who will pursue the same anticonstitutional, undemocratic agenda, is not the solution. The real fixes are an independent appointment process free from partial oversight of the ruling government and a complete rollback of all revisions and deletions conducted under this CEC. Any CEC who comes to power and pushes an agenda of exclusion and disenfranchisement will be pulled down from the sea of administration by the people.

5. Yesterday, CJP extended support to Rahul Gandhi after his detention. Even though you had interactions with him after the CJP protests, this is the first time CJP has openly acknowledged the Leader of Opposition. Do you see an alignment being worked out? Do you think Opposition forces, including CJP and the Congress, should come together?
This is the essential political task today when we are facing a fascist government. The need of the hour is for all political parties to unite on a common, democratic, pro-people, agenda. If the pathways for this larger unity and solidarity of struggle are being opened up then I and AISA most warmly welcome it and will continue to work toward building this solidarity.

6. CJP emerged as a Gen-Z, largely social-media-driven movement, while AISA comes from a much older, organised Left tradition. What does AISA actually gain by aligning with CJP? And are you comfortable with a movement whose public identity is so closely associated with one personality, Abhijeet Dipke? There were also observations that CJP was not acknowledging the AISA team during the July protests.
Whatever maybe the divergence of origin and tradition across organisations, what defines our relationship will be the commitment to fight on a common, democratic agenda while resisting the overtures of the fascist BJP-RSS. It was a common struggle which brought us together in the past, and any future struggle aligned with these goals and ideals is something we will also look toward joining up with

7. Tell us about your experiences with the protests you have led over the last one week. You were injured and detained multiple times. Even Yogendra Yadav said on one occasion that Neha was not in town, so Delhi Police could relax!
It was extremely taxing and I have wounds all over my body. One video I put up only showed the wounds that were visible, but deeper the brutality of the police and the effects on our bodies still continues. However this will not deter us from coming out and continuing our struggle. The will to protest and the coming together of all citizens across gender, religion, caste, class and every division that the BJP manufactures to divide our unity, is what continues to inspire and hold these protests together. The last week was made possible by this, the coming week will also be held together by this.

8. What is the concise message you would like to give to the CEC?
Gyanesh, it’s done. Neither you will be saved, nor your masters. Every vote deleted, every individual disenfranchised will come together to take back this country from your corrupt rule.