Nothing in this world is perfect. And when we talk about the Indian electoral system or the political structure or even the present governance of India, it can be easily concluded that they are far away from what we call perfection. It is human nature to strive for perfection and thus the imperfections are made a subject to change so as to make them better. The newly founded Aam Aadmi Party has recently suggested a few reforms in the Indian system which is, to say the least, is worth a second thought. The suggestions of the party are discussed below:-
1.Right to Reject In India the voters are given various rights in relation to elect their representatives. But at the same time the voters are also handcuffed to elect from the handful of candidates who have stood for the election. They have no alternative. The elector stands helpless in case he approves none of the candidates. In such a case, the best option that law provides is a provision under 49O of Conduct of Election Rules, 1951. The provision gives the right to the electors to a null vote i.e. the elector chooses none of the candidates. But this has no implications. Its value is the same as if you sat at home and did not turn up to vote, the only difference being that this abstinence from voting will be officially recorded.
What the Aam Aadmi Party is suggesting is to give a right of rejection to the voters. This would mean that the voters would be entitled to reject all the candidates if they believe that none of them is competent to represent them. For the execution of this right, there will be an additional reject all button on the EVMs. If the reject all gets the majority votes then the election to that constituency will be cancelled and a fresh election will be conducted within a month. The candidates who have already been rejected by the people will not be eligible to contest the re-elections. Such reforms are being suggested since these days the majority of candidates have criminal cases pending against them or they are corrupt. Basically the candidates are unfit to represent the people and the people do not even have an option to show their discomfort.
2.Right to Recall - A very common thing for which the politicians are known is to make false promises. Before the elections, the political parties paint rosy pictures of the future through their various promises. Once the election takes place and the winner emerges, no action is followed upon the prior promises. Moreover, recently many leaders have been involved directly or indirectly in many scams of ominous scale. All such things lead to the people losing trust in their representative. To counter this, the Aam Aadmi Party proposes giving the people the right to recall. Under this the people will have the power to remove the representative at will and will not have to wait for the representative to complete his term. The people will complain about their dissatisfaction to the election commission and fresh elections will be conducted.
3.Political Decentralization - A democracy means a system of governance where the decisions of the masses are taken by a select few representatives. But the true meaning of the democracy seems to have diminished in the Indian context. The people of India in no way are able to influence the decisions of the government. All decisions are taken by a few members of the government. The Aam Aadmi Party believes that the decisions of the government is not made keeping the people in mind and they believe that the people of India should have a larger say and should take part actively in the decision making process. The implementation of such an idea is a difficult task but the party says that it can be done through proper decentralization of the government. It would be done in such a way that the people will be able to influence the decisions and policies relating to their own locality. Through this the real democracy will be restored to some extent.
4.Controlling the Price Rise the Aam Aadmi Party believes that there is some sort of nexus between the government and the big corporate houses. They claim that the prices are deliberately kept inflated for the corporate to make huge profits. They cite the example of Rs 13 lakh crore worth tax being waived off for the big companies but the petrol and diesel was still being taxed. Also the oil fields in Rajasthan have been given to foreign firms at relatively lesser costs. The party suggests further suggests that keeping the cost of basic needs less will automatically decrease the prices of other products. They suggest the implementation of such a system where the general people of the country will have a say in the pricing of the important products. The consent of the masses will be mandatory. Though the structure of such a system has not been discussed as of now.
The initiatives and changes suggested by the party will be a welcome change for the people of the nation. The right to reject and right to recall will no doubt give more power into the hands of the electors and will make the representatives more accountable to them. But at the same time it may create instability in the political arena which is undesired. The idea of political decentralization and controlling of the prices is very apt for a democracy since it lets the decisions be influenced by public consent but to implement such a concept in a nation with a huge population like ours will be a very difficult task. Moreover, it would make the decision making process even longer. But all said and done, everything has its pros and cons and it is better when the pros outweigh the cons.
1.Right to Reject In India the voters are given various rights in relation to elect their representatives. But at the same time the voters are also handcuffed to elect from the handful of candidates who have stood for the election. They have no alternative. The elector stands helpless in case he approves none of the candidates. In such a case, the best option that law provides is a provision under 49O of Conduct of Election Rules, 1951. The provision gives the right to the electors to a null vote i.e. the elector chooses none of the candidates. But this has no implications. Its value is the same as if you sat at home and did not turn up to vote, the only difference being that this abstinence from voting will be officially recorded.
What the Aam Aadmi Party is suggesting is to give a right of rejection to the voters. This would mean that the voters would be entitled to reject all the candidates if they believe that none of them is competent to represent them. For the execution of this right, there will be an additional reject all button on the EVMs. If the reject all gets the majority votes then the election to that constituency will be cancelled and a fresh election will be conducted within a month. The candidates who have already been rejected by the people will not be eligible to contest the re-elections. Such reforms are being suggested since these days the majority of candidates have criminal cases pending against them or they are corrupt. Basically the candidates are unfit to represent the people and the people do not even have an option to show their discomfort.
2.Right to Recall - A very common thing for which the politicians are known is to make false promises. Before the elections, the political parties paint rosy pictures of the future through their various promises. Once the election takes place and the winner emerges, no action is followed upon the prior promises. Moreover, recently many leaders have been involved directly or indirectly in many scams of ominous scale. All such things lead to the people losing trust in their representative. To counter this, the Aam Aadmi Party proposes giving the people the right to recall. Under this the people will have the power to remove the representative at will and will not have to wait for the representative to complete his term. The people will complain about their dissatisfaction to the election commission and fresh elections will be conducted.
3.Political Decentralization - A democracy means a system of governance where the decisions of the masses are taken by a select few representatives. But the true meaning of the democracy seems to have diminished in the Indian context. The people of India in no way are able to influence the decisions of the government. All decisions are taken by a few members of the government. The Aam Aadmi Party believes that the decisions of the government is not made keeping the people in mind and they believe that the people of India should have a larger say and should take part actively in the decision making process. The implementation of such an idea is a difficult task but the party says that it can be done through proper decentralization of the government. It would be done in such a way that the people will be able to influence the decisions and policies relating to their own locality. Through this the real democracy will be restored to some extent.
4.Controlling the Price Rise the Aam Aadmi Party believes that there is some sort of nexus between the government and the big corporate houses. They claim that the prices are deliberately kept inflated for the corporate to make huge profits. They cite the example of Rs 13 lakh crore worth tax being waived off for the big companies but the petrol and diesel was still being taxed. Also the oil fields in Rajasthan have been given to foreign firms at relatively lesser costs. The party suggests further suggests that keeping the cost of basic needs less will automatically decrease the prices of other products. They suggest the implementation of such a system where the general people of the country will have a say in the pricing of the important products. The consent of the masses will be mandatory. Though the structure of such a system has not been discussed as of now.
The initiatives and changes suggested by the party will be a welcome change for the people of the nation. The right to reject and right to recall will no doubt give more power into the hands of the electors and will make the representatives more accountable to them. But at the same time it may create instability in the political arena which is undesired. The idea of political decentralization and controlling of the prices is very apt for a democracy since it lets the decisions be influenced by public consent but to implement such a concept in a nation with a huge population like ours will be a very difficult task. Moreover, it would make the decision making process even longer. But all said and done, everything has its pros and cons and it is better when the pros outweigh the cons.