Election-time is Parochialism-time in India Major General Mrinal Suman PART 2

Election Commission cannot Evade Responsibility

 Both the Representation of the People Act 1950 and 1951 under Section 28 and 169 respectively empower the Central Government to make rules after consultations with the Election Commission. However, the Central Government is not bound to accept such views or recommendations of the Commission. On many occasions, rules framed or amended have not been in line with the recommendations of the Election Commission.

 The above constraint notwithstanding, the Supreme Court of India has given far-reaching powers to the Election Commission by ruling that where the enacted laws are silent or make insufficient provision to deal with a given situation in the conduct of elections, the Election Commission has the residuary powers under the Constitution to act in an appropriate manner. From the above, it is amply clear that the Election Commission has enough powers to rid Indian elections of the divisive vote-bank politics.

 Presently, the Model Code confines itself to four aspects only: -

 a) Prohibiting announcement of new projects or programmes or concessions or financial grants in any form or promises thereof which have the effect of influencing the voters in favour of the party in power.

 b) Total ban on the transfer of all officials connected with the conduct of the election.

 c)  Ban on the misuse of official machinery for elections.

 d) ‘Dos and Don’ts’ for the guidance of the candidates and the political parties.

 As can be seen, there are no guidelines for the print and electronic media. They are at liberty to spread the virus of hatred based on religion/race/caste/community/language amongst the voting public. Paid news is shamelessly camouflaged as genuine surveys to sway the voters in favour of the unprincipled candidates and parties, thereby vitiating the whole environment.

Therefore, the Commission should enlarge the scope of the Model Code by including the following ‘Dos and Don’ts’ for the media after the issuance of notification for elections: -

 

a)  There should be a total ban on public surveys and opinion polls based on religion/caste composition of the electorate of an area.

 

b)  No article should be allowed to appear in the print media spelling out proportions of different castes in a constituency and predicting their voting preferences.

 

c)  No TV channel should be allowed to dissect ‘social engineering’ of every constituency to forecast results. In other words, there should be a blanket ban on public discussion of caste-based politics.

 

Under Para 16 A of the Election Symbol (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, the Commission has assumed power to take away the symbol of a political party in the event of violation of the Model Code, thereby making the party almost dysfunctional. The Election Commission must exercise this power more resolutely. 

The Way Forward 

The current brand of vote-bank politics precludes letting the countrymen stay united and vote without prejudice. Unfortunately, Indian politicians cannot be expected to change as they believe in the ends and not the means employed. If India has to survive and prosper as a cohesive nation, the elections must be made issue and performance based, totally free of the caste card. For that, the erring politicians must be made to understand that any misdemeanour will result in their debarment from standing in elections, thereby sealing their political careers.

 

In December 2016, a comprehensive paper was prepared by the Election Commission on ‘Proposed Electoral Reforms’. The paper has been put in public domain to keep the people informed. The government must respond to the suggestions of the Election Commission at the earliest.

 

To start with, powers to make rules should be transferred to the Election Commission, albeit in consultations with the central government. The Commission should also be empowered to suspend/cancel the registration of a political party for misusing religion/caste for electoral gains. Similarly, candidates who repeatedly invoke parochial sentiments to gather votes should be debarred from election.

 

No political party should be registered unless it allows citizens irrespective of any distinctions of caste, community or the like. It should swear allegiance to the provisions of the Constitution and to the sovereignty and integrity of the nation. It should also submit a declaration not to resort to casteism and communalism for political mobilisation, but to adhere to the principles of secularism in the achievement of their objectives.

 

Finally, it is obnoxious to see the overriding importance being assigned to the caste, creed, communal and regional factors. Caste-politics are being played out unabashedly under the disingenuous taxonomy of ‘social engineering’. The Election Commission is the only agency that has the potential and the power to pull India out of the quagmire of caste-based elections. It is a challenge that it must undertake with due urgency. It cannot waver, as delay will prove perilous for the unity of the country. For that, it is essential that the central government extends full support to the Commission. *