India 2014 elections: Appeal to all secular parties, leaders and candidates to help prevent formation of communal central government in India

Appeal to all secular parties, leaders and candidates to help prevent formation of communal central government in India
We, concerned citizens of India, are alarmed by the divisive, abusive and violent Lok Sabha election campaign that has just been concluded. Throughout the campaign, the Bharatiya Janata Party under Narendra Modi’s leadership has been especially virulent in ridiculing and insulting religious and sexual minorities, dalits and people with disabilities. BJP under Modi has also threatened constitutional bodies like the Election Commission. Dissenting voices have been intimidated and asked to leave the country.

The collusion of big corporates with rank communal and authoritarian ideas, visible starkly in the poll campaign, will seep into the structures of governance if a Modi-led NDA government is formed. All opponents to this brand of politics will be hounded and hunted, as they indeed have been in Gujarat. It is only reasonable to anticipate that the policies of discrimination and ghettoization practiced by Modi's government in Gujarat will become the national norm. Much of the mainstream media today is not only acting pliant, they are carrying a barrage of misleading facts to promote Modi, leading to legitimate fears that they may further abandon their watchdog role.

In this alarming scenario, it is imperative that you, the secular elected members of parliament ensure that the Constitution and its values, and indeed, the future of this nation, are protected. After all, secularism is not just a catchword in election manifestos. It is the backbone of our democracy.

There is nothing inevitable about the rise of Modi to Prime Ministership. The keys to formation of government in Delhi are held by all of you. We now remind some of you of the promises you have made to the people of India to stand against communalism and uphold secularism during this election campaign, which we have reproduced here. We, along with millions of citizens, voted for you because of these promises.

We appeal to you and all other secular parties to come together to ensure the formation of a secular government, and prevent the formation of a Narendra Modi-led BJP/NDA central government.

We gave you our votes. We hope you will honour our trust.

Signed:

NOMOre Campaign, all-India secular campaign
Saheli Women's Resource Centre, Delhi

Abhijit Deshmukh, student, Latur, Maharashtra
Abhishek Roy, Downright Human, Delhi
Abu Zafar, Delhi
Akshay Rangari, BSP, Nagpur
Anjali Monteiro, Professor, TISS, Mumbai
Anupama Jha, Bilaspur
Arab Nizam, Nandyal, Andhra Pradesh
Arjumand Ara, Delhi University, Delhi
Ashok Nigam, senior advocate, Lucknow
Asmasif , Bengaluru
Atul Sood, professor of economics, Delhi
Azhar Khan, Social Activist, Jalgaon (Maharashtra)
Bhuvi Gupta, Delhi
Binu Chacko, Software Engineer, Punalur, Kerala
Chetan Grover, Delhi
DN Jha, Retd Professor Delhi
Gurpreet Kaur, Student, AUD Delhi
Jagannathan Krishnan, Filmmaker, Mumbai
Janhavi Mittal, Student, Delhi
Japleen Pasricha, feminist activist, M.Phil research scholar JNU Delhi
Javed Anand, activist Mumbai
Jayati Ghosh, professor of economics, Delhi
Kabi S, Activist, Bombay
Kakul Fatima, Student, Meerut
Kamini Tankha, Delhi
Kanishka Sinha, Stillwater Consulting, Mumbai
Kiran Shaheen, Memoirist and activist, Delhi
Krishna, Coimbatore
Lata Singh, associate professor, JNU, Delhi
Lesley Esteves, activist, Delhi
Manish Sharma, Delhi
Manisha Sethi, academic, Delhi
Manjira Das, Delhi
Mansi Sharma, Delhi
Mario da Penha, Historian, Mumbai
Mohamad Haris , Kozhikode, Kerala
Mohammed Shamir, Software Dev Analyst, Bengaluru
Mumtaz Ansari, Aligarh
N. Jayaram, journalist, Bengaluru
Nalini Visvanathan Delhi
Nasiruddin, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
Nazaf Anwar, Software engineer, Bengaluru
Neeraj Kumar, Young activist, Delhi
Nihal, Bangalore
Nirmalangshu Mukherji, Teacher, Delhi University
Nishtha Singh, Delhi
Noor Enayat, Brand Consultant, Delhi
Ovais Sultan Khan, Social Work Professional, Delhi
Pallavi Singhal, Artist, Mumbai
Panakj Nanda, Delhi
Prabhat Patnaik, professor of economics, Delhi
Premlata Nigam, advocate, Lucknow
Purwa Bharadwaj, Writer/Researcher, Delhi
Rachna Singh, Lecturer, Delhi
Rajat Kumar, Advocate, Delhi
Ramnarayan K
Ridhima Delhi
Rituparna Borah, queer feminist activist, Delhi
S. Purkayastha, Faculty Member, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata
Shankar, atheist, Hyderabad
Shilpi Singh, New Delhi
Shipra Nigam, consultant economist, Delhi
Sinu Abraham, Bangalore
Smriti Nevatia, feminist writer-researcher, film festival curator & concerned citizen, Mumbai
Sohail Akbar, Academic, Delhi
Sona Mitra, Researcher and activist, Delhi
Sonia Kidwai, Teacher, Delhi
Sriti, Student IIM-Rohtak, Lucknow
Tony George , Malappuram, Kerala
Uditi Sen, Kolkata
Uma V Chandru
Vani Subramaniam, Delhi
Varsha Mehta, Consultant, Forestry and Rural Livelihoods Delhi
Vinodh Kumar, Aam Aadmi Party, Bengaluru
Vishnu Jerome, Mumbai
Yug Mohit Chaudhry, Lawyer, Mumbai
Zohra