The co-founder of India’s premier poll watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), Jagdeep Singh Chhokar, succumbed to a heart attack on Friday morning. He was 80.
Legal battles by the ADR, founded in 1999, resulted in court orders for the mandatory disclosure of criminal records, income and educational qualifications by election candidates, as well as the scrapping of the electoral bond scheme for anonymous political donations.
The ADR said in a statement that his body had been donated to Lady Hardinge Medical College here.
Tributes poured in for Chhokar, whose relations with the Election Commission soured in 2019 with the ADR opposing the linking of voter registration to Aadhaar, questioning the reliability of electronic voting machines, echoing the Opposition’s claims on electoral fraud and opposing the document-based special intensive revision of electoral rolls.
Former chief election commissioner S.Y. Quraishi wrote on X: “...A crusader for clean elections and electoral reforms….”
Congress spokesman Pawan Khera said: “Rest in peace, Jagdeep Chhokar. I will fondly remember our frequent sparring at events, where your voice was always fierce and uncompromising.”
RJD MP Manoj Jha posted on X: “...He forced the nation to look into the mirror of its electoral practices and confront the cracks beneath the surface of its democratic edifice. He believed that democracy is not sustained by the noise of elections, but by their fairness, transparency and accountability. He reminded us, time and again, that clean politics cannot emerge from tainted processes.”
Transparency activist Anjali Bharadwaj said: “Jagdeepji was a dear friend and a co-traveller in the right to information movement....”
Rights activist Harsh Mander wrote on X: “Chhokar was... one of our foremost defenders of democracy. He leaves us at a time when democracy is most in peril....”
Digital rights activist Apar Gupta said: “Today is a tragic day for the social service sector and the entire country.... Our democracy is stronger due to his work and interventions....”
