While unambiguous when it comes to punishing the guilty , laws must have built-in provisions to protect the innocent against blackmail / harassment thru frivolous use.
Team Anna should keep this in mind while framing their version of “ Right to Recall “ bill [ RTR ]
They must ask – and answer – following questions :
- How many voters are there in that constituency ?
- How many voters were there when that representative [ MP / MLA / Corporator etc ], got elected ?
- What %age of voters voted in that election ?
- What %age of cast votes did that representative get ?
- What should be the minimum %age of voters who will be required to sign the recall petition – mentioning their UID / PAN / Voter ID ?
- Who should the petition be addressed to ? Speaker ? President ?
- Should petition contain specific charges, substantiated by evidence against that representative ?
- Which agency shall investigate the charges and on whose order ?
- If referendum is to be resorted to, which agency shall order the referendum and when ?
- Who will conduct the referendum ?
- Will referendum seal the fate of that representative thru a simple majority of those voting – irrespective of the no of voters in that constituency ?
- Will the concerned representative have a right to defend himself ?
- Can any action be taken against the petitioning voters if the petition is found to be frivolous ? Should they be debarred from voting for 15 years ?
- If found guilty and re-called , will the concerned representative be allowed to contest in the next election ? Or , should he be debarred for 15 years ?
- Depending upon the extent of the guilt, will there be punishment of the concerned representative in addition to recall ?
Obviously, this is not an exhaustive list and Team Anna should invite public to add to these
We must not throw out the baby with the bath-water !
With regards
HEMEN PAREKH
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