By Inder Jit
(Released on 4 March 1975)
The Prime Minister’s invitation to the Opposition in Parliament for a dialogue on electoral reforms and other major issues has come not a day too soon. Few among the Opposition leaders or thinking people are, however, prepared to accept her offer at its face value, thanks mainly to the yawning credibility gap. The Opposition is today disinclined even to meet her across the table and has come to believe that all these exercises are only designed to help her create the myth of of a national consensus, “throw dust in the eyes of the people” and exploit them to her own advantage. Symbolic of this scepticism was Mr Piloo Mody’s good-humoured interruption in the Lok Sabha as Mrs. Gandhi offered to hold round-table talks with the Opposition leaders on electoral reforms. Quipped Mr Mody: A square table will do, Madam. Let’s not waste time in trying to get hold of a round table!
There is no shortage of ideas and suggestions for electoral reforms, if Mrs. Gandhi really means business. Only recently, the six-man panel set up by Mr. Jayaprakash Narayan on behalf of Citizens for Democracy has submitted a report recommending various changes in the election law and the electoral system. A Citizen’s Convention in Calcutta, attended by the leaders of the Congress (O), Jana Sangh, CPM, and almost all other parties in the State, drew up on Wednesday last a 15-point charter for free and fair elections. Several thought-provoking suggestions have been made in the past few weeks by knowledgeable people, including Mr. S.P. Sen Verma, former Chief Election Commissioner, in newspaper articles. Earlier, special issues carrying a cross-section of leading opinion have been brought out on various aspects of electoral reform, including the poll expense hoax, by journals dedicated to parliamentary democracy.
Many of the ideas are unexceptionable and are worthy of consideration. These could even be discussed and necessary legislation enacted during the current budget session. But Mrs. Gandhi and her principal advisers feel it would be neither feasible nor advisable to rush through in a vital matter like electoral reforms without giving the country adequate opportunity to debate the issues. The Union authorities are, therefore, inclined to break up the suggestions into a broad sections – those on which action can be taken immediately before the next general poll and those which require to be considered and chewed carefully. Parliament already has before it a bill on electoral reforms based on the recommendations of the Joint Committee of the two Houses. It also has draft legislation ready to lift the ban on company donations to political parties — legislation which might well have been introduced but for last-minute differences with the Opposition.
Happily some of Mrs. Gandhi’s principal advisers have been giving the matter serious thought and the Union Law Minister, Mr. H.R. Gokhale, for his part, appears anxious to make a purposeful beginning in the matter and get both the Houses to enact enlarged legislation before the end of the current session. Thinking among Mrs. Gandhi’s advisers appears to have, more or less, crystalised in favour of three immediate changes. First, to double the present ceiling on election expenses for Parliament and the Assemblies and to make it more realistic. (The JP panel has, among other things, favoured this). Secondly, to ease the financial burden on the candidates and extend to them both monetary and material help. Thirdly, to lift the ban on company donations to parties and, what is more, to double the ceiling and allow contributions upto Rs.50,000 annually or five per cent of the average net profits of the last three years, whichever is more.
That the State should come to the financial aid of the candidates is now accepted in principle. But for the present the commitment is proposed to be limited to a maximum of about Rs.25 crores in view of the overall financial stringency. Financial help is proposed to be extended to the candidates in three ways. First, it is proposed to pay to such candidates as do not lose their deposit in the election a grant of about 40 per cent of the existing ceiling on expenses, namely Rs.15,000 to the Lok Sabha candidates. (In the last Parliamentary poll, some 1,800 candidates out of about 2,800 lost their deposits). Secondly, all candidates are proposed to be provided free of cost voters slips giving the name, the serial number of the candidate and the polling station, an item estimated to cost about Rs.7 crores. Thirdly, it is proposed that the Government should also agree to provide candidates with printed forms for polling and counting agents.
Not long ago, leaders of various Opposition parties complained that the crash programme for the revision of electoral rolls ordered by the Election Commission would deny lakhs of young men and women their right of franchise. Yet, little has been done to follow in the complains with be Election Commission which, for its part, claims that the procedure adopted now is the same as the one upheld by the Delhi High Court on August 21, 1970 in a case filed by the CPM leader, Mr. A.K. Gopalan. Meanwhile, latest enumerations in Jaipur, for instance, reportedly show a 50 per cent increase in the number of voters; of these 30 to 40 per cent are said to be between 21 and 25 years of age.
Any help extended by the State to hard-pressed candidates deserves to be welcomed. But these few measures are far from adequate. The present system loads the dice heavily in favour of the ruling party and there is need for immediate action to neutralise this advantage. A ceiling on election expenses of candidates has today become meaningless as following the Government’s decision to exclude from it the monies spent by the party. A ceiling needs to be imposed on the expense whih a party might incur on a candidate. At the same time, steps should be taken to allot time to all political parties on radio and television (a fair and equitable formula is not beyond ingenuity) and to provide the Opposition parties facilities at par with the ruling Congress in regard to use of official planes and helicopters. A decision is also long overdue on ending defections.
While such basic issues as to whether India should switch over to proportional representation or the list system can be discussed at length and a national consensus sought, several other things can be done straightway to reform the electoral system. A ban could, for instance, easily be imposed on all vehicular traffic (barring emergency exceptions) on the polling day since a lot of money is spent on providing transport. Simultaneously, voting could be made compulsory, as advocated by Mr. Sen Verma recently and by Mr. C. Subramanian after the last poll. Compulsory voting is today prevalent in over a dozen countries including Australia, Italy, and Egypt, and its introduction has proved both effective and encouraging. Defaulters could be asked to pay a fine or his name suspended from the poll for the next general election. As an Australian leader once said: “Compulsory voting assists a Government which is popular and punishes one which is unpopular”.
Law can only help to a point when the chips are down. Ultimately, much will depend upon the vigilance of political parties and, more important, the people. Not long ago, leaders of various Opposition parties complained that the crash programme for the revision of electoral rolls ordered by the Election Commission would deny lakhs of young men and women their right of franchise. Yet, little has been done to follow in the complains with be Election Commission which, for its part, claims that the procedure adopted now is the same as the one upheld by the Delhi High Court on August 21, 1970 in a case filed by the CPM leader, Mr. A.K. Gopalan. Meanwhile, latest enumerations in Jaipur, for instance, reportedly show a 50 per cent increase in the number of voters; of these 30 to 40 per cent are said to be between 21 and 25 years of age.
Simultaneously, voting could be made compulsory, as advocated by Mr. Sen Verma recently and by Mr. C. Subramanian after the last poll. Compulsory voting is today prevalent in over a dozen countries including Australia, Italy, and Egypt, and its introduction has proved both effective and encouraging. Defaulters could be asked to pay a fine or his name suspended from the poll for the next general election. As an Australian leader once said: “Compulsory voting assists a Government which is popular and punishes one which is unpopular”.
Rigging is the other evil apart from bogus voting which has greatly fouled up our electoral system. Both could be tackled and eliminated to a great extent if only JP and the Opposition parties would mobilise people power or more specifically student power for the purpose. Students could, for instance, be invited to help eliminate bogus voting by joining an organised door to door campaign for checking electoral rolls. (Each recognised party is given two copies of the rolls free). Simultaneously, students could be invited to ensure free and fair elections by forming watch-dog committees for polling booths all over the country. The idea could also involve our youth emotionally in our parliamentary democracy. As the cliché goes, two birds could be killed with one stone. — INFA