For past few months, the question that political
parties seem to asking the voters, is ;
What is price of your vote ?
Ø Free
smartphone / laptop / cycle / scooter / ration / gas cylinder / education ?
Ø Jobs
/ scholarships / monthly cash for girls / mangal-sutra / flat ?
You name it – and we promise ( * conditions apply )
But the Supreme Court is saying :
Promise of freebies in
polls a 'serious issue', asserts SC / Deccan Chronicle / 25
Jan 2022
Extract :
The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to the
Centre and the Election Commission on a plea seeking to curb the political
parties from promising freebies in their election manifestos, thereby putting
under further strain the exchequer of already debt-ridden state finances.
Describing the issue as “serious”, Chief Justice N.V. Ramana, heading a bench also comprising Justice A.S. Bopanna and Justice Hima Kohli, expressed his doubts on how to go about the practice of all the political parties promising freebies to the electorate on the eve of state Assembly elections.
The court gave both the Centre and the Election Commission four weeks’ time to
reply.
“Tell us how we can manage it. We must also know how we are going to control
it,” CJI Ramana told senior lawyer Vikas Singh who had appeared for PIL
petitioner and BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay.
Singh referred to an Election Symbol order and told
the court that if a political party does not desist from promising freebies,
then Election Commission can use this in the next election to freeze the symbol
and deregister it.
Senior lawyer told the court that the Election
Commission did issue guidelines to curb freebies but they are toothless and
can’t be enforced.
The court also asked Singh to read from an earlier
judgment of the top court where the court had adversely commented on the
announcement of freebies including cash transfers at the time of the elections
and had described them as corrupt practices.
At the outset of the hearing as Vikas Singh told the court that all
political parties were announcing freebies, CJI Ramana asked him, “If all
parties are doing it, why did you name just two parties only” in your petition.
MY
TAKE :
Congressmen are Confused ! ………………………………[ 31 Dec 2013 ]
Bribing The Voters
………………………………………………[ 28
April 2014 ]
Extract :
Even the almighty Supreme Court
seemed helpless, when it held recently :
" Although promises of
distribution of freebies may not technically constitute corrupt practice
, under the Representation of People Act , they
vitiate the electoral process by influencing voters and disturbing the level
playing between contesting parties "
And since there is no difference of
opinion between the political parties when it comes to exploiting the poverty
of 400 million BPL ( Below the Poverty Line ) voters , I would not be surprised
if the next government at the Centre , introduces a ,
" Bribe ( given ) Politically ( is ) Legal ( BPL ) Bill "
in the very first session of 16th Lok Sabha !
Expect it to be passed unanimously - and without a debate !
Political parties are firm believer
of what Kaushik Basu ( onetime advisor to PM ) once said ( - although in a
different context ) ,
" Giving bribe must not be treated as crime
Ordinary citizens are forced to give bribes when they are denied , service that is legitimately due to them
If they are held innocent , they will come forward and report all instances when they were forced to bribe bureaucrats
Only
bribe-takers must be punished "
One Up on Free Wi - Fi ? …………………………………[ 11
Feb 2015 ]
Advantage , Incumbent
?........................... …[ 05 Sept 2016 ]
Extract :
On 22
Feb 2014 , following Supreme Court directives , the Election
Commission , revised , " Model Code
of Conduct " , containing guidelines on what kind of poll promises , political parties can
incorporate in their poll manifestos
GUIDELINES
* It is expected that
manifestos also reflect the rationale for
the promises
and broadly indicate the ways and means to meet the financial requirements
for it
Now, no one expects our Parliament to :
Ø Incorporate
EC’s “ Guidelines “ in a statute ( law ) which carries stiff punishment for
political parties which violate such a law ( no political party will support
such a bill )
Ø Enact
a law ( or an amendment to any existing law ), which gives Election Commission the
POWER to disqualify ( temporarily or permanently ) any political party which violates
above mentioned GUIDELINES ( - with , of course, a provision for aggrieved
party to challenge in Supreme Court )
Ø Pass
a law which makes all promises ( Political Bribes to Voters ), legal !
Given this scenario, if MEDIA were to conduct a survey
of the voters which asks :
Ø Would
you support conducting General Elections ( for LokSabha ), every 3 years ? ..
YES / NO
Ø Ditto
for State Elections ?...YES / NO
- Then I believe 80 % of ALL voters would
respond with a resounding… YES !
Hey, I can get a
new laptop, every 3 years !
With regards,
Hemen Parekh / hcp@RecruitGuru.com / 27 Jan 2022
Related Readings :
“ Election
Reforms " Summarized………………………… [ 18 Aug 2017 ]
Model
Code of ( Hypocrite ) Conduct ?................. [ 07 Jan 2017 ]