Political Diary

New Delhi, 19 March 2019

Electoral Reforms, Why?

NETAS RICHES ARE A LIE-ABILITY!

By Poonam I Kaushish

Money makes the clogged, polluted and corrupt political mare go around, and how! In the on-going Great Indian Political Circus with the Lok Sabha polls beginning next month Parties are busy ‘funding’ their vacuous promises. After all, what better time to hit the jackpot! 

Trust the Supreme Court to play Party pooper last week when it sought urgent answers from the Government over why it hadn’t yet implemented some key Court mandated steps of February last to further cleanse the electoral process. Namely, to create a permanent mechanism to monitor and scrutinise disproportionate assets held by elected lawmakers, treat non-disclosure of information on assets as a corrupt practice that can unduly influence a voter, and make it mandatory for all candidates to reveal information regarding their disqualification, if any, under any law.

Recall, faced with proof of undue accretion of income and assets of 26 Lok Sabha, 11 Rajya Sabha MPs and 257 MLAs which grew over 500% to 1200% between two polls 2009-2014 as reflected in their election affidavits, a sure sign of misuse of offices, an alarmed Supreme Court had made it obligatory for candidates to reveal their incomes sources, spouses and dependent children, along-with their share or interest in Government contracts. As this would help voters make an informed choice of a candidate.

Castigating “Parliament and Election Commission for not paying any attention to the problem so far,” it wondered what prevented the Executive from amending election rules to make such undue accumulation of assets an electoral disqualification, besides a criminal offence.

True, the Government had changed Form 26 to ensure that those filing nominations declare the sources of income of their spouses and dependent children along with their own. By making it mandatory for a candidate to reveal details of any contract that he or his immediate family may have signed with the Government or any public body. 

But this is only pulling wool on people’s eyes as the Centre has still to amend the law, whereby a lawmaker can suffer disqualification from office for holding shares or an interest in a business venture that enters into dealings with a Government-run company, a sentiment which the Election Commission has echoed as well.

Moreover, how can unemployed jan sevaks amass huge wealth? How did they earn it? Can they run private businesses? If so, what takes precedents? National or selfish interests? Did they pay proper income taxes?  Is there any law or rule that can ask how they acquired this wealth? What about ‘black’ and monies in Swiss banks and other safe havens? Till date no neta’s foreign bank accounts have been disclosed.

There is the classic case of a Congress MP whose assets in 2004 were Rs 9.6 crores and rose to Rs 299 crores, a jaw-dropping 3000% jump in 2009. While income of four MPs increased by 1200%, 22 declared asset raise of over 500% and eight Rajya Sabha legislators a 200% rise, a majority said they had no paid work. Yet 58% are crorepatis worth over Rs 5 crores! An Assam MLA declared over 5,000% increase and his Kerala compatriot over 1,700% since the 2011 Assembly elections.

Not a few politicians mentioned random professions like agriculture, social service and business in their affidavits. One leader declared Government service as his profession and showed his annual income to be Rs 3 crores. Which Government service gives Rs 3 crores? Worse, 113 of the 542 MPs described their profession as politics, menial worker and housewife. Sic.

Pertinently, in an era wherein conduct of public affairs is for private advantage and amassing tremendous personal fortune through abuse of political power is one of the perks of our polity’s trade as emphasized by their increase in wealth, naturally the public has to take these inconsistencies in wealth with large chunks of salt, treating them with disdain.

Happily, the Commission is preparing to make its first step towards public disclosure of discrepancies in assets filed by candidates with those who contested the recent Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Telangana. In conjunction with the Central Board of Direct Taxes and Director General (Income Tax) (Investigation) the EC , will disclose the candidates in whose election affidavit discrepancies have been found and also make public action being taken.

However according to a senior Commission official, this is easier said than done. Among many things, the EC would need to be strengthened and given more teeth: Given powers to take strong deterrent action against leaders whose income has risen disquietingly in five years alongside setting up a special cell to monitor this. Realtors could be hired as consultants to verify a property’s market worth. Filing of income tax returns could also be made obligatory.

This is not all. The Apex Court also queried on what action the Government had taken on its September last order on criminalisation in politics. Whereby it wanted candidates to divulge their criminal past to the Election Commission in “block letters,” make full disclosures of the criminal cases pending against them to the Parties which in turn, should display the complete details of these candidates on their websites for public consumption to foster and nurture an informed citizenry.

Further, both the candidate and Party should declare the candidate’s criminal antecedents in widely-circulated newspapers and give the criminal record “wide publicity” by airing it on TV channels, not once, but thrice after the filing of nomination papers in a bid to check rising criminalisation in our democratic system.

However, for reasons best known to the Court had refused to pass an order disqualifying and banning candidates facing trial for heinous crimes from contesting elections, instead it urged Parliament to bring a “strong law” to bar those facing criminal charges from contesting elections or decide whether they should be disqualified only after conviction. As also “cleanse” Parties of leaders facing trial for “heinous and grievous” crimes, such as rape, murder, kidnapping and refuse ticket to offenders in both Parliamentary and Assembly polls.

Certainly, a difficult task as money, might and muscle are the crucial ingredients to win an election and winning at all cost is the new normal of political morality. Brutally underscored by an Election Commissioner: “The winner can commit no sin. Once elected an MP or MLA a criminal is cleansed of all criminality. Big deal if a convicted person is a leader of a Party and selects candidates to contest elections?” Presently only those convicted of heinous crimes like murder, rape and kidnapping are barred from contesting election.

Shockingly, the Government had in an affidavit confessed to the Supreme Court that over 1,765 representatives, including MPs and MLAs, a little over a third of all representatives in India, face criminal charges. Despite 12 special courts across 11 States and Delhi to deal with cases related to elected representatives the cases continue to drag.

Elections are the bedrock of our democracy, as we prepare to go to polls the time has come to stop banking on a candidate’s self-proclaimed honesty and morality. Let the people, the ultimate repository of sovereignty in a democracy, squeeze the last drop of their “safedi ka chamatkar” to rid the polity of its increasing fifty and dirt. Remember, the country can no longer allow small men to continue to cast big shadows as nothing costs a nation more than neta with a criminal and rich lie-ability! ---- INFA

(Copyright, India News & Feature  Alliance)