Reforming Elections and Lok Sabha [ REaL ]

Dear Shri Narendrabhai ,

During your speech at a rally in Kanpur recently , you spoke about issues concerning ,

*  SIMULTANEOUS ELECTIONS  *  POLITICAL DONATIONS  *  WORKING OF LOK SABHA

In respect of these , I have earlier sent to you ( as E Mails ) , some of my blogs listed below each issue

Obviously , final solutions in respect of each issue , must necessarily emerge from a country-wide debate among all citizens

I urge you to get NITI Aayog to frame suitable QUESTIONNAIRES ( one for each issue ) and invite citizens to vote ONLINE , on all government web sites

NITI Aayog may also want to consider conducting these ONLINE SURVEYS , through Mobile Apps, as you recently did in respect of demonetization

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SIMULTANEOUS ELECTIONS  :

*    " Due to continuous election mode, much time is wasted which can be used in

     development activities. I appeal to EC to start dialogue on holding the central and state

     elections simultaneously.

I had said earlier that elections ( Lok Sabha and Assembly Polls ) are held separately,

thereby adding a lot of monetary strain. It also allowed a space for black money to make

its way into the system.

We should work towards having simultaneous elections for the Centre and the state. "

MY  BLOGS :

     *  VotesApp (  18  Dec  2012  ) 

        {  http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2012/12/votesapp.html  }

     *  One Poll ,One Time  ( 06 Sept 2016  ) 

       {  http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/09/one-poll-one-time.html  }

     *  OneNation , One Vote ( 29  Nov  2016  ) 

      { http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/11/one-nation-one-vote.html )

     *  Honey , Ishrunk the EVM !  ( 21  Oct  2015  ) 

      { http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2015/10/honey-i-shrunk-evm.html  }

     *  OneDay Polling is Possible  ( 31  March  2016  ) 

      {  http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/03/one-day-polling-is-possible.html  }

     *  Howto Save Rs 5511 Crore ?  ( 12  Dec  2015  ) 

      {  http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2015/12/how-to-save-rs-5511-crores.html  } 

    *  Sun  Never Sets  ( 01  April  2014  ) 

       { http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2014/04/sun-never-sets.html }

    *  All   Seasons are  Election  Seasons  (  22 May 2014  )

       { http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2014/05/all-seasons-are-election-seasons.html }

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POLITICAL  DONATIONS  :

   "  I requested in the all party meet that discussion on how political parties get funds

      should take place in the Parliament.

      It is the responsibility of political parties to set an example on non-corrupt practices,

      especially about donations to political parties "

MY BLOGS :

*    How  Will  Political  Parties  Survive ?  ( 19 Dec 2016   )

     { http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/12/how-will-political-parties-survive.html }

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WORKING  OF   LOK  SABHA  : 

    " Our agenda is stop corruption, stop black money. But others have an agenda of ' Stop

     Parliament ' .

Despite the President of the country telling them to do their job and let Parliament

function, they continued to disrupt Parliament. "

MY BLOGS  :

*  ROMP :  A Panacea ?  ( 06  Aug  2016  )

   {  http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2015/08/romp-panacea.html  )

*  A  Winter of  Discontent  ( 08 Aug  2016  )

   {  http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/12/a-winter-of-discontent.html  }

*  When  Will People  Win ?  (  06  Nov  2013  )

   {  http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2013/11/when-will-people-win.html }

*  Darkness  at Noon  (  18  Feb  2014  )

   { http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2014/02/darkness-at-noon.html )

*  As  the Sun  Rises  ( 26  April  2014 )

   {  http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2014/04/as-sun-rises.html  }

*   Getting  Even  (  16  Oct  2013  )

   {  http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2013/10/getting-even.html }

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And although left unsaid at Kanpur rally , I have no doubt , here is what you might have said about ;

ELECTION  MANIFESTOS :

"  Election Manifestos should reflect the wishes of the citizens . These wishes should be

 

   ascertained through online OPINION POLL / MOBILE APP "

MY BLOGS :

*  ManifestoMisconduct ( 26  March  2014  )

   {  http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2014/03/manifesto-misconduct.html }

*  Poll  Promises ?   Tall   Promises ?  ( 23  Feb 2014  )

   {  http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2014/02/poll-promises-tall-promises.html }

*  Perennial  Poll  Promises  (  13  Dec  2013  )

   { http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2013/12/perennial-poll-promises.html }

*  But  You Have  Promises  to Keep  ( 14  May  2016  )

   {  http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/05/but-you-have-promises-to-keep.html }

*  What   are  the   Chances  ?  ( 18  May  2014  )

   { http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2014/05/what-are-chances.html  }

*  Congress   Poll  Manifesto  ( 25  Oct  2013   )

   {  http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2013/10/congress-poll-manifesto.html  }

*  BJP  Poll Manifesto  (  19  Oct  2013  )

   { http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2013/10/bjp-poll-manifesto.html }

*  If  / Then   (   06  April  2014  )

   {  http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2014/04/if-then.html  }

*  Issues  vs Non  Issues  (  18  Nov  2013  )

  {  http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2013/11/issues-vs-non-issues.html }

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CANDIDATE  BACKGROUND :

"  Voters deserve to have full / authentic information about the contesting candidates

MY  BLOGS :

*  Electoral  Reforms through  Backdoor  ?  ( 03 April 2016   )

  {  http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/04/electoral-reforms-through-backdoor.html }

*  Filtering  Candidate Information  (  18  Sept  2016  )

  { http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/09/filtering-candidate-information.html }

*  The  More Things  Change  (  22  March  2014  )

  {  http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-more-things-change.html  }

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COOPERATING  FOR  NATION  BUILDING  :

" Each and every party (including those in Opposition ) should focus on Nation Building "

MY  BLOGS :

*  A  Constitutional  Coalition Government  ?  ( 02 Oct 2016  )

{http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/10/a-constitutional-coalition-government.html}

*  Constitutional  Coalition Aftershocks  ( 03  Oct  2016  )

{  http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/10/constitutional-coalition-aftershocks.html }

     *    Marriage  Season is  upon  us  (  04  May  2014  )

      { http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2014/05/marriage-season-is-upon-us.html }

     *   Tora  , Tora  ,  Tora  (  01  Nov  2013  )

      {  http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2013/11/toratoratora.html }

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BRIBING  VOTERS  WITH  FREEBIES  :

"  To win votes , during Election Campaigns , political parties must not offer  FREEBIES "

MY  BLOGS  :

*  Advantage  Incumbent ?  (  05  Sept  2016  )

   {  http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/09/advantage-incumbent.html }

*  One  Up on  Free  Wi Fi  ?  (  11  Feb  2015  )

   { http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2015/02/one-up-on-free-wi-fi.html }

*  Bribing  the Voters  ?  (  12  March  2014  )

   { http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2014/03/bribing-voters.html }

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Dear  Shri  Narendrabhai ,

I urge you to initiate action on these ELECTORAL REFORMS , before people lose all faith in the ability of our DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM to alleviate their miseries

with regards,

hemendra  parekh / hcp@RecruitGuru.com

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21  Dec  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

How Will Political Parties Survive ?

Yesterday's Indian Express carried following news report :

Election Commission seeks ban on anonymous contributions to parties above Rs 2000

" Seeking to stem the flow of black money in polls, the Election Commission has urged the government to amend laws to ban anonymous contributions of Rs 2000 and above made to political parties. There is no constitutional or statutory prohibition on receipt of anonymous donations by political parties. But there is an “indirect partial ban” on anonymous donations through the requirement of declaration of donations under section 29C of The Representation of the People Act, 1951.

But, such declarations are mandated only for contributions above Rs 20,000.

As per the proposed amendment, sent by the Commission to the government, and made part of its compendium on proposed electoral reforms, “ anonymous contributions above or equal to the amount of Rs two thousand should be prohibited. ”

The Commission has also proposed that exemption of Income Tax should only be extended to political parties that contest elections and win seats in Lok Sabha or assembly polls.

The Commission said, “ There could be cases where political parties could be formed merely for availing of provisions of income tax exemption if the facility, that are at the expense of the public exchequer, is provided to all political parties. ”

In yet another recommendation to check black money, the EC has asked the Law Ministry to ensure that political parties are made to register details of donors for coupons of all amounts on the basis of a Supreme Court order of 1996.

Coupons are one of the ways devised by the political parties for collecting donations and hence are printed by the party itself. There is no cap or limit as to how many coupons can be printed or its total quantum. Currently, the details of donors is not required for coupons with small amounts such as for Rs 10 or 20. “These smaller sums aggregate into a bigger amount and hence, they need to be accounted for, to ensure transparency,” the Commission said.

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After reading this , you would not be surprised that , in India , we have 1,900 + , so called " Political Parties " , of which , possibly less than 20 may be " National " parties

I wonder how many donations of under Rs 20,000 , did all these parties receive , since 08 Nov announcement on demonetization ! Or , how many MILLIONS of COUPONS got printed !

My guess is : RS 2 LAKH*CRORE !  

Given the above-mentioned " loopholes " in the " donation declarations " required of Political Parties , is it any surprise that these small parties have become the latest entrants to the flourishing " Hawala " trade ( NEW for OLD notes , at a discount ) , since 08 Nov ?

Do not overlook the fact that these parties have powerful " friends " in all bank branches !

But , this recommendation from Election Commission could not have come at a more opportune time for the NDA government , what with 5 State Elections looming on the horizon , over the next 12 months

All that the Government has to do , is as follows :

*  Accept EC recommendation , making it effective from  01 Feb 2017

*  Go one step further and mandate that ALL donations ( even for ONE rupee ) , to political

   parties can only be made either ONLINE (on Party Web site, using Credit / Debit cards )

   or using any other DIGITAL PAYMENT method

*  Those ( smaller / regional ) political parties that wish to " merge " with any NATIONAL

    party, can do so by transferring their entire corpus of funds / assets to the NATIONAL

    party .

    In the hands of the NATIONAL party , this entire amount will be treated as " Anonymous

    Donation " .

   This " exemption " will only apply to parties " merging " before 31 Jan 2017

  

I imagine a frenzy of 1800 political parties rushing in to " merge " with BJP  !

Even as most will not survive , a few will " thrive "

I never cease to be amazed at the by-products of demonetization  !

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19  Dec  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

     

A Winter of Discontent ?

Just concluded winter session of Lok Sabha was a total wash-out , with 99 % of time wasted by Members ( from both the sides ) shouting / rushing into the well of the house / not allowing anyone to speak / hurling abuses at one another / ignoring the repeated pleas of the Speaker / walking out when shouting did not help ....etc

There is nothing we can do about that. Past cannot be re-lived, any differently !

For the sad behavior of our parliamentarians , we have no one to blame but ourselves

After all , WE voted for them and WE elected them , to go and represent us in Lok Sabha !

And , most unfortunately , we cannot " Re - Call " them , till 2019 !

Nor can we expect this ( or , for that matter , any future Lok Sabha ) , to pass a reform called :

3 R  : RIGHT TO RECALL REPRESENTATIVES ACT ( year ? )

But may be , just may be , there is a way to ensure that the forthcoming BUDGET SESSION , does not end up the way of the Winter session

That could happen if one of the leading News Paper or a TV Channel , were to quickly conduct an online SURVEY of the type suggested in my following earlier blog ( sent as email to NDA Ministers / MPs / MLAs and the Election Commission ) :

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Thursday, 6 August 2015

ROMP - A Panacea ?

In past few years , our Lok Sabha has been repeatedly paralyzed by slogan shouting MPs

Perhaps , the past two weeks were the worst in the history of Lok Sabha , with no business conducted

Someone suggested that MPs be made to lose their salaries for this period , following the universally / legally accepted rule : No Work , No Pay

This won't work . Our crore-pati MPs could not care a hoot for loss of pay !

Only thing that might work :

A mobile app called , " ROMP / Recall Our MP " ( Idea for a Start-Up ? )

Only voters who qualify as follows , will be permitted to use this App , in order to recall an MP :

*  He must be on Electoral Roll

*  He must have actually voted ( even if NOTA ) , in the last general election

   { This criteria is bound to boost voting percentage to 95 %  ! No need to

      make voting compulsory  ! }

*  He can " Vote to Recall " , only MP who got elected from the constituency

   from where he cast his vote in last election

*  He can vote only if there is no Criminal charges filed against him

*  The App itself will accept his " Rating / Vote " only on two days of the year

   announced by the Election Commission for each constituency

*  Any other criteria that readers may wish to suggest ( crowd-sourcing )

ROMP will show following criteria , with " YES "  or "  NO " buttons against each :

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LOG-IN :

#    Suspend MP for next Session................................ YES.......NO

#    Recall MP.............................................................YES ..... NO

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Justify your recommendation by " Rating " your MP , below

( Unless rated on each criteria , your vote will be invalid )

Is this MP ( who is being rated by you ) :

#     Honest.............................................. YES........NO

#     Of high Integrity................................. YES........ NO

#     Sincere.............................................. YES........ NO

#     Hard-working ....................................  YES........ NO

#     Punctual.............................................. YES.......  NO

#     Dignified............................................  YES........  NO

#     Follows Speaker's Orders.....................   YES........  NO

#     Good Listener.......................................  YES......... NO

#     Awaits his turn to speak.......................... YES........ NO

#     Asks only relevant questions..................  YES........ NO

#     Approachable to Voters..........................  YES....... NO

#    Answers Voters' Emails promptly...............  YES......  NO

#    Provides regular feedback to Voters ............. YES.......NO

#    Addresses other MPs with respect...............  YES..........NO

                                        SUBMIT

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Conditions governing use of  ROMP  :

*   It can be downloaded from the web site of Election Commission , upon

     filling up a form, requiring all kinds of proof that you are a genuine voter

*   Upon being satisfied ( that you are a genuine voter ) , the Server will

     issue a User ID and Password, to log in before you can use the App.

     It would be better still , if biometric identification is integrated with the

     App , since AADHAR cards are already having such identification

*   ROMP can be downloaded only once

  

*   At least 66 % of the Voters who had actually voted in that Constituency

     during the last General Election , should take part in ROMP event for it

     to be considered valid

    

*  Only in case more than 2/3rd ( > 66 % ) of " Ratings " cast ,  recommend

    Suspension or Recall , will the Election Commission / Speaker act

    according to People's Mandate

*  However , in case where those 66 % are divided between " Recall " and

    " Suspend " , then " Suspend " will prevail

*  Rating results will be made public on Election Commission web site on the

    next day and also published in leading Newspapers

I do believe that the present NDA government is keen to introduce / pass ,

"  RIGHT  TO  RECALL  BILL  " in Lok Sabha as part of Electoral Reforms

Except that the combined opposition may defeat it in Rajya Sabha  !

Which MP would want to sign his own death-warrant  ?

But even without a legal backing , I feel ROMP would have a salutary effect

on the behavior of our MPs , who would know that they are being watched,

and their conduct is being evaluated ! - and will be made public  !

ROMP , along with my earlier suggested mobile Apps ,

*     VotesApp

      {  http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2012/12/votesapp.html  }

*     I SIN  /  USIN ,

      {  http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2012/12/i-sin-u-sin.html  }

will take us many steps closer to a Digital India

If you endorse my views , please forward to all Policy Makers

If not , please do come up with a better idea !

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19  Dec  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs