To find a solution we need to find the problem first. And the problem would not be the politicians but a system that allows corrupt people into politics. The corrupt have raided and raped the system and the results of it are for everybody to be seen. So going back to where it all began, the drafting of the constitution, I did a Google search and this is what popped out- http://lawmin.nic.in/coi/coiason29july08.pdf It is a huge one and I plan to read it soon. Unless we do not know where the problem lies, how do we treat the sickness is what my mind is pondering.Seeing the assembly elections and the fallout of the Maharashtra Government and appointment of the ministers, there was a fallacy that came across in my mind of the democratic set up of India. Further, this was also reiterated in a radio channel and I felt there might be many more who think alike. The fact that – Are we truly a democratic country?
Looking at the current set up, we have two elections, the Rajya Sabha (Assembly) elections and the Lok Sabha (Parliamentary) elections. At this level, the elections are democratic, where the people elect their representatives who would then head to the state assembly or to the parliament. But what happens after this is highly questionable. The fact that the politicians who are elected being clean and without criminal records is a completely different issue. But what is important to be noted is the process followed hence forth in the formation of the Cabinet, both in the Assembly and in the Parliament. Here the selection process starts. Witgh already many corrupt politicians going into both the houses, here there is a high chance of horse trading possible. The selection of the ministers become something very vulnerable to corruption. With party chiefs of the ruling party deciding who should be which minister, he becomes the most powerful person and buying and selling of posts could become the norm.
Thus we would get politicians and not leaders as the head of the state. Ministers who fail will step down and new ministers would come, but accountability will always be a question that will never be answered.
I can think of two approaches.
a) To make an election within the Assembly/ Parliament with candidates vying for the post. This would make the system a bit transparent, but horse-trading could become rampant on the flip side.
Or
b) The election mandate should include voting for three candidates at the same time. 1) The Prime Minister, 2) The Deputy Prime Minister and 3) Their local representative to the parliament and likewise for the Assembly elections 1) The Chief Minister, 2) The Deputy Chief Minister and 3) the MLA from the local constituency.
I would feel very positive if option b is exercised, since it would help us electing a leader based on the country consensus than the whims and fancies of a political party chief. It would also put on a huge responsibility on his shoulders and take accountability for the ministers appointed, else he face the wrath of his countrymen.
Also if the candidate for MP/MLA/CM/PM is from a particular political party, each party should also exercise a voting for the nomination rather than the selection of the candidates
Any more ideas anyone?
hey manu,
ReplyDeletenow the possibilities are multiple, what i feel is democracy in india is more like it looks like a juicy fruit but when you chew it, it leaves a sour taste in your mouth...... i mean people have been voting for democracy for such a long time but what are we getting in return for that exercise or privilege that we have...... its the same story year after year with lots of promises and then the rollbacks and you can find it by the daily conditions all around...... ofcourse we need to find a way out of this hell...... one thing which is a big concern is the type of canidates who stand for elections and there needs to be some thing done about that with blatent disregard to their background even when its so open and there for everyone to see how a canidate is with his criminal backgrounds which still the election comission and even the highest body of law in the country ie: the supreme court and the president and the prime-minister cant do anything about it, then who can????? I feel they should be empowered to just reject them outright without feeling the pressure of their peers and fear about losing vote banks and their seat due to religious grounds and other trifle reason that they make larger than life for their own selfish motives. the youth are trying hard and its getting nearer to the point when its going to boil over and just sweep everything away and i fear if its gonna go the revolutionary way till its gonna be anarchy all around........ but i hope thats just a bad dream......... exercising your voting right is an absolute must but what are the choices that we have among the canidates and make sure if we are exercising our rights we are doing the right choice and not being a part of a grand scheme behind all this, when i say that i mean say i vote for canidate A thinking he is the most reliable one among the list and then it turns out that he is something else which is a realism today cause every person gives big promises and then when he gets the power he just kind of turns into a zombie and starts using it as if its his own personal property with disregard to those very people or the power behind him that is WE.........
hey, thats just a part of my thought and all opinions and counteropinions are welcome
Hey manu, its a good thing that you started it
and loved to share my view on that and cheers for that!!!!!!!!!!
Vinu
Hi I loved the points that u guys have put up here...there are a lot more things that can cum up if we start looking 4 it....
ReplyDeletebut in the above 1's i happened 2 find a couple of glitches...thats entirely a personal opinion....
For one is the execution of this plan, how do u ensure such a thing cums up in place ? our gud old friends up there would do any thing possible 2 prevent this wen they feel there powers are being diluted....
and Secondly...about the multiple options during voting...in a country like ours where a huge number of its citizens are still illiterate and has to depend on symbols to decide whom to vote for...do you think it will make the difference, there in the thousands of small villages and towns which is a lions share of this country's vote bank...
then it will remain limited to only a small patch of urban areas and a limited number of people to make a difference....
so first we will have to give it enough exposure and spread awareness before such a thing cums to place...
on the bright side its not that difficult if one thinks about it...bcoz despite being the biggest democracy and having millions of voters we still managed to put the Electronic Voting Machines in place that too with in a couple of general elections....so the bottom line is that "We can do it if we can believe in it...."
The above article is by Prakash. We are glad to have him as one of the contributors to this movement.
ReplyDeleteManu
Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote:
ReplyDeleteOr so goes a saying by George Jean Nathan
I’d put it this way too- Bad officials are also elected by good citizens who dont know whom to vote for. Think about the following:
How many of you plan to play inky pinky ponky while voting / choosing your candidate?
How many of you have bothered to check the credentials of the person you are voting for?
Has it ever crossed your mind that the name you’l put your mark against might just be in the list of criminals?
You do not need to spend hours researching on all the candidates.
Just make sure that these guys dont have any criminal cases registered against them
Know your candidate
A site to help you while choosing- http://www.nocriminals.org/
Gayatri