Election India 2009: democracy's bad guys

IF it was Mulayam Singh distributing cash the other day, today it was Jaswant Singh, senior BJP leader, who was caught on camera doling out cash while campaigning in Rajasthan. This Singh has an army background, and was minister for defence in Atal Bihari vajpayee's government. No ordinary person by any means, but this is his sense of morality as far as the democratic election is concerned. The matter of the fact is that no political party is clean, and each of them is hell-bent to win at whatever means.

My morning paper - Bengali Statesman - has published a startling news: most hard-core criminals are now being bailed out of jails by political leaders for election purposes. They would be let loose to bully the people so the leaders can have their way into the ballot boxes in their respective constituencies.

Indian democracy has more facade than face. In terms of population, it may be greatest, but it is sleaziest too at the same time.

Election India 2009: Charges against Mulayam Singh Yadav

As the election days draw nearer, you find more and more candidates brazenly violate the moral code of conduct laid down by the Election Commission. The most recent example is Mulayam singh Yadav, the Samajbadi Party supremo. He has threatened the lady district magistrate and state election officer-in-charge with dire consequences in an open meeting. The EC has filed an FIR against the leader, and also slaps a criminal charge against him.

Now, Yadav is a senior leader, and some years ago was the defence minister at the centre. Does he really care about any law anyway? And do you think the Election commission has the clout to take any action against him? On the "Holi" day, Mulayam freely distributed hundred rupee notes to his potential voters and got away with it without even a warning by the commission.

Rest assured the EC would more or less behave the same way in this case too. This is indian democracy at the Election Commission level!

Election India2009: Vote for cash

Many Indians like to tout it as the greatest democracy on earth, but it's just a quantitative statement. Qualitatively, this democracy glitters mostly on paper, and in our rulers' rhetoric. The truth is, most political parties routinely violate the norms that are at the core of a democracy.

One such glaring example is the vote for cash policy of some parties.

Electronic media has recently shown footage of Mulayam Singh Yadav of The Samajbadi Party, a senior politician of the country, distributing hundred-rupee notes to people who gathered at his residence on the occasion of the Holi.

In another incident, Amitava Nandy, a Left candidate for Lok Sabha election this year from Bengal, gives away cheques to workers from the dias of a workers' meeting.

The concerned parties have of course lodged complaints against these two leaders to the Election Commission, but there are little chances the latter would take any action against them.

Political leaders are kind of immune as far as any electoral law is concerned. This is again another downside of Indian democracy.

Vote for cash is not entirely a new thing. It was here in surreptitious way so long. Only this year it happens in the open.