VOTERS TRADABLE GOODS: MEGHALAYA GOVERNOR

Lashing out at vote bank politics and the use of muscle and money power in elections, Meghalaya Governor Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary said voters in the world’s largest democracy are being reduced to tradable merchandise. “It is becoming difficult for common people to stay immune to the psychological and physical pressure tactics during elections, which turn them into tradable merchandise,” Mooshahary told presiding officers of legislative assemblies of the north-eastern state on the concluding day of the 12th North-East Region Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (NERCPA) Conference in Shillong. He said criminalisation and communalisation of electoral practice are the two biggest threats to India’s democracy. Criminalisation is not merely about criminals contesting elections but also about political parties resorting to criminal methods to win polls. This includes using money and muscle power, threat, intimidation to sway voters.”