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CHAPTER - VI

CONCLUSION

Free and fair elections are the main spring of a healthy democratic life

and a barometer of its strength and vitality. Electoral Administration must

therefore, be free from pressure and interference of the executive and

legislature. It should be able to secure fairness to all parties and candidates.

Successful electoral system (i) an awareness by the people of the significance

of their vote and the need for them exercise it responsibility, with in the

community, (ii) A spirit that looks towards the welfare of all rather than the

benefit of the individual and (iii) A sound electoral machinery may be

characterized as a bastion of democracy in India.1

The entire electoral administration is vested in the Election Commission

which alone has authority to issue directions to various officers and all other

engaged in the preparation and revision of electoral rolls and the conduct of

elections. Election Commission has acquired itself a unique position in the

constitutional stature with an independent status and security of tenure like that

of a Judge of a Supreme Court. On contrary, it has earned fulsome tributes both

at home and abroad for successful conduct of elections.

The Election Commission has exploded the myth of inter relation

between formal educations and political maturity by organizing free and fair

elections amongst illiterate electors. However, corrupt practices during

elections and a spate of election, which is indicative of the low status of our

political morality. The existence of frivolous candidature in verdict and

militates against fair democratic elections. It has been eliminated almost

completely in advanced countries either by specific legal provisions or by

customs. An Indian electoral system is analogous to British emulation of its

conventions would be helpful in this respect.

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The inadequacy of existing law which failed to meet all the ingenuities

of candidates to circumvent the ceiling on expenditure is partly due to the

unrealistic low limits which have been prescribed by law.

Election Commission has taken number of steps to curtail

criminalization of politics. As a result, exercise of electoral malpractices were

more or less absent this time. But the influence of communalism is electoral

politics has been on the increase in recent times. It is mainly in three forms:

first one is distribution of government resources, second one is selection of

ministries and government functionaries and third one is building of vote banks

on the basis of religion, caste and region. The denial of legal right to Muslim

fundamental ties and declaration of the prophet’s Birthday as a holiday by the

Janata Dal are examples. Mandal and Mandir were in the central issues in the

1991 Parliamentary election. Even Victory of Samajvadi Party and the Bhujan

Samaj Party in 1992 up to Assembly Elections can be attributed to this.

There are provisions in the Representation of the people Act, 1951 to

punish candidates and parties for misuse of religion in elections, unfortunately

these provisions are not effectively enforced because of lack of political will

and prolonged legal battles and litigation. Moreover, the laws are applicable

only to the winning candidates on the other hand there is no provision to deter

those who violate election law before the elections.

However, it is very difficult to enforce the law in the absence of

conception clarity regarding communalism. It is not easy because the appeal to

parochial emotion and sentiments can range from crude and direct ways to

indirect and subtle methods and a judgment on the matter may sometimes

sound a matter of opinion or interpretation.

Many political parties could not resist the temptation of rejecting

completely criminals from contesting the election. This will be stopped only

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when the society raises its voice against criminals. Otherwise no electoral

reform however effective it may be can prevent the criminalization of politics.

Anyhow, political parties should evolve a code to reject funds from the illegal

sources and stop recruiting anti-social elements into the party.

There are many reactions relating to electoral reforms and identified

with the days of emergency. In terms of administrative costs, the reforms have

not been appreciative. Any reform with more administrative approach will

prove to be counter productive. Administrative excuses and harassment of

political leaders were also reported. There were instances of abuse of official

machinery in some places.

The reforms have a major impact in curtailing money and muscle power,

but may not be sustainable for a long. At times they can be counter productive.

Society ought to raise its voice against electoral malpractices. Criminalization

of politics in India has attained a stage, where it needs serious attention from

the citizens, government and political parties as there was a steady decline in

values of all sections of our society. Criminalization of politics has led to

immense pressure on functioning of political institution. The worst part of

picture is that “criminal record” becomes an essential qualification for entry

into politics. In India Politics is not a social service anymore, instead it

emerged as a lucrative profession or business. Today it is used to believe that

crime is the shortest access to legislature and parliament of India. Further

success rate of criminals into electoral process is alluring the young blood of

country as a source of negative inspiration for them. It is now believed that the

safest haven for criminals is politics and political parties have gone overboard

in associating criminals with them more because of their muscle and money

power, which is supposed to ensure victory in polls. Criminalization of the

political system is threatening the very roots of democracy in India.

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Corruption in India is due to many factors, most important being the

activities of the politicians. It is not the consequence of the political system as

such. Constitution is what people make of it. There have been attempts to

frustrate the ideals of the Constitution, subvert the rule of law, find out flaws in

the system so as to exploit the loopholes, and use political power to keep the

executive in subordination so as to serve their ends.

The Vohra committee appointed by the Central Government under

chairmanship of Mr. M.N.Vohra who looked into this problem have reported in

their report that the mafia network was virtually running a parallel government,

pushing the State apparatus into irrelevance. A petty dada finds it easy to

become a feared representative of the people. Mafia gangs enjoyed the

patronage of local level politicians and that some gang members even got

elected to the Assemblies and Parliament.

In spite of the above, on the positive side, it may be indicated that

political and administrative institutions in India are strong and independent to a

great extent. The Supreme Court, the High Courts, the Election Commission,

the CAG, the Union Public Service Commission, the Central Vigilance

Commission, and the National Human Rights Commission have yet proved

their mettle. Others like the Press Council of India, the Commissions on

Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes, Women and Child Welfare have played

their role in affecting checks and balances as well as assertion of rights of

people and strengthening the traditions of these institutions over a period.

The civil society has scored over many hurdles and valiantly contested

cases in various areas, especially pertaining to the rights of the dispossessed,

the forgotten the weaker sections of society, gender discrimination, and corrupt

practices. Some of them have approached the apex court for redress of injustice

and wrong practices. It has sought and succeeded in securing transparency in

the electoral process through the declaration of the background of candidates

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pertaining to education, criminal record, and financial assets and liabilities. It

has also been successful in getting a Supreme Court decision on denying the

immunity to members of the legislature for corrupt practice committed in

connection with voting in the House.

Media has played an important role in the recent times to reach out to a

large number of people across the country in spreading the message that no

political party should give tickets to people with criminal antecedents in the

elections. The media is active, relatively free and has exposed many a scandal.

However, there has been paradigm shift in media functioning in India. In

the fast changing media scenario when ethics of journalism have taken a back

seat, journalists need to be more scientific, authentic, truthful, positive and

rational. The right of the newspaper to have its own political beliefs is not a

matter of debate. However, the newspapers which profess to inform the people

are under an obligation to convey to the public fair and accurate reporting on

public issues and policies, more so when the process of election having far

reaching consequence on the preservation of democratic value and governance

of the country, is in operation. Contribution of candid and responsive media

may be last but certainly not least.

Despite all these factors, the government in India could not make a dent

in checking or eliminating the menace of corruption from public life. The

study reveals that the various instruments used by the Government from time

to time since Independence, like the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 (later

consolidated in 1988), Commissions of Inquiries under the Commission of

Inquiry Act 1952, Appointment of Santhanam Committee (1964) to

recommend measures for combating corruption, recommendations of the

Administrative Reform Commission, Shah Commission appointed by Janata

Government after Emergency (1977), establishment of the institution of Lok

Ayuktas in various states, investigations by the Central Bureau of Investigation

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(CBI) under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, the system of

Judicial Review of Political Corruption and the recent phenomenon of Public

Interest Litigation (PIL), The Anti- Defection Law, The Foreign Exchange

Management Act (FEMA), Election Expenditure Ceilings, etc., have all proved

inadequate.

Elections in India have been mutilated by the evil influences of money

and muscle power. This has led to criminalization of electoral politics. The

criminalization of politics continues to be a big concern, with an increase in the

number of MPs with criminal records from 128 (14th

Lok Sabha) to 150 (15th

Lok Sabha). It is evidence to the undemocratic and autocratic selection and

nomination of candidates by political parties. In order to ensure the win ability

of candidates, parties ignored honesty to give preference to money power and

muscle power.

Criminalization of Politics can be visualized into two different senses. In

narrow sense it refers to the direct entry and interference of Criminals into

State legislatures and parliament of India, while on wider sense it refers to

interference of criminals into politics either directly or indirectly like financing

any candidate, providing anti-social manpower, booth capturing, contract

killing of rival candidates, providing muscle power services, as well as

campaigning or canvassing for any candidate contesting elections. Since last

two decades the competitive use of anti-social forces for the mobilization of

party funds, for management of elections, organizing meetings and conference

and even recruiting workers at lower levels from among anti-social elements

has increased many folds. Almost all the political parties from national to

regional taking services of the criminals to win election. Earlier, criminals

used to lend outside support but now they themselves have entered in the

electoral arena and have become not only members of the house but even have

become ministers. Thus we have a new phenomenon in Indian politics called

“Tainted Ministers.”

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Election Commission of India has, conducted general elections for 15th

Lok Sabha in May 2009 at 543 constituencies all over India. Against the total

543, at least 28% of the MPs (150 MPs) are having criminal records.

The criminalization data in Indian politics is furnished below:-

PARTICULARS

2004

2009

INCREASE

%INCREASE

MPs with criminal records 128 150 22 17.2%

Total Criminal cases on

MPs

429 412 -17 -4%

MPs with serious criminal

records

55 72 17 30.9%

Mr. Jagdish Sharma of JD [U] from Jahanabad constituency of Bihar

topped the list of MPs with maximum number of serious IPC charges against

them. There are 17 serious IPC charges against him. Gujarat is at top with

contribution of 4 MPs in list of top 10 MPs with criminal background in 15th

Lok Sabha of India, followed by U.P. (3), Bihar (2) and Kerala (1).

Elections in many parts of the country have become associated with a

host of criminal activities. Threatening voters to vote for a particular candidate

or physically preventing voters from going to the polling booth [especially

weaker sections of society like dalits, tribals and rural women] occurs

frequently in several parts of the country. Since last 15 years, not a single

election has conducted peacefully without use of money or muscle power and

domestic violence. Sometimes rival candidates got killed in a bid to have the

elections cancelled. All these acts of lawlessness and violence have become

possible because of the growing links between many politicians and

criminal/anti-social elements. A few prominent names in this bourgeoning field

in India are famous personalities like Mohammad Sahabuddin [ He was elected

to four successive terms in the Indian Parliament (Lok Sabha) from 1996-2008

from Siwan constituency Bihar on RJD ticket. In 1996, Sahabuddin was named

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as a Minister of State for the Home Ministry (which oversees law and order) in

the H.D. Deve Gowda government. He is currently serving a life sentence for

kidnapping with intent to murder and as many as 34 cases of serious crime are

pending against him], Mukhtar Ansari [ He is commonly referred to as "the

Sahabuddin of UP." Mukhtar Ansari fought the U.P. State Elections, 2007,

while lodged initially at Ghazipur jail], Atiq Ahmad [In 2004-2009, he was a

member of the 14th Lok Sabha from the Phulpur (Lok Sabha Constituency) in

Uttar Pradesh. He is currently in prison facing trial in 35 criminal cases

including several cases of murder. In the Indian general elections, 2009, Atiq

Ahmad was allowed to run for election (since he is yet to be convicted in any

case)], Shibhu Soren [He was Chief Minister of Jharkhand state in India from

2008 to 2009. He previously represented the Dumka constituency of Jharkhand

in the 14th Lok Sabha and is the President of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha

(JMM) political party, a constituent of the UPA. He was member of Union

Cabinet since November 2006, till he resigned after conviction in a murder

case. There is no end of this list because it is expanding year after year.

During general elections for 15th Lok Sabha, Sanjay Dutt tried hard to

ensure his place in the list on ticket of SP. Fortunately judiciary did not allow

him to consent election. All these persons are involved in serious criminal

cases like murder, robbery, kidnapping and extortion and most of them in

several cases of such nature. Keeping aside the issue whether they should be

allowed to contest polls or not? Therefore, the moot question before all of us is

whether it is morally or ethically correct for persons who are alleged to have

been involved in criminal cases to contest polls and represent the people in the

house? What about the political parties of country which are providing ample

opportunities to criminals and harboring criminalization of politics by giving

maximum possible tickets to them?

The answer would be in the negative only if morals and ethics have no

place in politics. It would indeed be a sad day for politics in India, if it is

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accepted that moral and ethics have no place in politics in India. But fact

remains a fact.

We can consider this issue in the light that even a peon would not be

appointed to a government job in case he is alleged to be involved in a criminal

case. There is a clear bar on any person involved in criminal activities to be

appointed on a government job. As a matter of fact, every government servant

has to file an affidavit that he has never been involved in criminal activities and

he has no criminal case pending investigation or trial against him.

Poll reforms were presented by successive Election Commissioners -

Sen Verma in 1972, S.L Shakdhar in 1977, R.K. Trivedi and Perisastri, and

T.N. Seshan in 1992 -aimed at eradicating criminalisation of politics. A

committee with Union Home Secretary M.N. Vohra as Chairman said in its

report that mafia gangs enjoyed the patronage of local level politicians and that

some gang members even got elected to the Assemblies and Parliament.

In August 1997, the then Election Commissioner, G.V.G.

Krishnamurthy, has made out a strong case for legislation and administrative

measures, to curb criminalisation of politics in India. He disclosed that in the

1996 general elections, the Commission seized illegal arms which included

2,000 guns, 11,000 cartridges, 175 explosives and 57,000 bombs; of the 13,952

candidates who contested, nearly 1,500 had criminal records; and almost 700

MLAs out of 4,722 in the country were involved in criminal cases and trial was

pending against them. The issue prominently figured during the special session

of Parliament held in August 1997 and it was unanimously resolved to carry

out meaningful electoral reforms.

Despite the Supreme Court rulings, the Election Commission is unable to

curb the criminalization of politics, because of the indifference of political

parties.

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FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

After an in depth analysis of the issue of criminalization of politics and

its related issues and their adverse impact and consequences on the society, it

may be concluded that it is high time that much needed corrective measures are

required to be implemented as early as practicable to address these issues and

to achieve the spirit of the real democracy as envisaged by the Founding

Fathers of the Indian Constitution. To achieve this objective, the Researcher

has furnished here under his research findings along with recommendations.

6.1 SUGGESTIONS:

1. Public Education:

In India the voter votes for a symbol and does not know for what the

symbol stands for. As such there is a need to educate the voters about the

importance of the vote, elections and the manifestos of the political parties.

This public education of the voters is bound to make the voters to exercise their

franchise in a rights way with one being influenced by irrelevant consideration.

Creation of awareness among voters for proper utilization of franchise should

be given much importance. It can be done with implementation of literacy

camps in right manner. A sense of security has to be developed to exercise the

right to vote.

2. Right to recall:

The elected candidates of the political parties reappear before the

electorate at the time of next general elections. There is public accountability

of the elected candidates to the voters. If the elected political party fails to

redeem the electoral promises and fulfill its election manifesto the voters

should have the right to recall the elected representatives.

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3. Need to have value based politics:

Political parties want to capture power through any means without

regard to minimal basic democratic moral and ethical values. The result is that

money and muscle power is playing a vital role in the elections. Political

parties have to follow strictly the code of conduct and give preference to value

based politics in preference to money and muscle based politics.

4. Need to curb the menace of criminalization in politics:-

The demand for money for party funds for contesting elections and the

need of musclemen and physically strong persons at the time of elections paved

the way for political corruption as criminalization of politics. Today in the

Indian politics both money land muscle power play a vital role in capturing

political power. The result is the politicians began to rely upon persons with

criminal antecedents to mobilize support during election for their success.

Dependence of politicians on criminals slowly paved the way for the criminals

themselves entering into politics. Criminalization of politics is affecting not

only democratic and political process but also interfering in the administration

of criminal justice. To avoid criminals in politics, unless urgent and drastic

steps were taken to break the nexus between politicians and criminals the very

existence of democracy will be at stake. The need of the hour is to have value

based politics.

5. Consolidation of the reports of poll observers and their publication:

At the time of elections the Election Commission is appointing

observers to oversee whether the candidates contesting in the elections or

following the code of conduct and the other norms laid down by the election

commission. The reports submitted by the observers are to be consolidated and

the publication of the same is also necessary to know the opinions of the

observers. The recommendations made by the observers for the conduct of free

and fair poll are to be given affect.

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6. Issue of identity cards:-

The proposal by the election commission to issue Identity Cards before

1996 general elections received public appreciation however, the union and the

state government expressed their inability to implement, the recommendation

of the Election Commission due to financial problem. The Election

Commission finally has succeeded in impressing upon the union state

governments. The need to issue Identity Cards is in order to curb

impersonation. The steps taken by the state governments to issue the photo

Identity Cards before 1996 parliament election received a set back, due to poor

planning. The result is that, the Election Commission is forced to conduct the

recent parliament elections without Identity Cards. The result is during the

recent election number of complaints were received by the Election

Commission from different political parties relating to impersonation. As

much there is a need to issue Identity Cards to the voters before the next

general elections to the state legislative Assemblies. A procedure should be

devised for keeping electoral rolls up to date, so that country wide or state –

wide elections might be held with in a short span of time after the dissolution

of parliament or the state legislature. This will also help in eliminating bogus

claims. The Election Commission also need to periodically monitor the

electorals whoever were issued voter ID’s whether they are available, alive and

eligible as per norms.

7. Separation of religion from politics:

Today some of the political parties are trying to exploit the communal,

cast and religious sentiments of the public during the elections for their narrow

political ends. The Supreme Court also in its decisions in several cases

deplored the way such political parties acted in the states ruled by them. The

court also highlighted the need to have secular political parties in a secular state

like India promotes communal harmony and religious tolerance. It is submitted

that in order to preserve the secular fabric of India, there is a need to disqualify

political parties exploiting religious consideration from participating in the

electoral parties, so as to ensure communal harmony.

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8. Minimization of Election Expenditure:

Today, in India Elections have become expensive. Only candidates

capable of expending some lacs and crores of rupees are entering into the

election fray and with their money power. They are influencing the entire

voting pattern. The steps taken by the Election Commission to minimize the

expenditure on elections no doubt have yielded good results. However, the

candidates are spending the money in an indirect and different way to influence

the voters. In a poor country like India state funding of the elections is a

difficult task. The Election Commission has to take stringent steps to curb the

money power in the elections.

9. Auditing of funds of the political parties:

Political parties are raising funds to meet the political expenditure. The

whole process of collecting funds by the political parties and the way the

money is spent during the elections is going without auditing. The people of

the country have the right to know how the fund is raised, how much amount is

raised and; how much amount is spent in elections. Raising funds by the

political parties to meet election expenditure from industrialists, business

houses, sugar barons is leading to political corruption by ensuring public

auditing of the political funds raised by the political parties. So, in Germany,

the funds of the political parties are audited by government audit agency. It is

suggested that in India the funds of the political parties are to be audited by

Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) and its audit report be made

public.

10. Need to curb Booth capturing and rigging in the elections:-

The parliament elections witnessed large scale violence, booth capturing

and rigging. The violence during the state elections in particular in Bihar and

U.P. which recorded a maximum death tole is a clear indication of failure of the

government machinery to ensure free and fair polling. The Election

Commission’s apathy to tackle booth capturing and rigging in the elections;

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generated a feeling of insecurity and frustration among the Indian voters.

There is a need to deploy additional security forces at identified sensitive

polling stations. The menace of rigging, booth capturing and intimidation of

voters can be tackled affectively if the Election Commission takes the extreme

decision of the countermanding of the election in a particular constituency and

ordering the repelling in the entire constituency. There is also a need to

prescribe stringent punishment for the offences of rigging, booth capturing and

disturbing the election process by violence.

11. Need to establish special courts:-

The election offences such as booth capturing, rigging, violence etc, are

tried by the ordinary courts which are already overburdened. As a result

expeditious disposal of election offences has become difficult one. The

election offences are to be considered more serious than ordinary offences as

they are posing a threat to the very existence of democracy. The persons

involved in the election offences are in no way better than terrorists as both are

posing a threat to the democratic process when the terrorists are tried under

special laws by the special courts why not the election offenders be tried under

special laws by the special courts. So, it is suggested that in order to curb

violence in elections there is a need to establish special courts to try the

offenders under special laws following a special procedure.

12. Harmonious function of Election Commission:-

Making of Election Commission as a multi-member commission evoked

a controversy and a matter was finally decided by the Supreme Court in favour

of the Union government, even after the decision of Supreme Court of India in

T.N.Seshan that the multi-member Election Commission is not functioning

harmoniously. The indifference mutual distrust and suspicion among the

members of the Election Commission is causing irreparable damage at to an

important constitutional body entrusted with the task of conducting elections at

state and central level. There is a need for a harmonious function of the

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Election Commission. Important decisions are to be taken on the basis of

mutual understanding and through effective consultation. This is necessary to

dispel the impression among the public that the Election Commission has

became ineffective with mutual conflicting views and counter criticism.

We have to be prepared to show political will to take strong and honest

and wider ranging action. Our motives must be transparent and not suspect. A

categorical imperative today is that of an integrated approach to review our

entire socio-political system and constitutional edifice with electoral reform

high on the agenda, patch work and piece meal thickenings will not help.

Because of the prevalent practices, violence and electoral offences in

present day elections the Election Commission evolved a model code of

conduct for the guidance of political parties and candidates for a healthy and

peaceful election campaign.

Further, the standards of political morality are set by the Government,

the political parties and the people. That is why it is rightly said by the

Election Commission in it’s recent report that the parties and candidates and

politicians should do well to remember that apart from all moral considerations,

even consideration of pure self-interest suggest that corrupt practices in

elections shall be eliminated. If an election is won by the use of bribery, force,

intimidation or violence or by stirring up narrow sentiments of caste,

community, religion or by abuse of official machinery, then the opponents also

will try as far as possible to do the same either in the election or in any

subsequent election.

Further more, it is of the view that in the recent past it was found that

there was a growing tendency on the political parties and individual aspirants to

make unauthorized and unscrupulous use of whatever advantage can be had at

given time which leads to corrupt practices. Therefore it is very important to

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have an effective model code of conduct besides suitable punishments for

corrupt practices misuse of Governmental machinery etc.

This study reveals that though there are detailed statutory provisions and

a plethora of case-law, the existing legal provisions are not adequate to prevent

corrupt practices. One of the reasons for this pathetic situation is the failure of

the judiciary to assimilate the true spirit of the provisions. It is true that in

regard to the determination of the dimensions and parameters of the statutory

provision the contribution of the judiciary is substantial. However, the

formulation of rules like that in the case of degree of proof had defeated the

very purpose of law. In the case of corrupt practices of bribery, undue

influence, religious and communal appeals, and promoting enmity and hatred,

the judicial approach is generally not in tune with the object of the provision.

Hence one expects a more realistic and purpose-oriented approach from the

judiciary. The approach of the legislature is also paradoxical. Though several

amendments were introduced to plug the loopholes in the statutory provisions,

there are instances where through the amendment the very provisions, there are

instances where through the amendment the very purpose of the statutory

provisions had been defeated. The amendment relating to procuring assistance

of government servants and the expenses incurred by political parties are some

of the instances in this regard. It appears that the enactment of more effective

legal provisions is necessary to eliminate corrupt practices from the election

arena.

The Election Commission should also perform a creative role in

preventing corrupt practices. For that purpose, a multi-member commission

with well-defined powers is necessary. Hence some positive actions on the part

of the Judiciary, Legislature and Election Commission are necessary to

eradicate corrupt practices from the election process. What is basically needed

is a strong political will to initiate the process of reforms in our election law so

as to make elections free and fair. Combating corruption in India is not an easy

task. Evidently, the main source of corruption has been politics, and it is there

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where the process of eradicating it has to start. Politics affects all aspects of

peoples’ lives. Elections which are the main planks to sustain a democratic

polity have become the fountainhead of corruption. Way back in 1967, Mr.

Atal Behari Vajpayee had said that every MP elected to the Lok Sabha began

his parliamentary career by making a false statement—the statement of account

of his election expenses. The amount of money that any legislator spends on his

elections is many times more than the farcical ceiling laid down by the

Government for which he submits his account of election expenses. Having

won the elections, these legislators try to recover their expenses in the first two

years. What they get in the next three years is a bonus. MP-ship has thus been

reduced to a business. All political corruption flows from the necessity of

political parties and politicians to raise funds for election expenses that in

modern times have mounted to huge proportions. All legal limits in election

expenses are violated with immunity. While crimes of violence are handed with

ruthless application of law, corruption and immorality are connived at.

Therefore, the roots of corruption lie in the political culture and

practices, and not in the political system as such. But for the democratic

system, the anguish of the people, the assertions by the higher judiciary,

especially the Supreme Court, the independent functioning of institutions like

the Election Commission, the CAG, and the National Human Rights

Commission, there would have been no possibility of establishing checks and

balances. Fortunately India is a “throbbingly alive democracy”, and an open

society, where the scams and incidences of corruption cannot be suppressed

and swept under the floor for long. That gives a big ray of hope to India’s

capacity to fight the evils of corruption despite its deep-rooted tentacles in all

walks of life. Any attempt on the part of any functionaries –politicians,

administrations or corporate bodies or private individuals to thwart the system

is met with a forceful resistance at least to bring to public knowledge the extent

of damage done to the political fabric and a “wake up” call to exercise a check

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on the growing misuse of power. It is another matter that the checks do not

sometimes prove effective enough.

The experience of India indicates that while the avowed objectives of

the probes in various scandals and scams has been to find out the truth, in

actual fact they seem to have had other objectives, namely (i) to seem to probe

and delay the matter till public forgets the scandal (ii) to secure an instrument

to smear the name of political opponent, (iii) suppress a politically damaging

truth. It's noteworthy that hardly any of these probes have led to the criminal

prosecution of the indicted politicians.

The various financial and political scams that have occurred in India

point out to the emerging sophisticated pattern of political corruption. Financial

bungling of such magnitude cannot take place and let off without any

repressive punitive action unless those are backed by powerful politicians.

Thus corruption cannot be tackled if there is no high degree of personal

integrity at the higher political levels. If the moral standards at the top are low,

social values are bound to degenerate and lead to moral chaos and anarchy.

Notwithstanding any institutional anticorruption strategies that may be devised

to combat the incidence of political corruption in any county − Election

Commissions, Commissions of Inquiry, Vigilance Commissions, Ombudsman

etc.,− a strong public opinion, an appropriate social climate which abhors the

corrupt and the corrupt practices and a free and vigilant press can perhaps

accomplish much more than any legal or institutional device in fighting the evil

of political corruption. Ultimately, it has to be a concerted attempt by the

government and the people together.

Politicians resist constraints on their power, and often seek to undercut

laws and rules (as in evident in India’s criminalized, corrupt politics). A well-

functioning democracy is one where politicians have the vision and public

spirit to place checks on their own power, to bind themselves.

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As is evident from the above recommendations, the spectre of corruption

can better be exorcised by political framework, especially the legislature that

controls all strings of legislation, empowerment of various institutions,

financial allocations, determination of priorities. Since the executive and the

judiciary operate within the ambit of legislation, rules, and procedures framed

by the government, they have a secondary role in the process. If all the moves

of the executive and the judiciary are negated by the legislature as it is the

fountainhead of power, others being only implementers and interpreters, the

initiatives of the former are dampened. This is not to belittle the contributions

made by the judiciary and the importance of its role, but only to indicate the

parameters within which it works. However, there have been many significant

advances emanating from the decisions of the Supreme Court and the High

Courts that the politicians were unable to undo, especially in the short run.

‘India’s courts…comprise a functioning independent judiciary…The rule of

law, a legacy of the British rule, generally prevails’.

The dialectical moves between the civil society and politicians, through

the medium of the courts and other pressure tactics, will continue to take place

in India and may contain if not completely dominate the phenomena of

corruption from the society of corruption cannot be suppressed for long.

At the same time, it is also important that international institutions

should take steps to encourage participatory approaches in developing

countries in order to build consensus for anti corruption drives and associated

reforms. Civil society is likely to be a major ally in resisting corruption. More

and more it is this ally that seeks concrete support from more developed

Western countries and international agencies in actively combating corruption.

International cooperation can help national leaders develop political resolve,

and international action can convey the useful truth that we are all involved in

the problem of corruption and that we must find solutions together.

371

SAY NO TO CRIMINALS IN POLITICS

The criminalization of politics continues to be a very big concern, with

an increase in the number of MPs with criminal records in 2004 from 128 to

150 in 2009. Even the number of MPs with serious criminal cases has gone up.

The biggest reason for this seems to be the undemocratic and autocratic

selection and nomination of candidates by political parties. In order to ensure

the win ability of candidates, parties ignored honesty to give preference to

muscle power and money power. Thus if the party doesn’t allow candidates

with criminal records to contest in the election just imagine, how fair and free

would be the democratic process in India.

As media reports seem to indicate, the misuse of monetary incentives to

buy votes has increased sharply since last elections and continues to be a

source of threat to real democracy. While voter awareness on this issue is very

high, the problem is that those who win after spending huge amounts are

unlikely to focus on good governance. They are more likely to focus on

recovering the funds they spent and on giving favors to those who supported

their campaigns.

The immediate task is to create a congenial atmosphere to attract

industrialists, new investment, give good and modern education to people,

specially women, be tough with goons and criminals, good with law-abiding

citizens, end the politics of crime, defeudalize the system and lead the state to

glory. What the state needs today is not a politician but a statesman who should

be able to lead the people of all religions, castes and political groups.

Not only the government must tackle these issues on a priority basis and

include them in their agenda but it’s very important on people’s part to be

aware of not voting for the wrong person and be a part of ‘No to Criminals in

Politics’.

372

However, it is to be noted that law is only one of the several means for

preventing corruption .There are several social, economic and political factors

which cause the emergence of corruption in to from the election science, the

eradication of the basic causes for the existence of corruption in society is

necessary. For that purpose the legal process plays a significant role along with

the political and social processes.

If the maturity of a democracy is to be measured by the prevalence of

corrupt practices in elections, we may have to admit that the Indian democracy

is still immature. Let one fervently hope that by a combination of legal and

political measures, India will be able to eliminate corrupt practices from the

election process. If England, which gave us the Westminster model was able to

do that, why not India?2

CHAPTER - VI

FOOT NOTE

1 Bhalla R.P, “Elections in India”, 399 (1975).

2. Sunny K.C, “Corrupt Practices in Election Law” pp.265, 266 (2005)