South Central

South Central 40: Election Commission’s credibility crisis and the nun who took Bishop Franco to court

By Dhanya Rajendran

August 24, 2025 at 10:00 AM

In this episode of South Central, hosts Dhanya Rajendran, Pooja Prasanna, and Leena Reghunath first discuss the ‘vote chori’ press conference by the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, issuing a seven-day ultimatum to Rahul Gandhi and anyone else casting doubts on the election process. Senior investigative journalist and Executive Editor of The Scroll, Supriya Sharma, joins them.

Dhanya starts off the discussion by speaking about the academic Hindi used by the Chief of EC in the press meet. She says it is quite exclusionary, shutting access to lay people who only understand basic, everyday Hindi.

“The Scroll has investigated electoral list exclusions and in many places, especially in Bihar, we realised that while Hindu voters listed were absent in the domicile, many muslim voters who did not feature on the list were right there,” says Supriya.

She says that what we see now concerning voter exclusion is only a partial picture and that the coming weeks are crucial. “This could lead to the disenfranchisement of several citizens,” she adds.

She also says that the excluded voters could also be migrant workers who may have moved out for work, and remain unaccounted in the country’s electoral rolls. “This is essentially going to evolve into a citizenship test, which is the most concerning thing,” Supriya notes.

Pooja says the Chief of EC’s press conference left many questions unanswered, and was high on political rhetoric, especially aimed at Rahul Gandhi and others.

“In 2026, this exercise will come to South India also. The current number – 65 lakh – of voters who have been deleted, what is the procedure to add them back?” asks Dhanya.

Supriya points out that the EC has not been taking complaints for exclusion, but asks excluded voters to apply via Form 6, which is the procedure for new voters to apply.

“For anyone who wants to analyse this, it is almost impossible. Because EC is not accepting complaints on record for exclusion. EC Chief also said machine-readable lists were discouraged to protect the privacy of our ‘mothers, wives and daughters’. This is not just sexist, but also a sham,” she adds.

Leena says that the ECI’s emotional and political response to vote theft allegations is questionable because, as an organisation entrusted with ensuring free and fair elections, such a response is not acceptable. Supriya says that the ECI must give a point-by-point response to Rahul Gandhi’s claims.

In the second part of the discussion, the hosts discuss the criminal trial and acquittal of Bishop Franco Mulakkal, a powerful priest of the Catholic church. Franco was tried for rape, based on a complaint by a nun – the first ever such case in the country. They are joined by Nidhi Suresh, who spoke to the survivor nun, to trace her side of the story.

“I was curious to trace the life of the nun post the verdict, which acquitted Franco in 2022. I was told she was being isolated, and it felt like it was worth going back to chronicle what happens to a woman who takes on not just a powerful harasser, but also a system as powerful as the church,” says Nidhi.

Dhanya adds that the nun’s story, which is being published for the first time by any media, is also the story of what happens to any woman who takes on a powerful harasser. “Here, it is not just that there is a clear power difference between the nun and the Bishop, but that in the process, a powerful institution like the Catholic church is being questioned,” she says.

Leena says that the response of institutions like the church and how men in power have responded to the survivor and her allies is very telling of how feminist movements and women are seen by such repositories of faith and influence.

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Audio Timecodes

00:00:00- Introductions

00:03:54 - Headlines

00:13:35 - Election Commission

00:51:27 - Nun who took Bishop Franco to court

01:08:50- Letters

01:20:32 - Recommendations

References

Against God’s men: A nun, a bishop, and the trial of India’s Catholic Church