Poll results: old practice should go

THE Supreme Court has rejected the Election Commission’s appeal for banning the publication or broadcasting of opinion and exit polls. The commission, while making its appeal, believed that such polls would induce voters to change their opinion at the last minute.

There is hardly any doubt that those are capable of doing so. But this is exactly the freedom which a voter in a democracy has. He is not supposed to go to the polling booth blind-folded. He has a right to information through all channels, and it is none of the commission’s business to choke any of these.

In its efforts to protect a voter from the so-called evil effects of wrong information, the commission is only insulting him by underestimating his wisdom to distinguish between right and wrong. Such polls have already become a part of the democratic process the world over, and the Indian voter can hardly be denied his use. How much do they actually influence a voter is besides the point and shall always remain debatable.

India being a vast country, its polling, for practical reasons, has to be done in phases, spread over a period of about one month. What is irksome is that the result of such polling is not being declared at the end of a phase; it is being withheld as a ransom till the last voter of the last phase has cast his or her vote. The reason for this extraordinary precaution is the same as it was for banning the exit and opinion polls.

Now that such polls shall be allowed to influence a voter’s opinion, it sounds logical that the commission should change the past practice and arrange to declare the results at the end of each phase. This will save it the botheration of guarding the ballot boxes for long periods, besides ending the suspense for millions of voters.

If the commission fails to change the old practice on its own, it should be compelled to do so through public interest litigation.

S.P. MALHOTRA
Panchkula

Errant politicians

They say people’s voice is the voice of God (Vox Populi Vox Doi) which has come true with the arrest of the son of Punjab’s Minister of Agriculture, Mr Gurdev Singh Badal, involved in the infamous sex scandal of Ludhiana. It was the result of a relentless struggle that the culprit was booked by the police.

It is not unusual that Chief Ministers often fail to take action against their errant colleagues and instead try to hush up the matter. In the present case also the same role was played by Mr Parkash Singh Badal, who did not want to interfere regardless of the damage it had caused to his government.

In fact, a code of conduct should be laid down for politicians and it should be strictly adhered to. When the occasion arises the errant politicians should not be spared. Even he should be dismissed if required. That would alone ensure a good image of the government and win the respect of the people.

V.S. MAHAJAN
Chandigarh

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For enhanced DA

Punjab government employees and pensioners have sought the immediate release of an additional DA instalment at the rate of 5 per cent which has become payable to them with effect from July this year. The Central government has already sanctioned the D.A. instalment for its staff and pensioners, and it will be paid in cash along with the salary or pension for September. The Punjab government should pay the DA arrears in cash before the Dasehra festival next month.

YASH PAUL GHAI
Ludhiana