Some people bemoan “one-party rule” as a danger to democracy in India. This is a sham argument (India was a “single-party” democracy from 1952 to 1977 and from 1980 to 1989. There were no such voices back then). The danger to democracy comes from unelected institutions. 1/4

What the Supreme Court has done today damages the democratic framework in a far more severe manner than what the Emergency ever did. Why? The Emergency was revoked after 21 months. But the new “process” to select ECs comes close to policing outcomes. 2/4

A single-party majority in free and fair elections represents popular will (dare I say, the General Will). It may be unpalatable to some. But to re-design verdict-discovering institutions is to poison the very fount of democracy. 3/4

This is the first major political challenge for the Modi government in its nine years. It comes at an adverse moment, just a year before elections. But it must meet the challenge thrown by the court, for the sake of democracy in India. 4/4