Democracy is a basic feature of our Constitution. Parliament and legislative assemblies are instruments created to give effect to the democratic content of people governing themselves. Political parties are the medium through which representatives are elected. It stands to reason that after the election, the implementation of the principles and policies continue or should continue to govern the programme. That is of course textbook teaching; but how close are these sound principles to the reality of the present politics.
A mini general election with the largest state of U.P. going to the polls seems apt time to have a clear look at the way our political parties treat elections and the social and political philosophy to woo the voters.
The minimum test for a candidate should certainly be that he/she is not foul of criminal law. That is why the Supreme Court as far back as 2002, in a writ petition filed by Peoples Union for Civil Liberties, directed that a proposed candidate should disclose whether there is a criminal charge sheet against him at least six months before the date of election, so that the voter may try to avoid politicalisation of criminals, in the sense that criminals should not be elected so as to prevent them from wielding power over the reins of state. But alas, India continues to remain a mystery to not only the foreigners, but even to us, because we find that the political parties still continue to warmly welcome criminal elements to their bosoms.
Thus of 337 candidates (up to 5th phase) for U.P. election, about 32% belonging to parties S.P., BS.P., Congress, and B.J.P. , have serious criminal charges pending against them.
This notwithstanding the warning of criminal elements in our legislatures given by Vice President of India at All India Whips Conference, “Exactly 23% of MPs elected in 2004 had criminal cases registered against them – over half of these cases could lead to imprisonment of five years or more. The situation is worse in the case of MLAs.” Contrast it with Europe (not that I am fond of political standards in Europe). But recently President of German Republic resigned because he had threatened a person who was demanding loan given to the President, or in England where a cabinet minister resigned because he made his wife take the blame for rash driving when he himself was driving the car. How ironical that all the major political parties in India are resisting to frame the law, debarring persons charged with criminal offence from contesting elections.
Another grim reality of the present elections in Punjab and U.P. is the amount of illegal money circulating and the distribution of Drugs and liquor, the danger of which the present Chief Election Commissioner has highlighted and election expenses are mentioned to have gone up to 3 to 5 crores per seat. Is it not farcical to call these elections free and fair?
No party is talking of real problems. Minorities are being treated as football of this small politics. An unacceptable competition of claiming custodians of minorities is being given by some parties by pressing the panic button of security while on the contrary some parties are donning the artificial garb of nationalism. This is insulting the minorities. They are nobody pawns. They are equal, proud citizens of India. Parties who behave in such a manner are ignoring the well established code of universal Human Right which proclaims, “In any country the faith and the confidence of the minorities in the impartial and even functioning of the State is the acid test of being a civilized State. This is accepted wisdom.”
The real problems overwhelming the electorate are many and yet there is conspiratorial silence from all the parties. A report by save the children (N.G.O.) shows that more than 100 million children in our country have not enough to eat; 24% of families say their children go without food for one day – what a tragic mockery that Central Government is resisting PUCL petition in the Supreme Court for the right to food for all on the specious plea of lack of funds, while merrily and proudly proclaiming its purchase 126 Jet Fighter aircraft for thousands of crores. This perverse priority is further heightened by the admission of Central Government Minister that India accounts for 60% open defecation in the world – the reason being that building toilets requires Rs. 8000 each, but under the government norms only Rs. 3000 is provided – can there be a more sardonic double talk. And yet no party is talking about these issues.
Of course all parties are talking with their wide mouths open of giving laptops, (Irony of untruth is so stark when the fact is that 40% of India is not electrified); motorcycles to students, without batting an eyelid or feeling ashamed that a large number of schools do not even have blackboards or toilets for girl students.
In 2009, 17368 farmers killed themselves. Agriculture growth, the mainstay of Indian economy, has remained stagnant for the last decade at 1.6% and it has now slipped to 0.4%. Planning Commission Report 2011 has had to admit the gross inequality of assets wherein top 5% possess 38% of total assets and bottom 60% owning a mere 13%. There is high incidence of poverty amongst SC/ST, and 1/3 of Muslims live below the poverty line.
In spite of this dark reality, no major parties in the elections even mentioned these vital issues – this shows an attitude of contempt like that of the old Feudal Master towards his serfs. This contempt towards the electorate cannot be described better than what I chanced to see on my computer on blog posted by one teenager Sanil, thus;
* “It is time for the next elections and his previous promises have not begun.
* I am a very young child and today I have learnt that you can call politics, corruption too.”
Parties should seriously heed the warning given by Baba Ambedkar who on Nov. 26, 1949, warned ‘How long should we continue to deny equality in our social and economic life…. we must remove this contradiction at the earliest possible moment or else those who suffer from this inequality will blow at the structure of political democracy which this assembly has so laboriously built up”.
[The writer is former Chief Justice of High Court of Delhi]