If the disease is dreadful , a bitter
pill is must
Especially if the disease is eating into body vitals and headed for
a “ terminal illness “ !
Even as Punjab and Goa went to polls two days
ago , it seems all the organs of our Electoral System are failing . Not one
after another, but simultaneously !
Following is a brief
listing of the PROBLEMS of our Electoral Ailment and my SUGGESTIONS
, for each
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PROBLEM
:
Elections are taking place , all around the country and almost every week
This costs crores of rupees and totally disrupts administration – apart of
a loss of billions
of man-hours of productive time
SOLUTION
:
Conduct simultaneous elections for Lok
Sabha and ALL State
Assemblies , on a single day , once every 5 years
I suggest 02 Oct 2019 / 2024 / 2029 …. ( Birthday of Mahatma Gandhi )
This can be easily done using Mobile App , “ VotesApp “
Read its feasibility at :
·
How to save Rs 5511 Crores
{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2015/12/how-to-save-rs-5511-crores.html }
·
One Nation , One Vote ?
{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/11/one-nation-one-vote.html }
· ReformingElections and Lok Sabha [ REaL ]
·
{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/12/reforming-elections-and-lok-sabha-real.html }
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PROBLEM
:
Code of Conduct paralyses decision making / policy announcements , of
governments
SOLUTION
:
Once every 5 year , Code of Conduct will remain in force between 17 Sept
and 02 Oct
During this
period , there will be no session of Lok Sabha / State Assemblies
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PROBLEM
:
Cash donations to Political Parties breed corruption / black money
SOLUTION
:
·
All donations ( even Re ONE ) to be made officially /
digitally
·
·
A single Election Commission
web site with a drop-list of political parties
·
·
Donors ( after entering their
details / Aadhar Number ), can select any party and any amount and make online
payment using Credit Card
·
·
Similar arrangement can be
made through BHIM App
·
·
CEC will transfer donations
received to designated bank accounts of each party
·
·
On 1st of each
month , parties will be allowed to withdraw CASH equal to 5 % of
the Credit Balance in their
accounts . They can use this for small expenses
·
·
All parties to pay for goods
/ services through bank account for major expenses
·
·
With the data furnished by
concerned banks and the data available from its own “ Donation Web Site “ , CEC to
publish a MONTHLY statement of donations
and expenses for each party with bank balance in each account
Read :
{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/12/let-us-begin-at-beginning.html }
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
·
PROBLEM
:
Inadequate remuneration of MPs / MLAs
This prevents good / honest ( but low income / low wealth ) citizens to
come forward to contest elections
This also breeds corruption among elected representatives
SOLUTION
:
·
Abolish all different kinds
of “ Allowances / Reimbursements /
Subsidies “
·
·
Raise salaries as follows :
MPs… Rs 5 lakhs/month
( Fixed Salary ) + Rs 10 lakhs/month (
Variable )
MLAs.. Rs 2 lakhs/month ( Fixed ) + Rs 4 lakhs/month ( Variable )
·
Pay scales to include an
annual Salary Increment = GDP percentage of the preceding
financial year ( hopefully , this will motivate them for constructive debate
and quick passage of economic reforms ! )
There will
be a provision to “ freeze “ the salary ( no annual increment ) for those whose
performance is judged “ poor “ , as explained later
·
All must pay appropriate
Personal Income Tax on their salary income
·
·
Variable Salaries to be based
on Performance of concerned MP / MLA
·
{ Just like the compensation
of a CEO of any large listed company }
·
·
A “ Performance Survey “ to be conducted using
Mobile App ( RepReward
) , at the end of each year
·
·
Voters of each
Representative’s constituency to be eligible to “ Rate “ ( select the Variable Pay
Amount figure ) . Average will be taken for rewarding
----------------------------------------------------------------------·
PROBLEM
:
Poor productivity of Lok Sabha / State Assemblies due to unruly /
obstructive behaviour of Members
Poor participation of Members in debates / Poor attendance / Abysmal
performance of duty as a representative of citizens
SOLUTION
:
A legally binding provision on the
Speaker / Election Commission to disqualify members , based on the outcome of a
periodically conducted online POLL / SURVEY , of all the Members’ performance , through a Mobile App called
:
·
Same survey could be used to “
freeze “ the Annual Salary
Increment of a Member
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PROBLEM
:
Voters do not have readily available info / data on sitting Members and
candidates contesting elections , in order to decide who to vote for ( or NOTA
)
SOLUTION
:
A Mobile App based around ;
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PROBLEM
:
Pre-poll surveys are “ sponsored “ by political parties ( of course , at a
huge cost ) , to dish out “ Voter Preference “ statistics , favouring the party
footing the bill
SOLUTION
:
Ban all pre-poll surveys for 6 months preceding the elections ( ie:
from April 2019 )
If any survey gets conducted earlier ,
citizens are bound to forget those statistics !
Even if
conducted before April 2019 , results cannot be published / debated after April
2019
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PROBLEM
:
Exit polls ( of voters coming out of polling booths after casting their
votes ) , tend to influence other voters who have yet to cast their votes
SOLUTION
:
Although this is currently banned , it
can get worse when there are no polling booths , nor a single voter on the
street ( if voting gets done through Mobile App “ VotesApp “ )
Political parties interested in
influencing the voters can enable “ fictitious polls “ to go viral on Social
Media ( especially WhatsApp
)
There is no particular difficulty for the
Government to persuade the Social Media to go “ Offline “ for the day of voting
through “ VotesApp “
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PROBLEM
:
Political parties “ bribe “ poor voters with promise of freebies /
gifts in their Election Manifestos or Vision Documents
SOLUTION :
Strict implementation
of the Supreme Court directive in this matter
Since next
simultaneous election is proposed for 02 Oct 2019 , all political parties must first submit their
Manifestos to the Election Commission , latest by April
2019 , for approval
CEC will
return the Manifestos to Political Parties , after removing all “ freebie
promises “
Only thereafter , parties can release / publish their Manifestos
Read :
·
Weare not bribing the Voters !
{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/01/we-are-not-bribing-voters.html }
· ModelCode of ( Hypocrite ) Conduct ?
·
{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/01/model-code-of-hypocrite-conduct.html }
· AFreebie That Cannot Be Faulted ?
·
{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/12/a-freebie-that-cannot-be-faulted.html }
·
· One Upon Free Wi - Fi ?
·
{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2015/02/one-up-on-free-wi-fi.html }
·
· Bribingthe Voters ?
·
{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2014/03/bribing-voters.html }
·
· SellingRainbows ?
·
{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2014/01/selling-rainbows.html
}
·
·
PerennialPoll Promises
{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2013/12/perennial-poll-promises.html }
· SellingDreams ?
·
{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2013/11/selling-dreams.html }
·
·
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PROBLEM
:
Members of Lok Sabha / State Assemblies , having court cases pending
against them for serious crimes , continue to occupy their seats with scant
regard / fear of law
SOLUTION
:
As directed by Supreme Court , constitute
15 SPECIAL COURTS , exclusively for trying
and completing these pending cases WITHIN ONE YEAR
Read :
· AllSeasons Are Election Seasons
· CrimeDoes Not Pay ?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PROBLEM :
Irrespective of the merits of a
Government proposal , opposition parties believe that their job is to “ Oppose –
Anything and Everything “ !
Most of the time, they are thinking
about “ empowering “ their parties and their members and refuse to act so as to
“ Empower the People / the Nation “
SOLUTION :
We must find a method whereby all parties cooperate with the government
, to expeditiously pass legislation that solves problems of our country
Such a solution must give to all parties , a “ Sense of Enlarged Participation “ in the process of governing the
country / building the Nation
And that solution is :
A GOVERNMENT IN WHICH , ALL OPPOSITION
PARTIES GET “ MINISTERIAL POSITIONS “ , IN PROPORTION TO THEIR PERCENTAGE
STRENGTH IN THE LOK SABHA / STATE ASSEMBLIES !
For
details , read :
·
AConstitutional Coalition Government ?
·
{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/10/a-constitutional-coalition-government.html }
·
· ConstitutionalCoalition Aftershocks !
·
{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/10/constitutional-coalition-aftershocks.html
}
·
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear
Narendrabhai :
As of now , people of India have lost all
trust in “
Elections as a Process “
Unless our political parties agree to
swallow the bitter pill described above , I am afraid our citizens will lose
all faith in “ Democracy as concept of Good Governance “
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06 Feb 2017
www.hemenparekh.in / blogs
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