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Solution is in people’s hands
No law or rule can stop tainted
politicians from fighting elections because such laws are introduced and
amended from time to time by such politicians only. We can see how Bills
on issues like office of profit and reservation are being passed by a
thumping majority in both the Houses, cutting across all political
differences. Only solution to this problem lies in the hands of the
people (the voters), who ultimately suffer because of such politicians.
It is ironic that rich and educated people of the society are alienating
themselves from politics. If they really want to change the political
system, they should not only join politics, but also come forward to
motivate common people. The public should rise above caste, religion
and region-based politics. Though the divide on such basis has been
deep-rooted in our political system, they should stop being used as
political pawns. The media can play a constructive role by motivating
people and highlighting the wrongdoings of politicians. Dr S. S.
VERMA, Longowal
II
A democratic country’s future lies in the hands of
its voters, who are responsible for electing politicians, who in turn
are responsible for the downfall or the progress of a nation. So, we
should be more cautious while electing our leaders to conserve our
democracy. As more than half of our population is still illiterate, the
responsibilities of the Election Commission multiply in such scenario.
Even if a single case is filed against a politician, he should not be
given clean chit for future elections. Political parties should also
refrain from giving tickets to tainted politicians who bring a bad name
to the country. They should rather give honest candidates that chance.
The judiciary should act sternly against tainted politicians who
indulge in malpractices. BHAVNEET KAUR, Mohali
Make
voters aware of their rights
Politics in our country has become a
game of opportunism, corruption, power and pelf. In our multiparty
political system, all parties have only one aim—to gain power by fair
or foul means. Corruption is now rampant in our society, and the
politicians too are in its clutches. With muscle and money power, a
large number of tainted persons have made their way to state Assemblies
and Parliament. The following suggestions should be taken into
consideration to stop tainted politicians from fighting elections:
According to a Supreme Court ruling (May 2, 2002), every candidate who
wants to fight election at the Centre, state`A0and municipal levels
should declare his financial records, educational qualifications and
criminal records—convictions, acquittals, charges, etc. This directive
should be followed strictly. The judicial system should be revamped and
fast-track courts should be introduced to decide the charges against the
accused who intends to fight election. Persons having assets
disproportionate to their known sources of income should be debarred
from filing nomination papers. Political parties should keep
tainted`A0persons out of politics. Some minimum qualification should be
fixed to encourage youngsters to enter politics. There is a need to make
the voters aware of their rights, so that they elect upright people. All
parties should select honest and able persons as their candidates.` Dr.
S. K. AGGARRWAL,
II
The Supreme Court should come
forward and issue a directive that if there is any criminal case against
the candidate, the Election Commissioner should debar him from
contesting elections. The Union Law Ministry should appoint special
judges for fast-track courts, where the cases of tainted politicians can
be heard on merit and priority within a specific period and the decision
be made at the earliest. DIWAN CHAND MOHINDRU, Jalandhar
City
Publish records of politicians
We should first implement the
People’s Representation Act religiously. Records of the tainted
politician with their photos should be published in a book annually
before the commencement of elections. Election officials should
invariably refer to this book at the time of the scrutiny of nomination
papers of candidates. The book may be titled "Netaon ki Lal Kitab".
ONKAR SINGH RIAR,
Follow
ethical code
Within
six decades, the quality and the character of Indian polity has
deteriorated to such an extent that the whole system is ailing.
Recently, we witnessed in the Monsoon Session of Parliament how our
representatives went wild. The question once again comes to the fore—how
such shady people reach the august Houses? To prevent such politicians
from fighting elections, the enactment of preventive legislation is the
need of the hour. The requisite electoral laws would give teeth to the
Election Commission for cleaning the system and debar tainted
politicians from contesting elections. All political parties should
enforce the code of ethics by shunning such candidates. The Election
Commission should educate the electorate through the media so that the
people do not vote for a person who stands on the other side of the
law. SURESH KHOSLA,
NOC should be mandatory
The
following are my suggestions: The Supreme Court should define the word
‘tainted’ as today’s politicians interpret it in their own way.
The government should constitute a three-member non-political committee
of retired judges. After verifying all facts and figures, this committee
can issue a clearance certificate to candidates. The Election
Commission, after scrutinising these facts and figures microscopically,
can issue an NOC (no-objection certificate). So, the clearance
certificate and NOC should be the eligibility criteria for fighting
election. The media should play a healthy role by educating the masses,
so that only honest and clean politicians could have access to the
Houses. Dr P. K. MITTAL,
Shun tainted
persons
It
is a matter of grave national concern and shame that politics in our
country is getting more and more criminalised. The use of muscle and
money power is playing a dominant role in the final outcome of
elections. The mandatory legal requirement for a candidate to disclose
his criminal antecedents, if there are any, has failed to curb the entry
of tainted politicians into Parliament and state legislatures. Such
politicians pose a serious threat to an efficient, fair and law-based
governance of the country. A law needs to be enacted so that those
politicians against whom charges have been framed, but who have not yet
been convicted, would not be eligible to contest election, since the
framing of the charges itself is a prima facie evidence of their not
being innocent. At present, a politician is debarred from contesting
the election only if he is convicted. However, there should be a bar on
his contesting in elections till he is acquitted of all charges levelled
against him. The people too need to change their attitude towards such
politicians. Rising above petty considerations of caste, colour and
creed, such politicians should be given a humiliating drubbing at the
hustings. This will give the right signal, that there is no room for
tainted people in Indian politics. Political parties should also shun
tainted persons, so that they don’t get entry into law-making
bodies. R. L.GOEL,
Character
verification is
must
Every organisation endeavours to recruit people who are well
qualified for the job prescribed and also bear good moral character.
Sometimes, even their character verification is sought through the
police. Thus, it becomes imperative that character verification of the
candidates should be done before elections. The Election Commission
should not be satisfied by the simple declaration form received from
contestants. It must be verified that the candidate is actually a man
beyond doubtful integrity. If he is an accused and facing some charges,
the Election Commission should reject his nomination papers because such
a person can’t be expected to serve the people honestly. Character
verification assumes significance in view of the fact that so many
frauds, murders, scams, etc. are taking place daily. Today political
corruption is the fountainhead of all types of corruption. So, only
those persons who have clean image should be allowed to contest
elections. This can surely ensure a clean political system, and society
can make some worthwhile progress. R.D. BHARDWAJ, New Delhi
Launch literacy campaign
The whole political
system is contaminated. We elect politicians as our leaders so that they
can work for the betterment of our country, but they are busy filling
their own pockets. So, there is need to launch a literacy movement in
the country because educated people can elect better leaders for the
country. Strict rules should be laid for contesting elections, and the
Election Commission should strictly implement them. If there is a
criminal case against a politician, he should be debarred from taking
part in any kind of political activity. The media should also expose
corrupt politicians. The public should socially boycott such
politicians. There should be a selection board to select able candidates
for fighting elections. MANDEEP SINGH GILL, Amritsar
Set up electoral colleges
The following steps should be
taken to stop tainted politicians from fighting elections:
The affidavit should be supported by
proper proofs viz their occupational proof, income proof, residence
proof, certificate by the party officials stating`A0their candidate’s
genuineness, etc. Further, this affidavit should be attested by an
official of the Election Commission of the state in which the candidate
is to fight election. The Election Commission official should be
empowered to bar any candidate from fighting election, if he finds him
tainted. Another way to stop tainted politicians from fighting
elections is setting up of electoral colleges in each district. A
certificate from such colleges should be made mandatory for each
politician wishing to fight elections. The admission to such colleges
should be solely made after verification of nature and background of
politician seeking admission to such college. Such colleges should be
run by a committee of eminent personalities like jurists, teachers,
etc. The general public should be made aware of above steps through the
media, so as to cleanse our election system and stop tainted politicians
from fighting elections. SANJAY CHAWLA, Amritsar
Enact law to bar criminals
A politician with a
criminal background is an affront to democracy. It is an open secret how
elections in our country are won by money and muscle power. Without any
legal sanction, criminals fight elections, and get elected even from
jails. Tainted politicians can be stopped from fighting elections only
if there is a strong political will to fight criminalisation of
politics. If all political parties are hand-in-glove with criminals, how
can we expect clean governance? The first step should be to enact a
legislation that forbids a charge-sheeted individual to fight elections.
A crime is a crime, and there should not be any classification of crimes
as political or otherwise. The next step should be the proper
implementation of the law. The Election Commission should be bestowed
with all the powers required to enforce the law in letter and spirit. RAJIV
BHALLA, Chandigarh
Educated youth should
join politics
To stop tainted
politicians from fighting elections at all levels and of all kinds, we
need drastic changes in our democratic set-up that calls for political
reforms with concrete plan of action and political will with sense of
responsibility by all stakeholders. The knowledge revolution makes a
strong case for the educated youth to join politics, so that the
malpractices adopted in elections by tainted politicians can be checked.
It is because of political neutrality and indifferent attitude of the
educated class that standards in politics are deteriorating. There is
need to identify the causes of bad governance in our country, with
special reference to crime. A model of good governance consisting of
best practices flowing from ancient Indian and western political thought
to contemporary political thought is must for the country. Good
governance can play an important role in containing crime and corruption
and in the smooth functioning of Indian politics. The need of the hour
is an empowerment movement that would let the ordinary citizens to reach
their full potential and turn India into a confident, prosperous global
leader. Today, a crusade for moral regeneration for change is needed. Prof
M. M. Goel,
Negative voting is the key
A spotlessly white-and-starched apparel of many of our politicians would give an impression to the uninitiated, which is quite contrary to the reality, i.e., there is plenty of muck lying hidden underneath the sartorial elegance of our political elite. Sir Winston Churchill was astute enough to see the shape of things to come, and said as much, during a debate on India’s Independence in the House of Commons, but our founding fathers who framed the Constitution, somehow overlooked the possibility of tainted individuals masquerading as political leaders and occupying the highest positions of power. In today’s scenario, negative voting appears to be a fairly practical and harmless way of weeding out the tainted from the political arena, whereby the voter is given the right to vote against rather than voting for a contestant. If 50 per cent or more of the voters vote against a candidate, he/she should be disqualified from contesting future elections. M. K. BAJAJ, Gurgaon
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