MILAP CHORARIA
B-5/52, Sector-7, Rohini, New Delhi-110085
Website: http://milapchoraria.tripod.com/msp / E-Mail: milap.choraria@yahoo.com
Dated: 29th August, 2011
Respected Shri Anna alias Kisan Baburao Hazareji,
through the good offices of the well known leading light in the arena of Legal Luminaries Shri Prashant Bhusanji, and the retired IPS Smt. Kiran Bediji as well as one of the pillars of the citadel of social activism Shri Arvind Kejriwalji,
I take this opportunity to seek your very kind benevolence for my indulgence in bringing before your good-self to share some of my moorings. However, before doing so, I may pleased be permitted to introduce myself as one of your humble and silent supporter hailing from a family, well known all over the world in the name of the Great Jain Saint Acharya Shri Mahapragyaji who happened to be my grand uncle, in the ordinary parlance of worldly family relations. It would not be out of way to mention that the former President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, happened to co-author a book "Family and the Nation" along with him.
It is quite appropriate that you have struck the right chord by raising the very pertinent issue regarding Election Reforms, which is at the very root of all ills of various corrupt practices. In this regard I have written a number of articles in Hindi on this particular subject with a view to bring into reality the existence of near corruption free good governance. In 1996, I submitted a Petition before the Election Commission of India suggesting a draft of Affidavit to be used to invite the details from each Candidate for Election to Loksabha or State Assemblies, disclosing records of criminal cases against them and subsequently in 1998 Letter/Notification No. 509/Disqln./97/J.S.-I/Vol.II dated 6th January 1998 was issued by Election Commission asking every Chief Election Officer from the States to invite such information from every candidate through such affidavits, which was based on my aforesaid draft of affidavit.
To ensure the good governance this is very much essential that honest and sincere people should be attracted by our Election System to contest elections. Through my articles, which were published in all most all Hindi Newspapers in India, I have suggested a mechanism and subsequently compiled them in a Book format titled as: 'A MODEL OF NEW CONSTITUTION FOR INDIA', and registered under Copy Rights Act, vide No. L-23511/2005 and posted at http://constitutionindia.tripod.com.
In fact 'Right to Recall' may check the corruption up to some extent, but it requires great efforts to recall an elected representative. Whereas, under the system as suggested by me, one elected representative is bound to maintain both honesty and sincerity. This concept is based on the scientific principle that the 'stagnated water' is bound to become toxic and hazardous to public health. Similarly an elected representative if continues in the same Office, for a pretty long period, then he is bound to develop an entrenched interests and psychologically starts taking for granted to be an undisputed Lord, and to maintain this status-co he is apt to indulge himself in unlawful activities, conflicting with the very democratic principles. Election System should be based on the promotion by people, considering the performance of the candidates. One person should not be allowed by law to contest for more than three terms, for any particular Office, starting from the grass root public representative office of a Panch and then gradually climbing the ladder to the highest office of the Prime Minister and should not be allowed to hold any office for more than two terms. These conditions are very much essential to make public representatives accountable to the citizenry.
We have adopted British system of First-past-the-post (abbreviated FPTP or FPP) voting system under which a candidate declared as elected cornering the highest number of votes among the contesting candidates, irrespective of the percentage he has been able to get out of the total number of votes polled and or of the percentage of the electorate of the constituency. With the result, it has been seen that even those who have forfeited their security on the one hand have also been simultaneously declared elected on the other hand. In Britain, such election system does not make any bad impact, because most of the electorates are from One Community, One Religion, One Language, One Culture etc., whereas in India these factors exist in countless numbers. As a result this election system of FPP helps the candidates in exploiting the electorate by misusing these factors. Obviously, this system is totally devoid of representative character and that is how its deficiencies are mostly at the root of all types of electoral malpractices laced with corruption, which paves way to make a further push of corrupt practices by the elected representative to safeguard his future.
Our Election System creates political instability. This also helps in building a mental make up for indulging in corrupt practices, to remain in control of the reins of powers by all means and methods. Whereas, in a true and meaningful democracy we need a stable system of good governance, which should be far from the permanent control over reins of powers by any particular group of politicians or individuals, which otherwise is not only dangerous but Imperialistic too.
Electoral Reforms has to be directed in such a manner, that the candidates are mandated to work for the unity and integrity of the all segments of the society and should be made accountable to the citizenry. Therefore, in my view whenever any citizen (except academicians), intends to join the Political system through election, he should join it at the preliminary level of the Democratic Governance System that is the Local Self Government and if he is able to continue to be honest for two terms (without suffering from any blemish of corrupt practice or crime, six month prior to the date of election) then only he should be illegible to contest the election for a State Assembly, and similarly if he is able to continue to maintain his unblemished record for two terms, (six month prior to the date of the election) then only he should be illegible to contest the election for Loksabha.
To achieve this objective, a further condition is a must for the election to an office of Local Self-Government, that the candidate will only be get elected, if he is able to get a minimum support of 30% of Voters, (not of the voting), enlisted in the Electoral Rolls in the respective constituency. No doubt this condition may create some problem in the initial years, but it should only be treated as birth pangs, for eventually it will compel every candidate to restrain himself from indulging in such acts that may cause fissures in the society, on one pretext or the other. For this reason initially we may have to follow a system, in which with a waiver of the aforesaid condition, to have a fresh election between the two candidates getting the highest number of Votes and thus decide the final winner.
For the candidates for election to the State Assembly or the Loksabha such condition of 30% should be reduced to 20% of the electorates enlisted in the Electoral Rolls, in view of the large magnitude of the size of the constituencies. Presently these conditions of 20% or 30% may appear to be very hard, but once this process of electioneering is adopted and comes in to practice, the electorate will became familiar, and the process will become smooth.
The condition of Security Deposit by the candidates is no deterrent for the wrong persons, rather it is the other way round and the honest and sincere is kept at bay in this way, as it is generally difficult for him to arrange huge sums. Instead, if at the Local-Self Government level one fails to get minimum 10% support from the electorates enlisted in the Electoral Rolls, then he should be debarred from the contest to any Election for Next Ten Years. This condition will check the entry of unscrupulous and or unwarranted candidates, to enter in election fray without developing their good repo with the electorates, from all segments of the society.
Tenure of Local Self Governments, State Assemblies and the Loksabha should ideally be for a fixed tenure of 2 years, but in any case not more than 3 years. If these election reforms are materialized, then a candidate cannot win election by misusing his money power, rather one can won if his honesty and integrity is well known in the various segments of society of the constituency.
Political Parties should be given Status of a State or National Political Party for a period of single tenure of Loksabha or Assembly or Local Self Government, if they are able to get support of 10% of the Total Voters enlisted in the respective Electoral Rolls, which in turn would automatically expire immediately after the next general election.
National and or State Political Parties should (under this process maximum three Political Parties can get the status of National or a State Political Party) declare their candidate for the Office of Prime Minister and or the Chief Minister for the State, as the case may be, six months prior to the date of election. The respective nominated candidate automatically should be declared as Member of Loksabha or respective State Assembly. Votes received by all the candidates from the respective National or State Political Party should be accounted in favour of the candidates for the Prime Minister and or the Chief Minister of the State, as the case may be, and recipient of the highest Votes should be declared as Prime Minister and or Chief Minister, for a fix tenure of two/three years.
In my articles, I have dealt with in depth the aforesaid suggestions and would be happy to further discuss the each and every point, if need be whenever invited and or any such exigency arises.
With respectful regards,
Yours sincerely,
(Milap Choraria)
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