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PROCEEDINGS OF THE
FIFTH NATIONAL CONFERENCE
ON
ELECTORAL & POLITICAL PROCESS REFORMS
January 31 & Februrary 1, 2009
Mumbai, Maharashtra
Association for Democratic Reforms
2
CONTENTS
BRIEF SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................. 3
AGENDA .......................................................................................................................................... 5
RESOLUTIONS PASSED AT THE CONFERENCE ................................................................................. 8
SELECTED TRANSCRIPTS OF THE CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS ...................................................... 9
DAY ONE- 31.01.2009 .................................................................................................................. 9
WELCOME AND OVERVIEW OF RECENT CIVIL SOCIETY INITIATIVES .................................................... 9
DISCUSSION ON POLITICAL REFORMS ................................................................................................ 15
ROLE OF BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT ............................................................................................. 31
ADDRESS BY CHIEF ELECTION COMMISSIONER .................................................................................. 39
ROLE OF MEDIA IN ELECTIONS ............................................................................................................ 48
EXPERIENCES FROM RECENT ELECTIONS – I ....................................................................................... 59
EXPERIENCES FROM RECENT ELECTIONS – II ...................................................................................... 71
DAY TWO- 01.02.2009 ............................................................................................................... 79
ROLE OF BUREAUCRACY ..................................................................................................................... 79
ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN ELECTIONS .............................................................................................. 103
RESOLUTIONS .................................................................................................................................... 112
SHARING EXPERIENCES FROM THE STATES -I ................................................................................... 117
SHARING EXPERIENCES FROM THE STATES - II ................................................................................. 125
BACKGROUND ON ADR AND NATIONAL ELECTION WATCH ...................................................... 154
ALL INDIA ELECTION WATCH CONTACT & RESOURCE LIST ........................................................ 157
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BRIEF SUMMARY
Fifth National Conference on Electoral and Political Reforms
January 31 and February 1, 2009
Nehru Centre, Mumbai
The campaign for electoral and political reforms has over 1200 organizations working with it, in
addition to support from eminent citizens, media, senior retired judges, bureaucrats and Police
officers. The Conference is being hosted by the Association for Democratic Reforms. The three
Election Commissioners of India have confirmed their participation. These campaigns came out
of the landmark Supreme Court Judgments of May 2, 2002 and March 13, 2003 mandating
disclosure of candidates’ financial, educational and criminal background. Previous Conferences
were held in Ahmedabad (2003), Bangalore (2004), Patna (2006), and Lucknow (2007).
Since 2002, the major impacts of these campaigns have been on criminalization of politics, and
transparency in candidate and political party assets. Leaders of both the BJP and the Indian
National Congress have made public statements that they would not field candidates with crim-
inal records even if they were likely to win in the coming Lok Sabha elections. As a result of
these campaigns, the percentage of candidates with criminal records has come down from over
20% to about 12% recently. However, a lot still remains to be done. In particular, the exponen-
tial growth in the use of money power is a major area of concern since it vitiates democracy.
The delegates to this conference will include organizations from all States participating in the
National Election Watch (NEW) campaign, eminent citizens, media, senior bureaucrats and
Police officials, leaders from the corporate sector and the political parties. At the same time,
anyone interested is welcome to participate. Though electoral and political reforms require a
lot of debate and work, in this Conference the focus will be on specific action items:
1. A set of demands for improving elections and democracy. These include the option of
“None of the above” on the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), barring candidates
against whom serious charges have been framed in a Court, disqualifying candidates
4
who indulge in electoral malpractices, and striking off names of people with non baila-
ble warrants from voter rolls. These have emerged from consultations around the
country, and have also been endorsed by the Election Commission.
2. The need for a comprehensive Bill to regulate Political Parties. All leading democracies
have such a Bill, we have none. The issues of inner party democracy in political parties,
and greater transparency and regulation of political party funding is required.
3. Specific action plans for the coming general elections under the banner of National
Election Watch (NEW), a campaign that is already under way.
5
AGENDA
January 31, 2009
Registration 8.30 am Reception, Nehru Centre
National Anthem 9:00
Jawab Do 9:05 Performance by Anushka
Welcome and Over-
view of Recent Civil
Society Initiatives
9.10 am Jagdeep Chhokar, former Dean IIM Ahmedabad and Tri-
lochan Sastry, Dean, IIM Bangalore
Chairperson: Aruna Roy, MKSS
Political Reforms 9:30 am Aruna Roy, MKSS
Srinivasan Jain, Managing Editor, NDTV
Abu Ahmed, Former Director, OKD Institute of Social
Change and Development, Guwahati
Suresh Prabhu, MP
Manohar Parrikar, former CM GOA
Kumar Ketkar, editor Loksatta
Rajesh Tandon, President PRIA
Chair: Jagdeep Chhokar, ADR
Role of Business and
Government
10.30 am Cyrus Guzder*, Chief Executive AFL
Rajesh Jain, Chief Executive Netcore
Dr Jairaj Phatak, Municipal Commissioner Mumbai
Dr Bishnu Mohapatra, Ford Foundation
Chairman: Ajit Ranade, ADR
Tea/Coffee break 11.15 am
Perspectives I: Role
of Media in Elections
11.30 am Radhika Bordia, NDTV
Pankaj Pachauri, NDTV
Madhu Kishwar, Senior Fellow, CSDS
B.G. Verghese, Center for Policy and Research
R Jagannathan, editor DNA
Chairperson: Mr. Navin Chawla, EC
Address by CEC 12.15 pm N. Gopalaswami, Chief Election Commissioner
Chairman: LC Jain, ex-Member Planning Comm.
Lunch 1.00—2.00PM
Experiences from Re-
cent Elections - I
2 pm Chattisgarh Election Watch team, Rajasthan Election
Watch team
Chairpersons: Chief Electoral Officers, CG and RJ
Experiences from Re- 2.45 pm Delhi Election Watch, MP Election Watch, Mizoram Elec-
6
cent Elections - II tion Watch
Chairpersons: Chief Electoral Officers, Delhi and MP
Lessons from 8 years
of Election Watch
3.30 pm National Election Watch team
Chairman: Jagdeep Chhokar, ADR
4.00 pm Tea/Coffee and snacks
Information analysis
and dissemination
4.15 pm Sanjay Jain, Google
Jaskirat Singh, Punjab Election Watch
S. Chandrasekhar, IGIDR
Swaminathan, Chief Executive IRIS
Gokul, MapUnity
Chairman: Anil Bairwal, ADR
Important Issues in
Electoral Reforms
4.45 pm Kathyayani Chamaraj, CIVIC, Bangalore
Dr. Meenakshi Bharat, Bangalore
Francis Parmar, Activist, Gujarat
Gerson DaCunha, AGNI
Mumbai Citizen Groups
February 1, 2009
Role of bureaucracy 9.00 am D.M. Sukhtankar, vice chairman, AGNI
Amod Kumar, IAS
Chief Electoral Officers of selected States (includes
CEO Maharastra)
Sivaramakrishnan, former IAS, CPR
Chair: Mr. Yugandhar, Former IAS officer, Member
Planning Commission
Electoral Reforms and
Police
10.00 am Julio Rebeiro*, former DGP
Satish Sahney, former DGP
Maja Daruwala, CHRI
Y. P. Singh, former IPS officer
Amitabh Thakur, IPS
Anand V Shukla, IPS
Chair: Dr. Quraishi, EC
Coffee Break 10:55 –
11:05
Civil Society 11.05 –
12.00 am
P.V. Indiresan, former Director, IIT
Maheshanand, Gram Swarajya Samiti
Harish BN, DAKSH
Ramachandra guha, Historian
Arvind Kejriwal, Parivartan
Vinitha Deskmukh, Editor, Intelligent Pune
Chair: Nikhil Dey, MKSS
Resolutions and Rec-
ommendations to EC
12 Noon Trilochan Sastry, Ajit Ranade, Anil Bairwal
Chairman: Jagdeep Chhokar, ADR
7
and Parliamentary
Committee
February 1, Concluding Session
Code of Conduct for Civ-
il Society
2.00 pm Trilochan Sastry, ADR and Professor IIMB
Chairperson: Sri L C Jain, former member Planning
Commission
Sharing Experiences
from the States
2.15 pm Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Orissa, Karnataka,
North-East States, Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal,
Punjab, Uttarakhand
Chairman: Anil Bairwal, ADR
Responses from the
Election Commission
3.30 pm Shri Navin Chawla, EC
Chair: Shri L C Jain, former member Planning Com-
mission
Vote of thanks and con-
clusion
4.00 pm Ajit Ranade, ADR
Media Meet 4.15 pm –
5:00pm
Tea/Coffee and Snacks and media meet.
8
RESOLUTIONS PASSED AT THE CONFERENCE
Resolutions
1. The Conference resolves unanimously that for upholding the highest traditions of probi-
ty and morality in public life, any person who has been charged by a Court of Law of se-
rious offences like murder, attempt to murder, rape, kidnapping, extortion, etc. should
not be allowed to contest elections.
2. Electronic voting machines should have the option of “None of the above”. If the elec-
tion in a constituency results in “None of the above” getting the maximum number of
votes, there should be a re-poll and the candidates who contested should not be al-
lowed to re-contest in that election.
3. There is an urgent need for a comprehensive Bill to regulate political parties. An excel-
lent draft for this has already been prepared by the Law Commission. Such a Bill needs
to be passed by Parliament.
Note 1: Resolutions 1 and 2 are supported by the Election Commission of India. The EC has writ-
ten to the Prime Minister with this and several other suggestions a few years ago. Resolution 2
above emerged as the single most repeated demand across the country.
Note 2: In our country there are Bills to regulate Companies, Charitable trusts, Societies, Coop-
eratives, Hospitals, Educational Institutions, Trade Unions, places of worship and other forms of
organized activity. However there is no Bill to regulate political parties. Several other countries
have such Bills. The two mains issues at this point in time are regulation of political party and
election funding and expenses, and ensuring inner party democracy.
Code of Conduct
All organizations participating in this work agree amongst themselves to the following code of
conduct:
1. Not to campaign for or against any candidate or political party.
2. Since this movement demands transparency and accountability from candidates, politi-
cal parties and the Government, each organization’s in this movement will also adhere
to the twin principles of transparency and accountability in its own internal functioning.
9
SELECTED TRANSCRIPTS OF THE CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS
DAY ONE- 31.01.2009
WELCOME AND OVERVIEW OF RECENT CIVIL SOCIETY INITIATIVES
MR ANIL BAIRWAL: Good morning. We are starting at 9.30 a.m. Welcome to the Fifth Na-
tional Conference on Electoral and Political Reforms. We are happy to see a large gather-
ing here on this Saturday morning.
This is the 5th
National Conference being organized by Association for Democratic Re-
forms. Our first National Conference took place in Ahmedabad; the second conference
was held in Bangalore; the third was held in Patna, fourth conference took place in Luck-
now and the fifth one is being held here in Mumbai.
We have a gathering from all over India, which comprises of all the Election Watch teams from
the 28 states. I would request our Mumbai friends to interact with them during the next two
days and get to know some of the challenges that they may have faced in their own states. We
will begin the national conference with National Anthem.
It is nice that we are holding this conference in the great city of Mumbai. Unfortunately, there
was a terrible incident that happened here and in the memory of the victims of that incident; I
would like to observe silence for one minute.
MR TRILOCHAN SASTRY: Good morning. A very warm welcome to everybody present here.
Once again a special welcome to the Chief Election Commissioner Mr. Gopalaswamy and also
his colleague Mr. Qureshi, the Election Commissioner who will be joining us shortly. Mr. Navin
Chawla, due to some personal exigency, could not come. A very special welcome also to all the
senior people here. There are very eminent citizens, senior bureaucrats, police officers present
here with us today. We seek your blessings for the work that we have undertaken and I am
sure, their blessings are with us.
We also welcome the media which has been working with us for the last 8 to 9 years. Without
their support, we would not have been able to do the work which we have done. A very warm
10
welcome to all of them. And a very warm and friendly welcome to all our friends who have
come from all over the country. Particularly, democracy is not just about eminent people; it is
also about ordinary citizens, voters, people who have undertaken long journey to come here
spending 48 hours in trains. We also have some friends who have come for the first time here
from Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, the Northeast, Kerala, and from Tamil Nadu. A
warm welcome to all those friends who have come here for the first time.
I will just take 5 minutes to explain about the proceedings of this conference over the next two
days. Before I come to the objectives, I would like to say a few words about the background of
ADR. This work was started 10 years ago, very innocuously, people did not even notice it, it
started with the landmark judgment of the Supreme Court back on May 2, 2002 which in a very
clear and ringing tone emphasized and reiterated that all of us as citizens and voters have a
right to know, whom we are voting for. In particular, the Supreme Court laid out the verdict
that the candidates contesting elections shall declare to the voters’ necessarily sworn affidavit
for Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and State Assembly elections, information about their financial
background, educational background and last but not the least, their criminal background, if
any. This small little unnoticed, landmark judgment spread like a wild fire all over the country
and was instrumental in setting up “Citizen Election Watch” in every State of the country as of
now and since 2002, as far as we know, at least 1200 NGOs have participated in every Citizen
Election Watch in every State Assembly and National Elections.
Citizen Election Watches are non-political, non-partisan, non-aligned, citizen-led efforts. They
do not support or oppose any candidate or political party. They work on behalf of the voters.
They work to improve democracy. They work to ensure that we get cleaner, better and more
honest and capable representatives in the Parliament and in the Assembly. That is the objec-
tive with which these Election Watches have been working. In September, a few months ago,
we all met in Delhi and an alliance of all these Elections watches was formed and now we call
ourselves as the National Election Watch. So, National Election Watch is actually an alliance of
organizations from all over the country. We are losing track of the number of organizations
linked with us as it keeps on growing. That is the background of what has been happening, but
11
the work actually goes far beyond Election Watch. We have set for ourselves a slightly more
ambitious task which is to work from the citizen side to help improve election, democracy and
governance. So, we have a long way to go.
Before I proceed further, let me take a few minutes to brief you about the impacts that these
Election Watches have made in the last 6 years. It is a very long list but I will just mention a few
examples. Back in 2002, when the Election Watches started we found that in the major parties,
the level of criminalisation was about 20-25% among the candidates who were set up by these
parties. We just completed 4 rounds of Election Watches a few months ago in the States of Ra-
jasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Delhi. Our data now shows that the criminalization
has come down to about 10-12%. We can see some progress
In the last 6 months, both the major national parties, Congress and BJP’s top leaders have is-
sued public statements that their parties will not field candidates with criminal charges, even if
they are winnable. It is a promise and a public statement that they have not kept. But, at least,
they have started responding to the citizens’ initiative. I will narrate a few more instances of
such impact. In Bihar, people got together and formed a network called “Lok Samwad”. It is an
alliance of 60-70 NGOs. It also shares an alliance with the National Election Watch. As a result
of their work for several months in Bihar, today, after 3 decades, Bihar has a Cabinet of Minis-
ters, where none of them have any criminal charges, at least on papers. In Uttar Pradesh, we
found that in the previous Government out of 403 MLAs, 206 had criminal charges against
them. But in the last elections held in 2007, it had come down to about 160, not good enough
but a progressive step forward. Our database, which has a copy of scanned affidavits of about
25,000 to 30,000 candidates, some of which you will see on the screen, clearly show that the
level of violent crime, like murder, attempt to murder, dacoity, kidnapping, rape etc., has come
down drastically in the last 6 years. So, there is some progress on this front, as a result of the
Election watch.
But now we are facing several new challenges. I will mention them with the objectives that we
have set for ourselves in this National Conference. There are two or three major problems that
we notice in elections. Mr. Gopalaswami is also here; he has also reiterated these problems
12
several times in his talks and in his writings.The growth of money power in elections, is spiraling
beyond control. We found that voters are being wooed, induced, bought over by a variety of
means, and election expenses are sky rocketing. In fact, we have been thinking about what to
do and how to stop this. We really need advice from all of you, as to what we can collectively
do to put a curb on money power. There is also a growing nexus of big business and politics
which is very dangerous for democracy. I know that some of my friends here don’t agree with
me but this is what, by and large, many of us feel. There is nothing wrong in being wealthy,
there is nothing wrong in having a big business; there is nothing wrong in the big businesses
sharing friendly relations with Government. But when it crosses certain boundaries, we tend
to face problems. The problem that we saw recently in Hyderabad is only the tip of the iceberg.
We found that a company and its affiliates had Rs.38, 000 crore worth of contracts in the last 4-
5 years and there were very strong links between these kinds of companies and the State Gov-
ernments. It not only vitiates elections, it vitiates democracy and the process of good gover-
nance. I think, it is a serious matter; and is growing bigger and bigger. In the neighbouring State
of Gujarat, a major event was held about 15 days ago and some of the top Indian businessmen
were present there in that meeting. They were openly singing eulogies to the head of that par-
ticular State. I think this is something which should concern us as a civil society. When big busi-
nesses cross that boundary and start hitting at the very root of democracy, the situation be-
comes hard to handle. I would like to flag this issue and invite your suggestions as we go for-
ward on this. While the level of crime in a certain sense is coming down, the white collar crime
which is not on paper, and is a kind of an unholy nexus between politics, crime and money is
there for all of us to see and we need to collectively put up our minds and do something about
it.
This is a National Conference not only for electoral reforms but also for political reforms. We
were slow learners. After 4-5 years of hard work, in 2005, we realized that unless we don’t do
something about reforming political parties, we were not going to make a dent on our larger
goal of improving democracy and obtaining good governance. I will just flag two or three more
issues. There is going to be a panel discussion on political reforms. India has laws to govern
every form of organization; we have laws to govern companies, societies, charitable trusts, co-
13
operatives, temples, churches, mosques, educational institutions, hospitals etc. Every form of
organization in the country is regulated. The only missing form of organization that is not regu-
lated in our country is the political party. Most leading democracies around the world have a
whole set of legislations to regulate political parties; whereas we have none. So, I think, one of
the resolutions we hope to pass later during the conference is a clear call from our side that we
need a comprehensive Bill to regulate political parties. Fortunately, we already have a Bill
which was drafted by the Law Commission headed by the respected Supreme Court Judge, Jus-
tice Jeewan Reddy. This drafted Bill is for regulating political parties already in place. We will
place it for the consent of all of us, during the conference. Afterwards, we will put that resolu-
tion forward and take it up with the Members of Parliament, Courts, if necessary, and the polit-
ical parties that we need to move forward on this legislation.
Within the political parties, there are many issues but I will just flag two issues about which we
are concerned. One is the regulation of funding of the political parties and the regulation of
funding of election expenses. There are a lot of loopholes and we need to flag that. Another
area of concern which is equally important is the inner party democracy within a political party.
As several scholars have said, we cannot expect a party to function democratically, once
elected, if it itself lacks the inner party democracy. This is the whole issue of political reforms.
Apart from the electoral reforms, the whole issue of political reforms is also equally important.
I will end with the objectives that we have set for ourselves for this particular conference and
over the next two months, and in the long run. This conference is being held in the shadow of
the upcoming general elections. For many of us who have been working in this field for the last
8-10 years, it is for us, at least a historic election. It is for the first time, after 1947, that the da-
ta of all elected MPs are now available and you will be seeing some of them on screen. So, this
is the first time that a civil society network, has gathered at one place and wants to work on the
issue of electoral reforms. One of the objectives that we have set for ourselves for this confe-
rence is to evolve an action plan which we will use for conducting national election watch for
the coming general elections.
14
The second objective that we have set for ourselves is to pass a set of resolutions and we will
do that during the course of the conference. But very quickly, I would like to remind you that
when you would have registered, you would have recieved a copy of the code of conduct that
we want to enforce upon ourselves and the resolutions that we want to pass during the confe-
rence. I would request you to go through them and if there is a general consensus, we will pass
that resolution a little later. This is the second objective that we want to achieve during this
conference. Third is a long-term objective which includes the whole issue of political reforms.
We would be eager to learn from the various distinguished speakers and panelists and of
course, people who are sitting in the audience, your views and advice, not only for the coming
General Elections, but beyond. So, please sit patiently and listen to the advice for the long-term
action plan.
These are the three objectives that we have set out for ourselves. Thank you for your patience.
We have a slightly ambitious programme. Let us work together to create a better country for
ourselves, and for the future generations. Thank you so much. Jai Hind.
15
DISCUSSION ON POLITICAL REFORMS
MR ANIL BAIRWAL: Thank you, Prof. Shastri. We will now start our next panel programme on
Political Reforms. May I request Mr. Srinivasan Jain, the Managing Director of NDTV to come
and chair this session. May I also request Ms. Aruna Roy (MKSS), Mr. Abu Ahmed, former Di-
rector ICSSR, Mr. Suresh Prabhu, Member of Parliament, Mr. Kumar Ketkar, Editor of Lok Satta,
Mr. Rajesh Tandon, President, PRIA and Dr. Jai Raj Pathak, Municipal Commissioner of Mumbai
also to come to the floor.
MR SRINIVASAN JAIN: Thank you very much indeed Prof. Trilochan and Ajit and all the friends
at Election Watch for giving me this opportunity to come and have this discussion. Just before
one gets into the actual logistics of how to structure this, which can be perhaps decided demo-
cratically, that is the framework within which this gathering has been held. One of the reasons
why one chose to accept this is because most of the time, one would be on the other side, just
reporting what is happening on this. But one of the reasons is the extraordinary work which
ADR has been doing and which most of the media has been monitoring for the past 6-7 years. I
think, after particularly the Bombay attack, all of us who have been reporting, have found our-
selves reporting extraordinary public foment. Again one had a slightly anarchic sense, it was
continuous and unchanneled and trying to find avenues, we were advised to suggest avenues
and counsel for that kind of public foment where people wanted change in a generic sense but
actually meant to participate in the process. So, quite apart from just going out to vote, and
there are many campaigns which are suggesting that, I would at least find myself telling most
people about one of the groups that is actually doing work for political reforms and electoral
reforms, which is having an impact, and that is ADR. When I interacted with them, it was sur-
prising how only a few people know about ADR but hopefully through a gathering like this and
many more will learn about it and by using the medium of television and other forms of media
its work would get publicized. That is a big incentive in coming and participating in this gather-
ing.
I am not quite sure, because it is again a broad-base idea as to how to set the ball rolling. But
we can begin by just talking about the aspects of political reforms that Trilochan mentioned.
16
Whether or not we have actually seen a change in terms of the kind of steps taken by the politi-
cal parties to conduct the process of internal reforms? The question of inner party democracy
keeps coming up again and again but has it actually come into great practice or have Indian po-
litical parties continued to make a complete mockery of that phrase. Why not perhaps set the
ball rolling with Suresh Prabhu who is here representing both himself and his political party.
Just to begin by asking you, whether in your party do you think that given this growing foment
for change, almost change of functioning in the style of political parties, is a party like Shiv Sena
receptive to that? Is there a change in the nature of its functioning, in the nature of its internal
democracy?
MR SURESH PRABHU: Talking about a political party or political parties generally would make a
lot of sense. If you really look at it, I don’t think, any political party barring one, conducts or or-
ganizes elections. I don’t think any political party does that. I think that nomination is a norm.
If you have so much of faith in a big leader, you have talked about large political party, they will
always say, they have so much faith or confidence, that the President is so powerful, he or she
will nominate. Large political parties completely trust their leaders and their President is very
powerful which is the reason why candidates are nominated and not elected in a political party.
It is not just in terms of organised elections but the party throws up the candidate and party
candidate becomes MLA or MP and they in turn, nominate the Chief Minister. If you have a sys-
tem in which there is an election of the Chief Minister or Prime Minister, it is all right but they
are always nominated and it is actually done by an individual.
We have seen in US, very recently the election of President Obama preceded by this election as
candidate of Democratic Party candidate of US. He was fighting his Party nominees for a much
longer time than fighting his Republican Party candidate. So, unless you make a rule or a law or
system within India, it is not going to happen. There are many issues related to this. When we
talk about political reforms, can we not also have for example, USA, everybody knew that tak-
ing over (the appointment) of the President of USA is on a particular date. Everybody knew
that the President election is going to be on a particular date and campaigning on particular
17
dates. Can we not have a system in place here, to let us know, when the election is going to
take place. The entire system can be evolved in this situation.
MR SRINIVASAN JAIN: The question of having date for the election is also relevant. I will come
back to you. Is it not extraordinary that we almost come to the accepted fact that our Parties
do not conduct organizational elections? It has become a norm where you just accept them as
nominated leadership. There is no contest.
MS ARUNA ROY: I think, it is also necessary to understand the actual participation i.e; who par-
ticipates in the political process in India. One can understand that before freedom, the people
who used to participate in the political process were seeking freedom, therefore they joined
Satyagraha, freedom movement etc. Once the electoral system got set up after 1950 and the
elections commenced from 1952, we can see who were joining the political system. If you take
a glance between 1952 and 1967, at least some kind of idealism existed in all political parties,
or given the political ideology of that particular party, the idealism existed. But in the last 20
years, the idealism or ideology has completely disappeared. Therefore, I don’t think it moti-
vates honest people to directly participate in the political process. So, the question of inner
party democracy ultimately, stoops down to who is participating in inner party democracy. Be-
fore 1980, we can cynically say that there were not many options in professional careers. In the
ample scope of professional growth nowadays, why would anybody like to join politics? There-
fore, politics has become yet one more competing profession with other professions and poli-
tics has become an easy profession which does not necessarily require any specific skill or quali-
fication. Once upon a time, there was a Trade Union Movement which was considered as the
training ground for political process. In fact, to quote Lenin, “Trade Union Movement is actually
a school for joining the so called political process”. Now trade unions are dead virtually all over
the country. So, there are no institutions which make you enter the political process, which in
turn gives you an access to the party, its idealism, and which in turn determines the inner party
democracy. I think everything is working in an extremely arbitrary fashion. So, we will have to
decide the mode of participation of peple in the political parties.
18
MR SRINIVASAN JAIN: You are saying that the very nature of political parties perhaps evokes
such cynicism that to even expect inner party democracy is asking too much. Do you agree with
it?
MS ARUNA ROY: I am going to go beyond your question. I think there are two distinct issues.
One is the issue of political parties, their transparency, their accountability, their internal de-
mocracy, their stated ideological position and for the electorates to evaluate their stated ideo-
logical position, which is impossible today. When we talk about democracy, are we talking
about only elections within the party, or are we talking about processes of decision making,
which is only in the hands of very few. Who decides how the decision is arrived at, within a
democratic system?
In terms of nominations, in terms of tickets, in terms of deciding, it is all so centrally located. I
was interacting with a media person the other day and he said that we have become celebrity-
focussed.
There is nothing in this country which is not celebrity-focussed. That takes away the whole de-
cision-making process and democratic functioning. But more important is financial transparen-
cy of a political party. We need to know where the accounts money comes from, who is donat-
ing money and what happens with it. Let us not fool ourselves by thinking that if there is the
process of electing the leader, there is total transparency.
The other thing we need to focus on, and which is very important, is the electoral process. That
is what concerns you and me, as citizens. We interact with political parties when we go through
the process of elections. When we go through the process of elections, the candidates are no-
minated and to look at the criminal records of the candidate is impossible. We have no voice.
We don’t have a voice in saying that we don’t want criminals. ADR can have an impact on eva-
luating but we react. We have no role in actually deciding whether a candidate with a criminal
background should contest elections or not. I think some where the most important thing is
the regulatory mechanism. Trilochan said in the beginning that the most important thing is to
19
have a regulatory mechanism to control and make accountable these political parties in as
much the same manner as all of us.
Since you have begun with Mumbai, I would like to conclude with Mumbai. In fact, I felt little
let down even by what the TV channels have focused on. They have not taken up the real issue
any further. The real issue is not sensation; the real issue was that for the first time, there was
a public voice across the board when the people are concerned with the process of governance,
relating it to elections, relating it to political parties, relating it to public face, relating it to their
real intent. The way you appoint thanedar, what you do in policies, how you manage India’s
external affairs, they are all in the hands of political people also, apart from the civil servants
we see. I think to understand that you have to have some kind of inter-face and interaction
with the system. I think that became very obvious. That is why this meeting is very important.
In the next two days, if we look at these issues in a broad sense and also in its specificities, we
could do something about it.
MR SRINIVASAN JAIN: I will respond to that when I talk about the role of media. But I will now
give a chance to Mr. Abu Ahmed.
MR ABU AHMED: I would relate this issue with the Northeastern India. Northeastern India
presents a different scenario. There are many issues which need reforms and which also need
political will, to go ahead with reforms. One is insurgency; second is Muslim votes; third is cor-
ruption, development syndrome, criminalization, the issue of gender and political awareness
etc. I will not deal with all this because it will take time. I will just try to concentrate on two
issues; one is insurgency and the second is vote bank politics.
As all of you are aware of the fact that in the whole of Northeast, except Arunachal Pradesh and
Mizoram, we have the problem of insurgency. Each political party tries to enlist the support of
different insurgency groups at the time of elections. Obviously this support can vary from
threat, gun power, and muscle power. We have already dealt with the issue of internal democ-
racy. But we have not probably addressed this issue of insurgency, why all parties take the
shelter of insurgency in order to win the electorate.
20
Second issue takes into account vote banks. In Assam particularly, Muslim constitute 30.9% of
the total population. We have 126 constituencies. Out of these, we have 23 Assembly consti-
tuencies where Muslim constitutes 50 to 91% of the population. Then, we have 7 more consti-
tuencies, where the percentage ranges from 41 to 50. So, altogether we have 30 constituencies
where Muslims play a decisive role. Each political party Congress, AGP, and even BJP tries to
enlist the support of Muslims in all the constituencies. That is why, in all the years, we have
seen that different political parties try to marginalize the issue of migration with a hope that
they would get the votes of immigrants en bloc and en mass.
Second vote bank is the tea garden. Tea garden population is concentrated in about 45 blocks
in Assam and they control the fate of candidates in 4 Parliamentary constituencies, out of a to-
tal of 14 constituencies. That is a very big factor. So, tea garden voters play a major role in
knowing that all the political parties take vote banks into consideration and sometimes play a
very nefarious role. Because most of the tea garden workers live in backward areas. I have done
studies there and have found that they are least aware politically; especially women voters,
that is why they can be induced and they vote en bloc and en mass. Money power also plays a
role. These issues are to be addressed and some political reforms in this regard should be sug-
gested.
MR JAIN: Thank you. That is a completely different but an important dimension of electoral
politics in the Northeast. We will try and perhaps move theme by theme so that everyone will
have a chance to speak.
MR RAJESH TANDON: First of all, just to remind you today is Basant Panchmi and Saraswati
Pooja. In some parts of the country, Saraswati is considered as the Goddess of Knowledge. It is
a good omen that the Fifth Conference is held on Saraswati Pooja. Let there be more know-
ledge. I want to focus on the political party reforms and particularly on the issue of financial
transparency and accountability. In the Lucknow Convention, I had presented a little brief note
based on the investigation and study we have done. We have found, to our great dismay, that
even the provision of providing information of contributions above Rs.25, 000, that currently
exist in Representation of the People’s Act, is not adhered to. Some national political parties
21
reported a few lakhs of contributions, even during the year, where their own Assembly election
was held. But those things have not happened. I am happy that ADR-CIC application has at
least made income assessment and reports to be made public. The issue is serious because
even now, the identification of candidates is done on a tender bidding basis. Potential candi-
dates are now asked to put in how much money he is able to give, like admission to colleges,
admissions forms are sold for thousands of rupees. These things come out in the media period-
ically. The importance of money and the ability to mobilize money is becoming the major basis
of power and influence in the political party. Inner party democracy cannot take place unless
there is a regulation of money, flow of funds and collection of funds. All kinds of birthdays and
other auspicious days for political leaders go on and are celebrated by weighing them in gold,
silver etc. Some of it is pretended as personal gifts but obviously the key individuals in each
political party, who have the ability to mobilise large amount of money, have considerable in-
fluence in how the Party functions, and which candidates are selected. I would like to propose,
as has been done before, a more systematic and transparent, accountability mechanism for the
funds received, audited and reported, even if those audits contain problems of the kind we
have been hearing about. It is an essential pre-requisite for any kind, even inner party democ-
racy, or any sense like where the money is coming from and where is it going. The variables
have become increasingly obvious and the figures from ADR and National Election Watch for
Delhi candidates who have become MLAs, are a great signal essentially land grab, both in the
rural areas and the urban areas, is the primary source of ill-gotten money. Crores of rupees are
being used for elections and almost all the MLAs in Delhi with crminal charges are land mafias.
This is the issue I want to focus on and the civil society alone can raise this issue and demand
action and significant changes in the coming period.
MR JAIN: Perhaps we can focus our attention on the aspect of financial disclosure, and also on
growing presence of money power in politics. That seems to be coming up again and again. But
I just want to put up to the panel and the audience; one aspect is to demand greater disclosure.
The other is, we know, what kind of expenses are being incurred. For instance, in the Karnataka
Assembly elections, which has become a benchmark for brazen display of vested interests com-
ing forward and fighting elections, whether it is mining baron in Bellary or again real estate lob-
22
by in Bangalore, no one had any doubt about the fact that vast amounts were being spent. For
instance, we had an unofficial report for two to three seats that somewhere around Rs.150
crores had been spent by the Reddy Brothers and their associates and the older mining family.
And again the real estate barons who were fighting for the Bangalore seats, there was no
doubt, perhaps that Rs.50-60 crores were being spent per seat. I think that disclosure is one
aspect. The other aspect of it is the fact that increasingly now again the greatest percentage
seems to be of the candidates who fall in the rich or super-rich category. I think, Mr. Yogendra
Yadav CSD had in fact done a commission, almost a decade or so ago and had done a sample of
about 200 or 250 Lok Sabha constituencies and they found that, 98% of those who won, be-
longed to this category. So, is it just enough to ask for greater disclosure or once again, we are
turning to political parties to demand that they actually regulate or control or show greater dis-
cretion in the kinds of candidates that they give tickets, where just necessarily being rich or su-
per-rich or representing lobbies like mining or others, does not necessarily qualify you as a can-
didate. : In fact, given. . . . (Recording not audible)
MR PRABHU: I would like to add one or two more important issues. We have already talked
about funding. What does a Member of Parliament or MLA do once he becomes a member of
the legislative body. The success of a particular institution, Parliament or Legislative Assembly
depends on the functioning of those members. We are talking about reforms, in terms of polit-
ical reforms. Member of Parliament or MLA cannot vote according to his own conscience. He
votes as per the directive of the political Party. When we are talking about the inner party de-
mocracy, it is not just confined to getting candidates selected; it also includes how they will per-
form in the Assembly or Parliament, which will in turn actually decide, to what extent we im-
prove the delivery system. We really need to look at those issues more carefully. For that, I am
saying, do we have the system whereby, for example, you are going to evaluate the perfor-
mance of a Member of Parliament, are you going to evaluate the performance on the basis of
how many sewerage systems have been fixed, or the MP is supposed to be legislating in the
House. How much of the time is devoted for this purpose. Supposing finally if you pass the Bill
bringing about changes in the Criminal Code of Procedure, without discussions, how do you ac-
23
tually have governance - govern, how far the system of governance is effective? Therefore,
what I am saying is, all these are important. How the Parliament functions itself is important.
MS ARUNA ROY: I don’t think you can divide these into compartments. Let me give a quick ex-
ample. In my area, 4 or 5 Sarpanchs spend less than thousand rupees. But what was the rea-
son, that four persons could win and others could not win. Firstly, they promise to the people
in the manifesto that they would not steal from the Panchayat funds and the entire Panchayat
funds will be spent in a transparent manner. So, the person who spent pittance wins and the
person who spent 100 times lost.
It is now really a problem for us. It is between devil and deep sea as to whom to vote for. We
don’t want the parliamentary democracy to die. That is why, we are voting; we are not voting
for any political party. So, the real thing is that we really want a living democracy, functioning
democracy, delivering democracy. The first thing is that we want transparency.
The crucial question that arises here is where do they get the money for vote? How much alco-
hol they are distributing? Even though last time, we used the mechanism to complain, it is far
remote. Without money, without liquor, if you convince, if you have the agenda, you will get
vote. But today there is no agenda. There is no real manifesto. Every member of the party
should translate national manifesto into his or her own manifesto. What will they do for this
particular area, we don’t know. There is accountability. How much are you accountable in the
Parliament, in Assembly, that is a big issue. What is equally important is what do you pass, and
the policies that you make, what do you legislate in the legislature. It is not a question of drain
and the law. We need the drain and the law. That kind of accountability is not there. Financial
accountability is the first step.
MR PATHAK: Well, I would say that in the local election, like that for Village Panchayat, it is
easy to win, because the number of candidate is not much. When it comes to Assembly elec-
tion or Parliament election, the number is so large, and individual, unless he is a famous face,
cannot reach all the voters. In such a case, money power or number of influential persons in
your community can play an important role rather than voters individually trusting you. Some
24
of the very capable corporators in the Municipal Corporation are reluctant to contest for As-
sembly or Parliament. They are apprehensive about the fact that who would vote for them as,
they are not really known in the entire Northeast Mumbai. They say, “In my constituency, they
know my work. I have worked. So, I am confident to win without spending substantial money.”
An economist has said, “Politics needs sensible men with substantial means.” I would like to
know how many sensible men with substantial means will like to give up their substantial
means to try for political career and that too for an honest career. Many may not want to. In
fact, Lee Kuan Yew after he cased to be the Prime Minister had described how difficult it is to
choose good Ministers in Singapore. He said that earlier from 1960 to 1970, he was not suc-
cessful in the selection of Ministers, because they did not know how to spot a good Minister.
Later only, they discovered how to select good ministers. Earlier Ministers were selected from
sympathizers and shared their views with good mind but they lacked the quality of decision
making. He had to put in a lot of persuasion to ask the top architects, top civil servants to give
up their jobs to join politics. Well, the architect took two years to leave the job because they
had ongoing projects there.
DELEGATE: Both Mr. Pathak and Arunaji made a reference to the local government. I want to
draw your attention to the fact that now we have a democracy which has three tiers; the first
tier of that democracy is Panchayat and Municipality. Their electoral process, their political
process needs as much attention as required by the other two tiers. I would encourage the pos-
sibility of linkage between the three. In fact, coming back to the Mumbai incident in the end of
November, it was amazing that we did not see the Mayor of Mumbai at all. We only saw the
Mayor of New York and it tells us about how distorted the system of governance has become in
terms of centralization. I would appeal that the building block of political reforms and this kind
of accountability of candidates and parties would have to be addressed from the local govern-
ment institution as well.
MR JAIN: I could perhaps involve the Chief Election Commissioner and get him to participate in
the discussion because many of the points raised in some way, also directly come under his
purview.
25
DELEGATE: I have a couple of observations to make on what the panel has said. I do not wish to
be personal or impolite but I have made a couple of observations. First of all, there is a talk
about State funding. Truly so, there is also a talk about huge expenses. Why parties and candi-
dates need so much money to win. Aruna has already said that Sarpanches have won with Rs.1,
000. Today we have taken it for granted that winning election requires huge amount of money.
The question is why political parties and candidates need so much money to win. That itself is a
distortion of the democratic process. The entire process is being distorted.
Secondly, financial transparency, as Aruna said is the first step to begin with. The other is, as
Prabhu said, why can’t we have a system like this or that? Who has the power and authority
legally in this country to change the system? It is politicians who are sitting in Parliament. Now
we are trying to help that process.
Why do political parties resist transparency of financial process? CIC order which is available in
everybody’s folder has detailed reasons which have been given by six political parties. The rea-
sons are like hurting their commercial interest etc. So, we need to read the document to know
what are the political parties’ views on that.
MR JAIN: Mr. Prabhu, will you react, why we have taken for granted that we need large amount
of money to fight elections.
MR PRABHU: Unless you arrest the trend, it is not going to work. If you keep the benchmark
that Rs.100 crores are required to win the election, the other person would start saying, I need
Rs.160 crores to win the elections. Somebody should break that. Otherwise, it will be difficult
to have free and fair elections.
MR. JAIN: Political parties can take a lead by not putting up candidates who have that many re-
sources?
MS. ARUNA ROY: I am a political activist; I am not a member of any political party. If you don’t
spend much money, then you have to work very hard. On genuine issues, you have to work
with them; you have to be with the people. You need to address their economic and social
problems. You need to be honest and also share your problems and tell people that you cannot
26
go beyond this. But business, money and politics are seen on one side and people are seen on
the other side, fighting corruption. So, the line gets drawn.
MR PRABHU: In fact, I have won four elections and I have never seen such type of money being
spent in my constituency which you are talking about. But as whatever you say, I agree with
you. There is actually no need to spend money. But it happens because of competition. If one
really wants to win the election, it becomes a benchmark. You must break that. Unless you do
that, I am afraid; many people are not going to contest the elections.
MR JAIN: I would ask the CEC about the growing money power, which we have seen recently in
Karnataka.
MR N. GOPALASWAMY, CHIEF ELECTION COMMISSIONER: I can only tell you that there is an
alarming trend but it is for others to sit up, notice and do something about it. I think I still have
not seen the town. You talked about Karnataka; I will say, Thirumangalam. I don’t know
whether more ‘Thirumangalams’ will come. But there are two things. Arunaji said, money need
not be spent, you have to work. I agree with you. There is also some truth in it. I remember
talking to the High Commissioner from one of the Commonwealth countries, which was around
the time, when counting was still to begun for 2004 Parliament Elections. The High Commis-
sioner said your Foreign Minister is losing, he said, this even before the counting started. He
has done well and still he is losing. I said, look, if you are a Foreign Minister and you say, during
your tenure, so many MoUs were signed, MoU with Iran; so you will get oil at cheap rate. Or
you did with so and so country and your security scenario would improve. They will say, All
right, Go and live there. What is your need? We need, our Bijli, Pani and Sadak. That is what
justifies giving this from MPLADS, MLALADS. But there are a couple of parties who do not
spend this much. I should clearly say that they spend within the limit. Don’t ask me, whether
they have won or not. In some cases, they had won. I will go beyond what Arunaji has said.
Yes, you have to do work but you cannot be everywhere. There are about 250 polling station
areas which are within an Assembly constituency or 1200-1500 polling station areas in a Par-
liamentary constituency. You have to interact with people and you have to have a good cadre.
27
Many people may not have this. But the fact is, there is a competitive politics as far as spending
money is concerned.
MR L.C. JAIN: You have said that this was an issue to be tackled by political parties and so on.
But as a primary watchdog in the country, are you saying, it has become impossible for the Elec-
tion Commission to monitor this?
MR N. GOPALASWAMY, CHIEF ELECTION COMMISSIONER: Let me answer this. It is becoming
extremely difficult because we have an observer coming into the scene about 18 days before
the poll, on the last day of nomination; after that, on the day of scrutiny, two days of withdraw-
al; later, 14 days of campaigning and 15th
day is the date of poll. On these 18 days, he can do
something but not everything. If you take money in ambulances and not sick people, he can
catch one but miss quite a few. That is what happened in Karnataka as well. Things worth 46
crores were caught; 22 crores in cash; 8 crores in liquor. 16 crores in terms of cricket kits, sa-
rees, T-shirts and so on. There is a limit to what you can do within 15 days. If you push enve-
lopes under the doors, at the dead of night, I don’t think, one observer or even 100 observers
can find this out. So, the reform has to come from the other side.
MR L.C. JAIN: Just a few points. In this very city, when in 1946, Vaikuntbai Mehta was asked to
stand for the Assembly. He wrote to Gandhi saying that they wanted him to contest for the
election, and asked him what to do. He said that they have been working in the area and their
work is well known. So he asked him not to spend a single pie on elections. He also told him
that if people would like to vote for him, they would do so. You will not go around begging-
please vote for me. Then he said, “If you are willing to accept these two conditions, you may
offer yourself.” He won overwhelmingly. The question is, after independence, the political par-
ties have become only Company’s Machinery for electoral purposes. The politics has to change
the society. Secondly, the Congress party entered the Assembly in 1937 for the first time. What
was the rule laid down by the Parliamentary Board. That we have been elected on the basis of
a manifesto. We told people that that was what we would be doing. In every 3 months, the
Party in the Assembly, there was no Parliament at that time, would give a progress report as to
what was done with regard to the commitments made in the manifesto. That would be pre-
28
sented to the Party. Party will in turn present it to the AICC. There was accountability, not of
an individual MLA but the party.
Third and the last point, is about election expenses. In South Africa, when new Parliament
came after Independence, there was a debate about election expenses. Nelson Mandela asked
whether those elections were for private purposes or public purposes. On the basis of that dis-
cussion, the decision was made. He said, if they were for public purposes, the State should pay
for them. And nobody would be found spending a penny that would be unlawful. There is a
debate here; whether it’s possible or not. Brilliant chartered accountant like Suresh winIIM can
really be administered.
MR ABU AHMED: Why do we need money to fight elections, that is the crucial point for discus-
sion and we have discussed about it a lot. I will not take much time. I am giving two examples
in order to corroborate. In 1967, in Tezpur Assembly constituency, Mr. Vishnu Prasad con-
tested without spending a single rupee and won overwhelmingly. But now it is not possible. I
would like to give my own experience of talking to the people and to the MLAs. In Manipur, for
example, all candidates have to host what is called a Flag hoisting day, which begins the cam-
paign. The Flag Hoisting day is a very expensive affair. One has to feed thousands of people
which is regularized, and accepted by the people. Huge money is involved in this process. It has
been very clearly spelt out in our book on Manipur elections. I have a student who is an MLA. I
asked him about the money he would have spent in 2006 elections. He said that he had spent
Rs.35 lac. I asked him about the whereabouts of the money, where had he got that money
from? He replied that he was a small businessman and many people gave him money as they
knew that he was going to win and their stakes were involved. So, it is a kind of give and take
affair. I asked this question to P.A. Sangma as well. He said that there are four agencies that
one needs to spend money on. Firstly he talked about the mobilization of supports; second is
campaign; print media, materials and electronic campaign. Third, is the issue concerned with
transport? You need huge transport. Fourth is to invite icons to address the voters. These are
very, very expensive. And it becomes difficult to win in their absence. Prabhu is very correct
that it is not a common man’s cup of tea to contest elections.
29
DELEGATE: For the last few years, citizens have been watching the Parliament as well as the As-
sembly, and the vote of confidence. Political parties themselves use the terminology ‘horse
trading’. Secondly, political parties have whips and chief whips. When the elections are held
and results declared, why do political parties not accept the verdict of the citizens, and not
change parties and call for confidence vote and so on. For five years, they should remain as it
is because it is the citizens who are elected and not what is nominated by the political parties.
MR. PRABHU: As I was saying, finally what is the ultimate object of the kind of discussion? It is
to bring about better governance in India. To bring this out, what is important is electoral
process, political process and building blocks. They create a structure through which mechan-
ism can be worked out. In fact, what is the need of these whips? By doing that, I understand
political parties come to power. Because political parties are also voted by people, just like the
candidates. When it is going to be an issue to be decided in Parliament about the survival of
the Government, I can still understand whip being there. Otherwise there will be anarchy.
Otherwise, there are several other issues and on that, there should be free expression or view
by the Members of Parliament. There is no discussion on Parliament going beyond a particular
lone. That is against the spirit of democratic process taking place.
Second issue is horse trading. It is a serious issue. So, money is not just before elections. There
is a continuous use of money power in the discharge of all the functionaries all the time. How
we can have fair governance in place? That is why, there is a gap growing between promise
and actual performance. That is what is seen in the manifestation of Naxalite activities all over
the country. Mr. Madhu Limaye was strong proponent of the idea of anti-defection law. He
proposed it but at the end of it, he was so convinced that anti-defection law is anti-democratic.
Therefore, codification of certain legal system is the answer but at the same time, we should
also carefully see that spirit should not be allowed to die beyond a particular change.
DELEGATE: Regarding political funding, companies are officially allowed to donate money. I
asked the Corporate Affairs Ministry about the donations being given by business groups to po-
litical parties. The Corporate Affairs Ministry replied that they do not compile such figures; so,
they cannot give this information. In my opinion, Companies Act is the most bogus Act. It
30
needs drastic reforms. The Formula has also been given. My suggestion is that Mr. Suresh
Prabhu could take up this issue. Why should companies donate to the political parties? My
appeal is lying with the CIC. This needs to be addressed. There must be complete ban on polit-
ical donations by business companies.
DELEGATE: We have a population of about 100 crores. There are 500 MPs and according to the
thumb rule, it comes to .0005% of the population. If we cannot select 500 good people from
India, then we are bound to get MPs with criminal charges. Mayawati wins all the rules of dec-
laration of wealth. In one election she declared her wealth to be of worth Rs. 1 crore. In the
next election, she declared wealth of Rs.5 crores. In the coming election her wealth is worth
Rs.50 crores. In 5 years, she collected Rs.45 crores. She has said that all my workers have given
this money and that was acceptable to the income-tax department. We will get such kind of
people only if we cannot find 500 good people, to govern India.
31
ROLE OF BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT
MR ANIL BAIRWAL: We will now move to the next panel. It is a short session of about 15 mi-
nutes or so. It is based on the private sector perspective on electoral reforms. It is titled as the
“Role of Business and Government”. I would like to invite Mr.Ajit Ranade from ADR to come
and chair the session. I would also like to invite Mr. Rajesh Jain, Dr. Bishnu Mahapatra from
Ford Foundation, Dr. J.K. Javer, President of Javer Group. We will begin with a short presenta-
tion by each panelist.
MR RAJESH JAIN: Good morning everyone. Some quick thought. How we can bring about
ground swell of change. What we need is to basically combine an information infrastructure,
participatory governance along with regulatory and tax framework to bring about change. Here
are some of my thoughts.
Information infrastructure or Infostructure needs to be created. Slide has been shown. Steps
are being taken to aggregate and disseminate information at three levels.To begin with first at
the constituency level. We need to know, what is the reality at the constituency, social data,
information matrix, and how are they changing over time. A lot of data is being compiled but is
not easily available to the citizens. Second, at the election time, candidate’s info needs to be
made available. Election watch has taken steps to make this available - candidate’s political bio,
or to say a full CV. One also needs to keep a track of the promises being made. Action based
on this information can be taken by the governance. The biggest change in the last 5 years,
2004-2009 probably has been the advent of technology i.e, using internet, SMS and going mo-
bile.
Let’s go to the next slide. We citizens need to be more active in the governance process.
Whether it is 26/11 which has raised our hopes and made us participate in the process or any-
thing else. Look at Obama in the US. Why should it be different in India? We have to be much
more engaged civil society. It is a two-way process. In order to know what is happening, we
must get the feedback. Business also needs to be involved in much a more pro-active manner.
I think, one of the worst things happening in front of our eyes is, Telecom. The way 2-G licenses
32
have been given is the area of concern. There is a complete lack of transparency as far as 3-G is
concerned. It requires being pro-active. We need to be able to make sacrifices. It will take
time. I think, the ultimate reforms will come in civil society and people like us will stand and get
elected.
This needs to be supported by regulatory and tax-saving works. The declrataion of information
should be made mandatory. We can also take the help of internet and mobile voting. Sharing
across government agencies is not happening. We should get an aggregate view of the situa-
tion as it stands, again leveraging technology, internet and mobile. You today have 350 million
people with mobile phones. A lot of these phones have cameras. So, these phones can be-
come eyes and ears on the ground; they can send SMS and photos. Technology is there. How
can we make use of it?
Just to share the experiment with the Election Watch—Chhattisgarh, MP, Delhi and Rajasthan.
We have created 4 multi-lingual free channels to provide updates on candidates and their crim-
inal charges. Anyone can subscribe to this channel by SMS start election, dial election MP. We
promoted it by area website. 1500 persons have subscribed for it. 1500 SMS’s have been al-
ready sent. These are couple of examples of SMS sending out. SMS service is available in all the
phones. More than 20 crore people can read SMS and even respond to them. That is what we
should make use of.
In the last slide, these are some of the ideas. We have to use them in the next elections in the
Foundation for bringing about change, making constituency wise information available, com-
parison of candidates with their position. Getting information of candidates in a structured
form, since there is a very little time between the information given by the Election Commis-
sion, scanning by Election Watch and the date of election. Comparisons can be made between
candidates’ wealth, position, criminal charges etc. India is booking train tickets on internet.
India is having access to internet; 10 crore people can access it. How can we make use of it;
how can we use SMS service to drive voter’s education. At the end of the day, criminals are
winning because we are voting. That has to be stopped. The voter needs to be educated. Vot-
ers’ alert can be provided to educate them about the candidates.
33
Another big change is that 18-20 years old age group are in the range of 10 crore people who all
can vote. They are the biggest swing vote. They are educated. They can bring about change.
That is what we need to bring about the change. Finally we need to give out feed back on mi-
schief. When something is going wrong, SMS should be sent out to Election Observers; photo-
graphs must be taken which can be taken in a court of law. Technology is in our hand and that
is what we want to bring about changes. Thank you.
MR AJIT RANADE: Thank you, Rajesh. I must mention Rajesh helped the Election Watch. We
will take question after the panelists have presented their presentations. In the recent elec-
tions, we have used the SMS service. Our next speaker is Dr. Bishnu Mahapatra. He is actually
a political scientist and runs a big governance reform with international funding agency. He is
going to speak on his perspective.
MR BISHNU MAHAPATRA: I just want to make a small clarification. I look after governance pro-
gramme of Ford Foundation. One of the central values of the Ford Foundation is to strengthen
democratic values. Having said that, what I will be saying today is largely as a political scientist.
I just have 3-4 points to make. Often, while talking to large section of people on the ground,
civil society organization, private sector, students, interest groups, often think that there is too
much politics in this country. Often that statement comes with a very strong negative resi-
lience. That notion of politics is something which is negative, and has to be transformed to an
understanding of what truly constitute political, in the sense, business of politics, that it is all
about public interest. So, we have to rescue an understanding of the notion of politics which is
purely being seen as negative to a constructive one that politics is all about public interest. If
you remember in the Greek age, in the famous Periclich speech, he always says, “If you have no
interest in public and your interest is truly private, then you have no business to be in politics”.
The first point I wanted to make is that in order to make politics as a vocation in true sense of
the term, we have to actually rescue the notion of politics which is so central to our anti-
colonial interest in India, which is of public interest. This is what actually has to be done not
merely by politicians and political institutions, but larger body in this country, including civil so-
ciety and watch dog institutions and citizens.
34
While looking at the political reforms and looking at how electoral reforms are in a li-
mited sense, but larger political reforms, we can see society as a conglomeration of interest.
Every society has a composition of many groups and many interests. All these interest groups
are, of course, placed unequally. So, politics tries to create sufficient countervailing interest
and practices by which most powerful in the society whether business groups, or special inter-
est groups, are constantly constrained by certain rules of the game. I would like to give a sim-
ple example. The Fundamental Rights chapter of the Indian Constitution can actually act as a
significant constraint to business interest. Those who want to do things in a particular way by
superceding the provisions of the fundamental chapter; a lot of influential interest would al-
ways be present in any given society. We have to create institutional and political mechanism
by which we constantly put them in checks and balances and hoping at the end of the day, you
create public interest which is truly public and therefore ought to be constraining a lot of
people who try to pursue their private interest within a given society.
Third point I want to make is that there is a great deal of confusion, as a student of poli-
tics I would say, on the entire issue of representation in this country. We think that we have,
for some reason first past the poll system that we adopted as part of our political system, as if
we have sorted representational issues. What should an MP do a normative question or what a
member of Legislative Assembly should do? All these are very relevant question. I don’t think it
resolves the dilemmas involved in these kinds of questions, whether representing the constitu-
ency, doing the legislative function, doing the oversight function, or doing the function of
representing the larger interest. I think there is a good reason why the issues should be de-
bated. Once again, I think, it is good for bringing about larger political interest in the country.
Fourth one, I think, often when we are talking about political party, very few political
parties those who depend on their political cadres, political workers, legitimately defined, paid
by political parties. In both ways, bringing in people’s interest to the political representatives
and similarly taking the message from political representatives to constituencies and so to say,
people at large. Except a few political parties, those who organize the system inadequately,
most political parties have political workers who not clearly defined, not adequately paid, and
35
we often pay huge price for not having the system worked out. Therefore, today you will find
that the small political workers in rural India are desperate to get money to make their living;
therefore they would sometimes be like touts, who would extract money from different people
as their role is not legitimately recognized and no provision is made by the political parties. So,
I think, a lot is needs to be done in order to push the agenda of telling the political parties that
if they really want to look after 500 odd constituencies and if they want to have 10-12 workers
of their political party in order to raise money, they must pay the people within their own party
who can become legitimate political workers and then help them, and tell them about public
interest, help them about constituency, and establishing sound political communication, which
is important for any sort of political reforms or electoral reforms.
Finally as I said, there is no way we can bring about political reforms without really mak-
ing politics a legitimately important vocation. This is what has been told by many people. I
don’t see how we can talk about legitimate political reforms, when a lot of people think that
politics is a dirty word and it is not supposed to be practised by intelligent people. The impor-
tant thing about political reforms is to say that politics is an important job. Politics is precisely
governing the country which is as important as any other job. Unless we rescue politics out of
this entire cynical way of looking at governing society, I think, we should not even start talking
about political reforms in this country.
MR JAVER: I am a member of YPO which is the world’s largest organization of Presidents and
CEOs. We have recently started a social initiative in all sectors like economic development, en-
vironment, education, helping the kids, etc. I am the regional head for South Asia for all these
initiatives. A few of us met about a couple of weeks back and we decided at that time that we
would try to know, what ADR was. I met Mr. Shastri at IIT, but before that we started discuss-
ing and created an initiative called nocriminals.org. The whole object is almost similar to what
ADR is doing. So, we thought, we will combine together and work with ADR because they have
done so much work in the past 10 years and we would like to take it further, rather than start-
ing from the scratch.
36
What we are trying to do here is, to reach out to people. Our main focus is how we
reach out to people, through business, media, through some programme. We can also reach
them through SMS. We have creative agency working on this and we are going to launch our
campaign on 15th
of February. We are also involving schools, students, volunteers, NGOs, etc.
Apart from 1200 NGOs ADR has, we have to use every media to reach out to people. We ap-
proached the political parties to announce that they would not be giving tickets to crimi-
nals.Their decision was based on the winning probability rather than on the criminal charges of
the candidate. There are many criminals who can win because they, apart from being involved
in criminal activities, help the people of the rural India. Therefore, they have a hold on these
people and the decision of the political parties is based on that. There are some reforms. I
have no expertise on the subject. We are trying to study what can be done; how we can go to
the Government; how we can file some cases, along with ADR and try to findout about the kind
of reforms. There are a couple of things more.What we have understood as the biggest chal-
lenge is that we get to know about the criminals just 15 days before the election commences.
Whereas in USA, information about the candidates can be retrieved almost a year before the
elections start. So that the media, and the public knows everything about every candidate and
they can scrutinize the information accordingly. Here, we don’t have much time to do that kind
of scrutiny. That is the biggest challenge. So, we can try to have some Electoral reforms so that
all the parties who want to put up their candidates should announce their name, maybe 3 or 6
months in advance so that we can talk, and interview them in the same way as it has been hap-
pening in the USA. That would be a bigger reform, because criminals will not enter politics
scared of their exposure in the public. That is one important issue on which we can think
about.
The other thing is that there are so many criminal charges against candidates. There are
about 26% candidates against with pending criminal charges. There can be a fast track trial of
these criminal charges and can be decided within 6 months. If those cases are not decided
within six months, then the candidate should not have any power to vote, or the elected candi-
date should not have his position and it can be hung. With the result, he would do the follow
up in the court to ensure that the cases get decided. If not, he goes on taking time, even for 10
37
years if no decision is taken by the court. We are still learning and I am not sure, how we can
go about that.
There are a couple of more suggestions. What we are looking for in the campaign, when
we are meeting lot of politicians, lot of political scientists to find out, what we can do, whether
we can go to court or go to government to find out what changes can we bring. The last point
for which I don’t have the answer is that there are three kinds of India. One is the Urban India,
the other is the Rural India and the third one is the Remote India. The Remote India suggests
no roads, no communication, and no electricity. YPO and WPO and some of us are doing some
initiatives to see how to bring about some social reforms in those places, because the Naxalite
movement and all kinds of movement have started there. I am not sure; whether there are
voters in that ‘India’, though a population of 30 crore people is living there. Apart from this pol-
itics, there are a lot of social reforms which one has to work for; that is what YPO is focused on.
We are not only focused on elections, our objective is to see that no criminal is there in politics.
That is all.
The other changes regarding the modifications in the rules and regulations, we have no exper-
tise on that. ADR has done a wonderful job. We would just tie up and do whatever support we
can give it to them.
MR AJIT RANADE: Thank you, Mr. Javer. As I said, this is a very short session. Very quickly we
can summarise. We had a technology kind of perspective and Rajesh explained SMS and the
role of technology in the disclosure. We had a political scientist’s perspective. It is interesting
that Mr. Javer said, we would take advice from political scientists and one is sitting next to you.
I just want to contrast what Bishnu said. He said that there is some way we have to legitimize
politicians and politics. A lot of people here are saying that complete focus seems to be on the
“nocriminal.org”.
MR BISHNU MAHAPATRA: As I said, politics is a legitimate sphere of activity, and while we are
critical of certain kind of politics, we cannot be critical of politics per se. often people confuse
the two, some politicians are bad, and therefore politics is bad. I am trying to say, that we must
38
rescue politics out of existing modes of doing politics. Second, we must not allow criminals into
politics based on the premise that they had violated laws and are therefore criminals; they
should not be doing the business of politics and the business of representing other people. Be-
sides that, the idea is that you don’t want criminals because you want politics to be a legitimate
sphere of activity. But this is not to say that those who are not criminals and are in politics are
doing a fantastic job. They may not be doing a fantastic job. The point is that the larger ques-
tion should not be missed because after all, unless we think of the larger picture, we will not be
able to do political reforms in a fairly, and a legal way.
39
ADDRESS BY CHIEF ELECTION COMMISSIONER
MR GOPALASWAMI (CEC): Respected Shri L.C. Jain, Shri Jagdeep Chhokar, Prof. Sastry and
friends:
I think, some of the words I was planning to say have been covered. Still I will go
through some of the issues. I don’t think I will be wrong in saying that over the years, the Elec-
tion Commission has also tried to meet the challenges that have been posed like a proverbial
case of policeman running behind the thief; when the thief is always one step ahead. We will
keep running behind and one day we will overtake. We shall overcome but the problem still
remains. One of the main issues is the muscle power. But I am coming to the conclusion that
muscle power is less harmful than money power because it can meet its equivalent as it did in
Uttar Pradesh. If you look at the statistics of the previous elections in Uttar Pradesh and the
number of incidents of poll violence, pre-poll violence, plus killings and so on, and compare it
with the figures for 2007. In 2007, the figure was practically nil. That was achieved at a great
cost. 650 companies of Para Military Force with each phase, 7 phases, 4,550 companies, i.e. 4,
55,000 people worked for it. Naturally one wonders, if an election is to be held at gun point,
how democratic are we? But at least muscle could be met with gun or with muscle and one
could silence the muscle. But the money power is really a great blot. I thought that some statis-
tics in the Punjab election 2007, we found something strange. The normal monthly offtake of
liquor in Punjab is around 2.5 lakh litres. In the month prior to the elections in Punjab, it was
19.5 lakh litres, almost 9 times of the regular intake. Practically you could say that all the 5 riv-
ers in Punjab were overflowing with liquor. Then there were the Karnataka elections. We
caught materials worth Rs. 46 Crores. If you are one of those whom I call 10 percenter, then
you can imagine it is 460 crores out of which we got 46. If you are 5 percenter, then it may be
920 crores, of which we got 46. I thought that was the nadir. We found the liquor concealed in
specially prepared containers in some of the areas. So if somebody just saw on the outer side of
the tanker, it would seem to carry petroleum, or some other, but really speaking, in concealed
chamber, it was carrying liquor. But they were very eclectic. They were not bothered from Kar-
nataka. They were willing to take anywhere from the country. We caught vehicles from Rajas-
40
than carrying liquor to Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and other parts of the North India to Karna-
taka. One thought going by the copy book that ambulance is used to transport sick people. But
we found, a lot of money in ambulances. I thought, for some time, it was a nadir that we
reached. But Thirumangalam in Tamil Nadu recently was the worst so far. I don’t know maybe
we will excel further. In Thirumangalam, people were fed throughout the period. One cannot
catch all the anonymous donors.
In this case, what I was really worried about was that some section of the media was al-
so joining in. There were many candidates who came and told us that then it was possible for
them to keep the expenditure within the limits. But then a few days later, the President of a
National Party came and met me and said, “You have allowed us to save all these things. But
now I have a different problem.” He named one particular newspaper and said that they were
now asking him for Rs.15 lac. Then, I came to know the graded charge. To write about you, Rs.x.
To write about you and not about the other person Rs.2x. To write about you and demean the
other fellow, Rs.3x. This caught on in Madhya Pradesh. At least we find in UP, same kind of
writing in various newspapers, some of them had, maybe very small voice somewhere tugging
at their hearts. So, they wrote in very small letter, ‘Advt.’ It means it is an advertisement. We
charged them to the candidates, and said, this is an advertisement and goes into your election
expenditure. They became wiser. After that, even the smallest letter of ‘Advt’ did not appear.
Some of our collectors issued notice in Uttar Pradesh; one of them went to the extent of going
to the Press Council and complaining such practices. I don’t know what outcome it will be.
Then in Tamil Nadu, in Thirumangalam bye-election, there was a very brief sense of joy when I
saw in the newspaper that when one party had gone for distributing money, the other party
men caught and took the money away. The next day, I found in the newspapers that when the
other Party men went again to the village, they were gheraoed. I said that it was a good thing.
They were trying to prevent money being distributed. Next day I became far more enlightened.
They simply gheroed them to say, that the money belonged to them, and asked them who they
were to come in the way. I don’t know what sadness can come to all of us. People are simply
saying, I am entitled for this money. You cannot take it away. You give it to me; you give it to
me. I will take it in both hands. Maybe they are right, you have so much cash and liquor to
41
throw about, why should I complain? But is it in any way adding to the value of democracy? I
don’t think we can really survive with this kind of thing. Let us hope Thirumangalam is the last
and the nadir has been reached and it the situation will improve in the other direction.
Now we do a lot of analysis of electoral reforms in the commission in order to find out
whether the registration is proceeding on the right line or not. One of the things that we do is
to find out the age cohort, whether people in the different age groups are getting registered or
not. This is to raise the level of knowledge of our electoral officers who then can at least try and
see whether unrepresented or under-registered category can get registered. But uniformly
what we find is that the age group 18-25 is under represented. If according to the census, the
population of 18 and above, if 100 people are there and the electoral rolls out of which, let us
say, 14 people should be in the age group of 18-25, most often than not, we have found that in
that particular category, the actual registration is about 30%. 70% of the people in that catego-
ry of the age group of 18-25, do not get registered. In that context, there are efforts taken by
various organizations in the last 6 months, maybe Janagraha in Bangalore, Billion Votes, and so
many organisations. It is a good augury. I am told that the CEO of Maharashtra has also taken
up this aspect with some of the colleges here. That is one of the areas of concern.
Second, in our analysis, we have also found out what is the male-female ratio in the
electoral roll. We have a census figure of male-female ratio that will give us an idea as to what
should be male-female ratio for that particular State, district, constituency, in the electoral rolls
also. In fact, in the electoral roll, male-female ratio should be better, given the fact that female
longevity is better than male longevity. But we have found the cases in which it was abysmally
low. It means that there is a deliberate non-registration and under-registration of females. We,
in fact, coined the term, like female foeticide, as female voticide.
In Uttar Pradesh, the average for the entire State male to female ratio was 898 females
per 1000 males. Whereas, there were other constituencies where the same ratio was as low as
603. We enquired and tried to persuade. They said, “No, we don’t believe”. Still that particular
figure came up. Therefore, the district magistrate and others tried to persuade people to take
42
one area of issues. These figures are available from our Chief Electoral Officers in the district
etc., because they were asked to study these issues.
Then the other aspect to this is that while you may do registration of the young voters,
there is a great reluctance on the part of urban voters to vote. I have many examples. I will
take one example of Lucknow. If I am not mistaken, it is about two or three seats in Lucknow,
Lucknow West, Lucknow North, Lucknow city. The polling was 28-29% in just 5 kms. Distance
from the constituency part of Lucknow city, and in a larger part just outside belt, there it was
43%, a clear 15% higher. That is the same case in Bangalore, Bangalore city constituency; part
of it is outside the urban area. In urban area, it was 33%. It means, 67% did not vote. Why is it
that people who were educated, did not vote. They must be persuaded to vote, if they want to
take some part in the decision making in the country.
I am very happy that in the last few years, a lot of good work has been done by the As-
sociation for Democratic Reforms andnew knowledge has been spread with its help. As some-
body has mentioned it that NEW, is a network of institutions. I hope that they will be able to do
better. All our good wishes plus my efforts will certainly be with them in whatever they will
want to do. Now after discussion, they are now asking the candidates to make a summary of
their assets and liabilities so that they file two affidavits, which will make the dissemination eas-
ier.
There are two other issues which I would like to mention. One is the new Metro Man-
agement System. I have found out that nearly 6 to 8 percent changes take place in the electoral
roll every year which is largely contributed by inter disritct and intra city migration. If you take
Bombay or Delhi, intra-city migration to the bigger city from the hinterland, from the district
into the city. It is going to grow but in the cities again, people are busy. It becomes extremely
difficult to get people. We have a Booth Level Officer system which came into being a year ago.
Every booth is to have an identified officer. In rural areas, it works very well. But in the urban
areas, it is difficult to find a person. Officials live in one part of the city and they have to attend
to a booth in another part of the city and they are reluctant. As far as possible, we have tried
and picked somebody who is from that particular field, area. But we now had a meeting with all
43
the Metropolitan Officials, and the Municipal Commissioners. Every ward should have a perma-
nent officer for changes to take place in the electoral rolls. This has to be insisted upon. We will
work on that.
The other one is the Multi-Purpose identity card. We have been giving electoral identity
cards for over the last 15 to17 years, but keeping a track of it has become difficult because
people may have a card but they might have misplaced it. Our staff is also not very keen, or not
well organized to be able to say anything. Hopefully, this year most states will have photo elec-
toral roll, photos on the roll itself, barring a few states. There will be a mass of 80 to 90 percent
of electors’ photographs in the roll in most of the states, again barring a few. After that we will
start insisting that only if you produce that or give previous address proof, that we will accept
Form 6 from you. The card carries a unique number whichis randomly number. If you are in
Chennai and are moving to Mumbai, the same card will stand valid. I am trying to propose that
the registration procedure should be slightly improved. If you are producing the electoral iden-
tity card, then you should be registered there and then; there will be no need for you to under-
go the formalities. That will raise the stake in preserving the card and making the people get a
card. I would not say anything more on this issue.
Let me come to three issues for passing the resolutions. I have no problem with the first
of them. I have a slight problem with the second one though. The Commission has been press-
ing for a button on the EVMs for those who do not want to vote. In the earlier days, you had
ballot paper. If you did not want to vote, you got into the compartment, did not mark with a
rubber stamp, folded it, put into it and came away. Your identity was not compromised, or so to
say, revealed. Today a similar provision or a parallel to it in the electronic machine does not ex-
ist. After you get your name noted down with the officer, he asks you to go into the booth and
press the button. At that time, you have to tell him that you don’t want to vote. He will just ask
you to sign or so to say mark for your attendance to come (for your presence). So, you sign for
no voting. Why is it necessary? At the end of the day, he has to give an account. If there are 550
voters who have come, then he has to inform that 549 are out of the box and one did not vote.
So, in order to give an account, he will ask you to sign for ‘no voting’. That means that the
44
secrecy of vote is being compromised. Therefore, we have been insisting that please provide a
button for a person who does not want to vote. But we did not ask for ‘none of the above’. I
would like to say something. Sometime better is the enemy of good. By asking none of the
above, you have raised the hackles of political parties and nobody wants to support it. In the
Supreme Court case, which was heard a few days ago, I think, the Government opposed this.
That is because there is a perception which may come true for what you have written. They are
all very clever people, they think much longer. You say, there should be a repoll and the candi-
dates should not be allowed to contest that election. That could be a problem. Therefore, they
do not want to let this change take place. But I must tell you why this particular matter has
been struck on a technical issue. The technical issue is that the case has been filed under article
32 and the right to vote is not a fundamental right. Received wisdom so far is that right to vote
is not a fundamental right. Therefore, under article 32 if you challenge any issue, it has to be on
the issue of fundamental rights. It was struck on that issue. On behalf of the petitioners and on
our behalf, it was argued that it does come within the ambit of fundamental rights. The court
has reserved the judgment. Let us hope for the best. Thank you.
DELEGATE: My neighbour is staying with me for the last 50 years. He has a voter ID for the last
10 years. Last week, the so called BLO, who is a municipal teacher in my ward, came and said,
“Here is form No. 1-B which is pre-printed with your name and address. Please fill that form so
that you will be given voter ID card.” For 10 years, I have brought those cards, how come, for 10
years; you don’t update your cards?
MR GOPALASWAMI (CEC): The issue is this. Voter identity cards have been given since 1995.
In those days, the technology was different; Polaroid cameras were used; digital cameras were
not used. So, when we tried to go for photo electoral roll, the photograph is necessary. We
might have given you identity card but the corresponding record may not have a photograph,
but it is not possible, because of technology change to take it up. In those cases, we are now
asking for photographs in your electoral roll. That is why; he might have come to you again.
This happens for all cards given mostly prior to 2000, in some cases prior to 2002 also.
45
DELEGATE: Apart from the technical issues, you have talked about the right to not vote. Do
you have fundamental issue with this too?
MR GOPALASWAMI (CEC): We have no issue at all. Our job is to provide you a facility to be
able to come and vote. Whether you like to vote, want to exercise which way you would like to
vote, we are not bothered. If you don’t want to exercise, it is your decision. It does not auto-
matically take, until the law is amended. Let me take an extreme example. Let us assume there
are 10 candidates and 100 voters. 99 people do not want to exercise their voting right. One last
person votes for one of the 10 candidates. Under the existing law, he wins.
DELEGATE: First of all, it is a great thing; you have done upgradation of registering the ID cards.
But I would like to ask, are you thinking on the same direction for NRIs abroad, because lot of
Indians are abroad, they are young, educated and they are concerned about Indian politics or
what is going on in India?
MR GOPALASWAMI (CEC): Let me tell you, the present law as it stands, is that you have to be
an ordinarily resident of a place. NRI ipso facto means, for 181 days, he is not there. You can
draw your conclusions.
DELEGATE: According to you, what is the biggest challenge in view of the coming Lok Sabha
elections? Do you think that the Election Commission is ready to face the challenge?
MR GOPALASWAMI (CEC): If I told you that we are not ready, I would not be here at all. The
challenge itself varies from place to place. Somewhere it is muscle, whereas somewhere it is
money. In some cases it is both. .
DELEGATE: Will it be feasible to have a run off, if a winning candidate does not get more than
50%?
MR GOPALASWAMI (CEC): If the law is amended, yes.
DELEGATE: My suggestion is not only for the Chief Election Commissioner but is at the same
time addressed to the house.What I want to know is whether the Election Commission can also
introduce people’s manifestoes, within the political system of India, as part of bringing political
46
reforms wherein people themselves, communities themselves can create political manifestos
wherein they have ownership, instead of having political parties who write beautiful manifes-
toes while not implementing them at all.
MR GOPALASWAMI (CEC): I cannot understand why Election Commission should come in the
way. People’s work should be done by the people, not by the Election Commission.
DELEGATE: Every candidate who is a member of the political party subscribes to the manifesto
of the party. Over and above that, he also makes a lot of promises, what he will do at the local
level, state level etc. Is it possible that he should be asked to declare in advance, how he will
use the local area development fund for five years, for his area and commit himself in writing
while filing the nomination forms?
MR GOPALASWAMI (CEC): People have every power. If you demand, you will get. Oft repeated
old proverb, the baby that cries gets the milk.
DELEGATE: We have found that 180 Members of Parliament don’t have PAN numbers or have
not disclosed it in thier affidavits filed in the Election Commission. Does the Election Commis-
sion have the power to compel candidates to make complete disclosure in lieu of corruption?
Can you not make MPs income-tax returns at least available to us for public viewing; and to cut
down the workload of the Commission, can you not ask them to file it electronically, which
would be a supplementary to the physical filing so that information comes to us sooner?
MR GOPALASWAMI (CEC): Second question is open to you. You can persuade the candidates.
As far as the first question is concerned, under the mandate of the Supreme Court, I have to
receive the affidavit. Without the affidavit, nomination papers will not be accepted. What is
contained in the affidavit is not my concern. It may contain some information; it may not con-
tain some information. There is no time to check whether the information provided is right or
wrong. Even when the information is wrong, the citizens or somebody else can raise the issue
later on saying false affidavit had been filed.
DR L.C. JAIN: Friends, I think, now he has earned our approval to be able to leave on time. I
think, of all the answers he has given, to me the most important is, what is for the people to do,
47
they must do. We are privileged to have had, right from the beginning, Sukumar Sen, the Elec-
tion Commissioner who has given India a very reliable system. It has grown; all that has hap-
pened. But if you look at the fact that 600 million people are voting and 50-60 parties are com-
peting, one system that is able to absorb that and come out with respect by the people is the
Election Commission. We have a stake to strengthen it, without putting load on it. Now we talk
about the voters’ list. They may give identity cards and may get it revised. But what are the citi-
zens, Janagrah, Residents Welfare Association doing? They go from house to house to find out
who is not there and give information to the electoral officer. We ought to be doing that. In
fact, two days before Gandhi died; he wrote that one of the functions of a Congress worker, at
that time, there was only Congress party was to ensure every voter was registered and went to
vote.
48
ROLE OF MEDIA IN ELECTIONS
MR ANIL BAIRWAL- vxyk fo"k; gS & Role of Media in Elections. eSa Jh txnhasi N¨dj th d¨ vkeaf=r dj
jgk gwaA Jh vfuy ’kekZ th] t¨ vej mtkyk cqUnsy[k.M ls gSaA Jh jkf/kdk c¨ÆM;k] Jh ch Mh oxÆt v©j Jh vkj-
txUukFku] ,MhVj vkQ Mh ,u , d¨ vkeaf=r dj jgk gwaA eSa N¨dj th ls dguk pkgwaxk fd bl lS’ku ds fy, gekjs
ikl 35 feuV gSaA
Jh txnhJh txnhJh txnhJh txnhiiii N¨dj N¨dj N¨dj N¨dj % % % % Jh e/kqds’koj th d¨ vki igpku tk;saxs] budh vki ’kdy ns[kdj igpku tk;sxsa fd ;s d©u
gSa] bud¨ Vhoh ij cgqr ns[kus d¨ feyrk gSA Since morning we were discussing about Media in one
form or the other. We have been restricted to 35 minutes; we won’t take too much time at all.
Perhaps I would raise three questions to all the media people. One is about what the media
would do to improve governance and democracy in the country. How can the civil society and
media improve governance and democracy in the country?
Jh vfuy Jh vfuy Jh vfuy Jh vfuy ’’’’kekZ%kekZ%kekZ%kekZ% eap ij fojkteku lÒh i=dkjx.k] ns’k Òj ls vk, gq, lÒh lektlsoh v©j fofÒUu ox¨± ds y¨x &
eSa cqUnsy[k.M esa i=dkfjrk djrk gwaA ge y¨x t¨ bl çdkj ds uS’kuy dUoSU’kUl g¨rs gSa] muesa bl mEehn ls vkrs gSa
fd ogka ls gesa dqN u dqN fn’kk feysxh v©j ml fglkc ls ge y¨x dke djsaxs v©j y¨drU= etcwr g¨xkA vÒh
jktLFkku ds y¨x¨a us t¨ xhr lquk;k] t¨ ckrsa dgÈ] os cgqr gh çsj.kknk;h gSaA eSa mUgÈ pht a ds ysdj dguk pkgrk gwaA
tc ge bl fo"k; ij ckr djrs gSa] r¨ ;gka ij n¨ i{k vÒh xk;c gSa] ;gka vÒh fo/kkf;dk v©j tqfMf’k;jh ugÈ gSA tc
rd pkj a i= u g a] muds çfrfuf/k] rc rd d¨Ã cgqr cnykc dh ckr ugÈ l¨ph tk ldrh gSA eSa N¨Vh txg ls gwa]
vki y¨x a ds cjkcj cqf)thoh ugÈ gwaA ysfdu eSa ,d ckr dguk pkgrk gwa] dSls pht a pquko esa cnyrh gSaA eSa ckank ftys
dk jgus okyk gwa] vxj ge iqjkus bfrgkl dh v¨j u tk;sa] v©jà esa i=dkfjrk djrk gwaA 42 o"kZ iwoZ] djhc 1967 esa
lhihvkà ls n¨ lky igys 1965 esa] tkxs'oj ;kno d¨ ogka ls fVdV fn;kA n¨ lky mUg aus lkbfdy ls ,d&,d xkao
esa tkdj çpkj fd;k] lqcg dgÈ ij] n¨igj dgÈ ij v©j ’kke d¨ dgÈ ijA og ml pquko esa thrs v©j pquko esa iwjk
[kpZ dqy 5000 #i, gq,A esjs firk th ckank ls pquko yM+s] v©j mudk nl gtkj #i, [kpZ gqvkA iSVª y mudk viuh
xkM+h ls [kpZ g¨ jgk Fkk v©j mud¨ ikVÆ 45 gtkj #i;k vk;k] ml jkf’k esa ls 25 gtkj #i, bySD’ku deh’ku d¨
okfil fd, x,A vkt fLFkfr ;g gS fd ,d Vscy ij p¨j] cnek’k] ekfQ;k lkjs y¨x bdV~Bk gSaA lekt dk ftruk Òh
vPNk oxZ gS] og gkf’k;k ij /khjs&/khjs pyk x;k gSA gekjk dguk gS fd gesa dqN u dqN ,slk rjhdk viukuk g¨xk]
ftlls ;g [kpkZ t¨ yxkrkj c<+rk tk jgk gS] ftldk vUr ugÈ g¨ jgk gS] ;g [kpkZ dSls de g¨A esjs eu esa ,d
fopkj gS] pkgs ;g laln esa tk;s ;k dSls Òh g¨] bl ij fopkj g¨uk pkfg,A pquko ij iSlk [kpZ djus ds fy, t:jh gS]
pquko vk;¨x }kjk çR;kf’k; a d¨ iSlk fn;k tk,A blds fy, laln ls vuqefr yh tk,A vxj ,slk g¨rk gS] r¨ yxkrkj
t¨ [kpkZ c<+ jgk gS] ml esa deh vk ldrh gSA nwljh rjQ nsf[k,] ns’k ds lkjs y¨x pkg jgs gSa] t¨ xucy okys gSa]
/kucy okys gSa] ;s y¨x pquko u thrsa v©j lkjs ny Òh mlds fy, lger gSaA ysfdu nwljh rjQ nsf[k,] jktuhfrd
ny¨a ds t¨ desVsM y¨x g¨rs gSa] muds fVdV nsus ds fy, njokts cUn dj j[ks gSaAtc pquko ds fy, lalnh; c¨MZ
49
cSBrk gS] rc muls dgrs gSa fd vkids ikl iklcqd esa fdruk gS] ,sls d¨Ã bathfu;j] d¨Ã lektlsod ;k MkDVj ;k
i=dkj dSls pquko d¢ fy, yM+ ldrk gS] tc mlls iklcqd ds ckjs esa iwNk tk jgk gSA mldk dfeVesaV ny ds fy,
ugÈ ns[kk tk jgk gSA
nwljh rjQ nsf[k,] lklan fuf/k esa nl dj¨M+ #i¸kk fuf'pr g¨ x;kA mlls mud¨ yxrk gS fd mudh fVdV
iDdk gqvk] pquko thrsa r¨ mud¨ yxrk gS fd mudh ykVªh [kqy xÃA eSa N¨Vh txg ls vkrk gwa] eSa ns[krk gwa fd og
lkaln ftldh dy rd fLFkfr cqjh g¨rh gS] pquko ds fy, iSlk ysdj yM+rk gS] mlds vxys fnu ls gh mlds ikl
LdkÆi;¨ vk tkrh gS] rhljs fnu ls mlds Äj ij jktxhj fefL=;¨a ds }kjk dke ’kq# g¨ tkrk gSA /khjs&/khjs mld¨
fodkl g¨ tkrk gSA eq>s dgus esa d¨Ã ’kadk ugÈ gS] vki pkgsa r¨ bldh tkap djk ldrs gSaA 20 ls 30 çfr’kr rd
reke y¨x] eSa lcds fy, ugÈ dg jgk gwa] nsrs gSa v©j ,slh fLFkfr esa fdlh lkaln v©j fo/kk;d ds fy, ykVªh dk [kqyuk
tSlk g¨ tkrk gSA
rhljh ckr &t¨ i;Zos{kd vkrs gSa] t¨ vkà , ,l tkfr cu xà gS] ;s ,d ne vorkjh iq#"k dh rjg igqaprs
gSaA vkid¨ Òh ’kk;n bldk vuqÒo g¨xk] ftl ny dh Òh ljdkj ftl jkT; esa g¨rh gS] ogka ds Mh ,e v©j ogka dk
ç’kklu] dqN i;Zos{kd¨a d¨ N¨M og eSust djus esa yx tkrk gSA esjh çkFkZuk gS fd bu vorkjh iq#"k a ds vykok Òh dqN
y¨x gSa] lekt lsoh gSa] MkDVlZ gSa] bathuh;lZ gSa] D;¨a ugÈ i;Zos{kd a esa bu y¨x¨a d¨ Òh , Mh vkj cuk;k tkrkA dkj.k
;g fd i;Zos{kd a dh Òwfedk Òh lUnsg esa vkus yx xà gSA esjk dguk gS fd vxj vki okLro esa d¨Ã pht psat djuk
pkgrs gSa] phQ bySD’ku deh’ku dh u©djhxr reke t¨ etcwfj;ka g axh] mudh reke ckr djsaxs] ysfdu vxj ge ;gka
ls d¨Ã pÈt cnyko dh ysdj ugÈ tkrs v©j cnyko ds fy, ckr ugÈ djrs] mldh rjQ y¨x¨a d¨ ckè; ugÈ djrs
ml rjQ tkus ds fy,] r¨ cgqr gh cqjh fLFkfr /khjs&/khjs curh pyh tk,xhA vkt vPNs y¨x blhfy, de g¨rs tk jgs
gSa] D;¨afd pquko dk [kpZ yxkrkj c<+rk tk jgk gSA bld¨ gesa mlh fLFkfr esa ykuk g¨xk] ftlls mld¨ yxs gh ugÈ
çR;k’kh pqus tkus ds ckn fd ge pquko dSls yM+sA
vc eSa bySDVª fud e’khu ds ckjs esa dguk pkgrk gwaA Òys gh ernku dsUæ¨a ij iSlk [kpZ g¨] ernku dsUæ¨a esa
Dy¨t lÆdV Vhoh dh O;oLFkk g¨uh pkfg,A Òys gh vkt u g¨] nl lky ckn g¨] ysfdu ;g g¨uk pkfg, v©j lkFk gh
;g Òh fnekx esa ckr j[kuh pkfg,] dSls D;k g¨ jgk gSA o¨ÇVx ds n©jku ikap cts ls igys t¨ y¨x idM+s tkrs gSa]
mud¨ pquko lEiw.kZ g¨us ds ckn N¨M+ fn;k tkrk gSA d¨Ã dsl ç’kklu jftLVj ugh djrk gSA ;g Bhd gS fd t¨
fu;e ds rgr idM+s xq,] muds f[kykQ eqdÌek fd;k x;kA ,lVh v©j ,lVh ds y¨x¨a d¨ pquko esa er Mkyus ds fy,
euk fd;k tkrk gS] ysfdu bl laca/k esa ,d Òh eqdÌek iwjs ns’k esa ntZ ugÈ fd;k tkrk gSA esjk ;g dguk gS fd vxj
ge pquko esa vxj okLro esa ;s phtsa djrs gSa] r¨ mfpr g¨xkA y[kuÅ esa fiNyh nQk x¨ikykLokehth x, FksA çSl ds
fy, n¨&rhu y¨x ukekadu da{k esa tkus ds fy, cgqr Lokxr gqvkA vki nsf[k,] Vsdsnkj¨a esa vkt 60 40 py jgk gS]
lkjh ikV¨± ds Bsdsnkj t¨ yhM djrs gSa] os 60 çfr’kr ys ysrs gSa v©j ckdh y¨x 40 çfr’kr ys ysrs gSaA bl otg ls
mudk pØ gh ugÈ VwVrk gSA mlh etcwrh ds lkFk os y¨x iSlk nsrs pys tkrs gSaA gesa dà pØ a d¨ r¨M+uk g¨xkA gesa
dà fu.kZ; ysus g¨xsaA ,d rjQk ckr a ls ifj.kke ugÈ fudyus okys gSaA vxj gesa okLro esa ifjorZu djuk gS] r¨ lkjs
ox¨± ds y¨x¨a d¨ ysdj ds pquko lq/kkj dh ckr djuh iM+sxhA /kU;okn
50
MR JAGANNATHAN (Editor, DNA): We all know that media plays a very critical role in dissemi-
nation of information which is very critical again for the democratic process and electoral
process. For the last 10 years, you have seen media growing in leaps and bounds. This com-
prises of both the Print Media which has seen substantial growth in the Regional Press and to
some English section also, more than that we have seen enormous growth in TV and visual me-
dia. This is what todays deciding agenda of the country often, for good or evil, or whatever it is.
I would like to focus on two critical things where it is helping the media in dissemination of in-
formation and rendering its help to disseminate its information properly.
First thing is what has happened in the media over the last 20 years. There has been a
substantial change in the business model of the media. Earlier, your reader used to pay or TV
user had to pay certain subscription fee in order to watch the TV or read the newspaper. The
price you pay for 12 pages, 14 pages or 16 pages which are what the paper used to more or less
cover the cost of printing of the paper. Today you buy paper at a cost of Rs.10-15, probably sold
practically at a throw away price. We actually moved to a free newspaper model and free tele-
vision model and this is a fundamental change in the business structure of the media industry,
TV industry and this impacts how news is reported, and disseminated. At one level it does a lot
of good because suddenly thousands and millions of people are able to see newspaper, watch
TV channels. Obviously news is reaching millions and millions of people including newspapers
but this type of business is excessively dependent on the money power. The CEC mentioned,
one of the candidates had gone and asked, what to do when newspaper guy demands ‘x’ lac for
putting up pro-story and ‘x’ lac for putting up pro-story against the opponent. Now this is what
has happened, a change in the business model where the reader does not pay. This is a very
important element for democracy and I think that not all views are being adequately
represented in the media today. The one who is ready to pay more gets space and time in the
newspaper and the media. All of us need to be concerned about it. We are actually facing the
same dilemma in the telecom industry as well. You can get a cheap cell phone. Every maid-
servant, or every villager can always afford cell phones. But to make it available, practically at a
throw away cost, you are actually giving debase service. Half of the time, you have call drops,
interference, crackles, all kinds of things. These people have not invested enough in the tele-
51
com service and you have a telephone service that is barely running in most cases. Similar thing
is happening in media service. You have a media which is actually available to a lot more
people. Lot of information is disseminated but the quality of information is something on which
there is a lot of desired. That is something that will take time to change because of the fact that
when you give everything for free, the quality of information is debase. You do worry about
money interest and I think, it is something society needs to be concerned about. If you go to
Pakistan, the Dawn costs Rs.10. It is actually covering the entire cost if you buy the paper there.
Here the DNA price is Rs.2.50 and it spends Rs.10 to produce it. The Times of India probably
spend Rs.20 per copy to produce it whereas you are getting it at Rs.3 or 4. You are actually get-
ting 100 pages or 50 pages of newspaper which does not cover the cost at the sale price. This
fundamental change in the business model is something that is larger than the size of the indus-
try as we are doing what the industry is demanding. But it needs to be addressed at some point.
The second issue I would like you to think about is the question of TRP game in TV,
which is the deciding factor of what we decide to produce. Today there is a hyper competition
in the media. Media, actually far from giving a lot of information, we are actually setting in
some ways, not necessarily that is good, often in the case of electoral process, we can set the
agenda, you can focus on criminal elements or give information related to that. But very often
the agenda is set in a different direction. For example, soon after the Bombay terror attack,
you had TV going on and on about the actions to be taken against Pakistan. They were almost
setting an agenda for war with Pakistan. I don’t think any media house was trying to build an
opinion towards war or towards this thing and that is exactly what the TV channels did and
newspapers also followed. TV set the agenda and newspapers followed, and now you are trying
to set the agenda for the country in a direction that is almost terrible for the country. I mean,
what would happen, if these guys go and bomb Pakistan based on public expectations. It might
be a foolish step which would affect the country negatively. If you would have gone to that
country and attacked there for 20 days, what would have happened; you would have been in a
set back. The whole world is going in a recession and you need one more war to improve this
or you need peace. Often media has become a player rather than somebody holding the mirror
saying this is what is happening in the country, and to the society. And now you decide. We are
52
actually pushing people on the decision which may actually go against the interest of the coun-
try. Actually these are the two things that are really bothering me. While it helps you to disse-
minate information but it also affect the quality of information you disseminate. One is the
business model. The other fact is that you tend to be highly emotional, instead of giving the
news neutrally. You should not get carried away by the events.
Newspaper and TV channels also have to invest more in the experienced journalists.
There are a lot of under-trained and untrained reporters who report all kinds of things.
Where there is a communal clash, you don’t exasperate to say, who did it. But now you
straight away say, Hindus did this, or Christians did that or Muslims did this. In that case, you
might have actually contributed to the problem. Electoral reforms are also important because
all these things come in a concentrated form. I think, media needs to have an internal code of
conduct that we need to set for ourselves. Probably, across the media we need to discuss this
and do something about it.
MR JAGDEEP CHHOKAR: Thank you, Mr. Jagannathan. He said that there are a number of issues
for you to think about. We will think about them and get back to you. He has also raised the
point for the TV industry to respond to. In the order, we have Ms.Radhika Bordia. She is on the
NDTV.
MS RADHIKA BORDIA: I was going to begin by talking about how election, polls and media
events around the election polls have become critical to how news houses design their pro-
gramme. But I would start off by saying what was said by my colleague here about the media
pushing people, about media doing untowards damage in the way that it reports certain inci-
dents, and in the way it shapes up opinion. I continue to be a TV journalist because I am ad-
dicted to this medium and also because of its influence. What I find very interesting when the
media is criticized, is the fact that most of those who are criticising the media, the intellectuals,
the civic society, seem to be tracking sensational elements in the media, and seem to be track-
ing the big anchors. In fact the very thing that has been criticized is that the civic society is ob-
sessively watching. There are many in the media, TV media and print media who are fighting
53
battle within the media house for space. It is a corporate structure; there are influences from
every side. There are many journalists who are fighting for that. But unfortunately hierarchy is
not built by those who are going out into the field and reporting but are built by those whom
we see every day. Perhaps civic society needs to look at real reporting that is going on and
have discourse on that. We get endless feed back on our anchors; how they speak, what they
are speaking, how shrill someone is; how shrill someone is not. There has not been a single dis-
course on any of the other slots where you have reporters going out in the field, try to look at
some of the same issues that have been raised by ADR and many of the other civil societies.
The other thing I want to mention to the eminent people present here is that while
spaces are shrinking for journalists who want to go out in the field and do similar reporting, this
is one time, where journalists are more empowered than ever before. We have got the Right to
Information Act; we have got data by several people. The work which the ADR has done is really
excellent; it is easy for the journalists to get information by just logging on. By the details of
every candidate, you can get exclusive stories, inside studio discussion and debating. The data
is now accessible and we hope to be using that.
One last point is activism and journalism. There is a lot of dogma in this country in every
section. Every journalist needs to just stick to the basic trigger of journalism. There are influ-
ences from politicians; there are influences from media houses. Sometimes even NGOs and ac-
tivists tend to claim journalists. I think we need to free ourselves from this dogma. If the jour-
nalist is applying basic trigger in reporting, you will find that report is more secular and more
accurate than a journalist going with any pre-conceived ideology.
MR B.G. VERGHESE: A few quick points. First, as far as governance is concerned, we have got to
fight this growing criminalisation of politics and politicization of crime and break-down in the
criminal justice system. Here I think the media needs to give much more importance and em-
phasis every day to deal with police reforms, dealing with corruption, issuing single directive in
the Government which includes that anybody on top who has done wrong is being brought to
book. This is important and basic because it feeds back into the electoral system too, namely
54
the money power, muscle power and criminalization of politics and politicians with criminal
background.
Second point is that the media should devote more time analyzing the assets, some of
that is being done, at the time of declaration of assets of candidates and analysis of candidates’
criminal records. You are supposed to file election return. Very few people do that. I think anal-
ysis of that would be very useful.
Linked to that, the analysis of the performance of your MPs and MLAs, their voting
record, number of days they are attending the House, how many times, they have been in the
well of the House, rather than in their seats, and their walk-out, so that one could not re-elect
people whose conduct as MP or MLA is below par. To help reduce the costs, the business of
trying to reach every single individual voter is not possible. The media and the universality of
the media down to the grass-root to the rural areas are such that electoral campaigning should
be done more through the media. Physical campaigning can continue but it is very expensive.
Here the media has a role to play as the electoral broadcast system is a total failure and a com-
plete waste of time. You get people who don’t know how to read. They read at a raising speed,
and to condense 50 pages into 5 minutes or 10 minutes, you don’t know what he is talking
about, whether it is a manifesto or anything else. Instead, you can have an equivalent of Town
Hall meeting where candidates are selectively called to debate, public figure media as anchors.
They can then raise issues, debate among themselves and this could be broadcasted and re-
broadcasted. It would be a great way of campaigning and reducing cost because you don’t have
to wander all over the space or to be more precise, the geographical space of your constituen-
cies.
The point made by the Chief Election Commissioner that money is being sought to pub-
licise certain candidates and to demean others. This is absolutely disgraceful because we have
stringers who are not really journalists but lawyers, teachers, shop-keepers anybody and once
they get the card saying representative of x, y, z newspaper or channel, that is a negotiable in-
strument they will have access to district magistrate, superintendent of police, local MLA, Chief
Minister and so on. Therefore, they throw their weight around and collect money for doing
55
this. This is something which the media or the editor itself has to check. Unfortunately, editorial
control is disappearing. That is one of the grave weaknesses of the media. To control this, we
should blacklist the newspaper or the correspondent who in anyway is found doing this.
Finally I disagree with the Editor of the Guild of India taking a stand, on pitching the
freedom of speech vis-à-vis the freedom of poll. Freedom of poll is as precious right as the
Freedom of Press, Freedom of Expressions, for which I stand but unless you have free polls and
elect people to the Legislature who are of the right kind, you are not going to get the freedom
of speech. Here, the idea, the exit poll results are published even before the last phase of poll is
concluded. I think this is unfortunate one. I strongly support the view taken by the Election
Commission here that the press should hold its hand till the last phase of elections is held.
MS MADHU KISHWAR: Most people know me as the Editor of “Manushi”. I deliberately chose
not to earn my living as a journalist, but as a writer because I felt, I wanted my pen to be free of
all the pressures that the editor of DNA talked about. That is why, “Manushi” refuses to accept
advertisements and we make it reader supportive.
Firstly I do feel very strongly, as a member of the Editors Guild, being constantly at war
with some of my colleagues saying, we are very good at criticizing everybody else but we have
to put our house in the first order. I think, the media could give itself the kind of good marks
that the whole society is willing to give to the Election Commission. It is one institution that
works and that has given a measure of credibility to our otherwise very fluid democratic
process. Even though we have no censorship law in place, we are proud of the freedom that
we have but if we look all around, and scratch the surface, we find that a large section of the
media has bartered away its own independence that it had once gained. One small part of the
story is that the cost of newspaper is much higher than the selling price. But the large part of
the story is outright corruption. Media plays an important role in the pay roll of politicians, in
the pay roll of bureaucrats, taking housing colony flats, land allotment, journalist colony at sub-
sidized rate, any number of freebies, even free tickets abroad and all kinds of entertainment.
What we have got in journalism, most of it, at best can be called, Press Release Journalism. The
journalists will reach only when they are assured that they will be getting good wine, whisky,
56
imported preferably. I have seen the Junior Ministers sending air-conditioners to the house of
an important journalist in Delhi for no reason whatsoever just before the Press conference.
Once the journalism gets addicted to these trips, travelling, and imported liquor to drink
on a daily basis, the addiction is poisonous. When I saw the Press Release Jounalism and ana-
lysed its one month publications, I was appalled to find that almost 70% of news was from 10
kms radius of New Delhi, and was termed as “national”. If the Finance Ministry or any other
Ministry gives the Press release, it is printed as it is, and even if some mistake of figure of add-
ing one or two ‘0s’ due to typographic mistake, our journalists don’t have time to check even
that.
My biggest grouse is that it does not invest in research. There is neither any facility provided to
the young journalists, nor it is even expected. Not surprisingly therefore, the only kind of in-
vestment they make is Exit poll. That is given to the same companies which do the survey for a
tooth paste brand regarding its sale. Just that now they have to find which Prime Ministerial
candidate is selling more. I agree with Mr. Verghese, that Exit poll should not be allowed to be
published before the last phase of election.
We are particularly touchy about the code of ethics, and about any control. I am one for
media freedom, however bad, however shortcoming in the Press, we cannot afford to have a
censorship government. We have seen what harm censorship does to freedom. I hold Press
freedom as one of the most sacred freedom on which many of our freedom rests. But I think, in
this case, the least which media owes is the code of ethics for politicians. We want the code of
ethics for everybody else, but we don’t have Press code of ethics anywhere in operation. As a
member of the Editors Guild also, I battle hard for getting these code of ethics. But when you
talk about getting it implemented, Senior Editors say, Madhu, who will listen to us? Not surpri-
singly, if that is what is happening in Delhi, in smaller towns, in regional journalism, you have
outright blackmail journalism, not just at election time, In the way, the CEC gave concrete in-
stance, but even for routine kind of press, most what we witness as investigative journalism in
India, it is actually leak from rival politicians. The moment you see a story, try to do an expo-
57
sure, first thing one needs to have is that who is likely to have leaked it. I think it is time that the
media started putting its own house in order, which is a very vital pillar of democracy.
As part of Delhi centric view and as far as State capitals are concerned, State capital centric
view, because going outside means spending money, training journalists and one needs to train
them to ask questions. That comes intelligently but for that hardly anybody has time. The fact
that our media pays much less attention to Municipal Election, Zilla Parishad Elections, as com-
pared to the State Assembly elections and National Elections because they are highly priori-
tised. That is where all our emotives take place. It is far more important because the quality of
the members we get in the Parliament or in the State Assembly, depend on the kind of people
who get elected in the Municipal Elections and Zilla Parishad. I am going to say exactly what Mr.
Verghese said, if we have to make the election expenses far less, then the Panchayat type
meetings, Town hall meetings where candidates can actually engage themselves. We see the
same people pontificating on everything, whether it is TV or journalism in Delhi. Nowhere else
in the world you can see, Delhi dominates, national capital dominates or State capital domi-
nates the media in India. I am one of the beneficiaries of it. But it saddens me to think that if I
live in Faridabad, nobody would ever see my face. All the focus is either on Delhi, or within 20
kms Of Delhi.
One last point is regarding the crime you talked about. It is indeed a matter of great op-
timism for us that the number of criminals on the list of those fighting elections is going down.
But after this law became applicable, it has become a thousand times harder to register crimi-
nal charges against politicians or their henchmen. By contrast, it becomes 100 times easier to
book honest people, or the people who are exposing corruption and all that. I am one of the
victims of such battle for street vendors’ right, all the beatings we got. We were attacked by the
politically patronized mafia. But today, attempt to murder case, impersonation is registered
against me. I will spend next five years fighting for this. I was under police protection, which
was offered to me, and all cases were registered during that time. In a way, our politicians al-
ways are ahead of us. Having said all of this my last line to the media is that we must focus on
58
the wrong doing of the politicians which is well deserved. But I think, it is also very important
to focus on those who are doing good work especially.
MR JAGDEEP CHHOKAR- chtuSl ekMy cu x;k gS] ehfM;k d¨ Òh iSls pkfg,A esjs fglkc ls ;s pkj ç¨QS’ku
,sls gSa] ftuesa lcd¨ iSlk [kkus ds fy, pkfg,A ysfdu blesa uSfrd Òh d¨Ã pht g¨rh gSA ehfM;k ,d v©j nwljk
,tqds’ku gSA rhljk gSYFk gS v©j p©Fkk dkuwu gSA ;s ,sls ç¨QS’kUl gSa] ftuesa [kkus ds fy, iSlk pkfg,] chtuSl ekMy
pkfg,] ysfdu Fk¨M+h cgqr uSfrdrk v©j e©jsfyVh dk Òh loky gSA gekjs ftrus ehfM;k ds n¨Lr ;gka cSBs gSa] ;s mlh
dSVsxjh esa gSaA ftud¨ gtkj dk u¨V Iys fjO;w djus ds fy, pkfg,- os ;gka ugÈ vkrs gSaA But I will surely say
that all of you have been candid and cooperative and my appeal to all the Gentlemen and La-
dies is that you must do whatever you can. We need to reform the Media and I think as we
need to have Election watch, we should also have a Media-watch. ;g ge y¨x r¨ djus okys ugÈ gS]
vki y¨x gh djsaA
59
EXPERIENCES FROM RECENT ELECTIONS – I
vxyk dk;ZØe vÒh gky esa t¨ pquko gq, gSa] N% jkT;¨a esa] tgka geus bySD’ku okp fd;k Fkk] ogka dh VhEl ds cgqr
dfBu dk;Z fd;k FkkA gj jkT; ds vyx&vyx fo"k; Fks v©j vyx&vyx vuqÒo jgs gSaA vc eSa NŸkhlx<+ Vhe ls Jh
v’k¨d pUækxr d¨ vkefU=r dj jgk gwaA jktLFkku bySD’ku okp ls Jhefr js.kqdk th] Jh fuf[ky csx v©j ’kadjth d¨
vkefU=r dj jgk gwaA eSa ,d gh ckr dguk pkgrk gwa] bl lS’ku ds fy, vkids ikl 38 feuV gSaA
MR VINOD ZUTSHI (CHIEF ELECTORAL OFFICER, RAJASTHAN): Thank you for asking me to chair
this session. I am, Vinod Zutshi, and currently holding the post of the Chief Electoral Officer, Ra-
jasthan. I have been on this post for almost for a year now. Recently we have conducted the
State Assembly Elections in Rajasthan. We have discussed about the major highlights, short-
comings, achievements. We have an Election Watch team from Chhattisgarh. Before we start, I
would like all of you to introduce yourself.
I would like to make a brief remark as the Chairman of the Session. Whatever is the highlights
or achievements, paradigm shift, behaviour of the group, party and innovations are introduced
by the Election machinery, I would like to share my own experience during the elections. Then,
we can move on to Chhattisgarh and have the views of Chhattisgarh Election Watch. After that,
we would like to hear certain basic issues; I would like to answer them. I would give my own
views and observations based on the conduct of elections. I was privileged to visit Bangladesh
and observe the Bangladesh Presidential Elections. I observed 9 constituencies there. They
were slightly ahead of us, based on the parameters, perceptions from which we see.
Coming to Rajasthan elections, first I would like to highlight voters’ awareness. Women took a
lot of interest to vote. The youngsters also took interest in exercising their right to vote. The
voters turned up in large numbers in the rural areas. There were not many complaints from the
weaker sections. There was a greater transparency and discipline observed there. Thanks to the
Electoral Reforms introduced by the Election Commission, with the help of which everything
can be seen. The draft rolls and the Final Rolls are available on the website. The lists of BLOs are
on the website as well. 42,000 BLOs are available on the website with their names and mobile
numbers. All of you sitting in the auditorium can sit and surf the whole information. We have a
nomination process as well.
60
ftl dSMÈMsV us Òh viuk u¨feus’ku Qkby fd;k] mlus ,fQMsfoV fn;k] lEifŸk dk C;©jk fn;kA lkFk gh lkFk mld¨
oSclkbV ij Mky fn;kA d¨Ã Òh O;fDr oSclkbV ij ns[k ldrk gS] fdrus u¨fe’ku fd;k v©j mlds D;k ,slSV~l gSaA
Every piece of information was scanned and put on the website. The media reporting of the
election expenditure is also one of the highlights. It basically covered how much money is spent
by a candidate. It means media was also keeping a watch on the political candidates and how
much was being spent by them. Then, there was a greater sensitisation of political parties. Basi-
cally you will be surprised to know that we held a lot of meetings with the registered political
parties. t¨ ekU;rk çkIr jktuhfrd ny gS] muds lkFk dà ehÇVXl dhA mu cSBd a dk urhtk ;g gqvk fd bySD’ku
esa t¨ rhu Iys;lZ gSa] one is the Election Machinery, second is poltical groups or parties and the
third is voters. rhu a dk vkil esa laca/k bruk VªkalijsaV g¨uk pkfg,] rÒh ge bySD’ku dh ç¨lSl d¨ lq/kkj ik;saxsA
Now, between us and the political groups, in one of the political party, says gekjs t¨ i¨fyfVdy
,tsal gSa] t¨ cwFk ij jgsaxs] gekjs t¨ dkmÇUVl ,tsaV~l gSa] mud¨ Òh gesa crkuk gS fd mudh D;k ftEesnkfj;ka gSa v©j
muds D;k vf/kdkj gSaA vxj og ugÈ crk ik;saxs r¨ vf/kdkÇj;¨a ds chp esa foj¨/k g¨xkA That was really some-
thing which has came from the political parties and you would be surprised to know that they
have spent four hours in just watching the presentation, t¨ çLrqrhdj.k geus fn;k] mld¨ mUg aus ns[kkA
lkr a jktuhfrd ny cSBs v©j mUg¨aus dgk fd gesa gkMZ dkih esa D;k djuk pkfg,] D;k ugh djuk pkfg,] d¨M vkQ
dUMDl D;k gSa] og gesa ns nsaA rkfd ge Òh vius ySoy ij] tSls vki fçlkbaÇMx vkQhllZ d¨ VªsÇux nsrs gSa fd ;g
dguk pkfg,] ;g ugÈ djuk pkfg,] ge Òh ,slk djsaxsA vius i¨Çyx ,tsaV~l d¨ cSBk;saxs v©j mud¨ crk;saxs fd ;s vk-
ids vf/kdkj gSa] ftEesnkfj;ka gSa] v©j bl rjg ls vkid¨ ,DV djuk gSA That fact is, there is no statistics to
prove my point, but there was not too many interactions and confrontations between the pol-
ling agents and the polling parties.
Then, we should also communicate an effective plan, vki iwjs bySD’ku esa nsf[k,] phQbySD’ku
deh’kuj ls ysdj uhps rd] cwFk rd dE;qfuds’ku jgk gSA dqN ,sls Òh mnkgj.k gS fd chMhv¨t us lh/ks bySD’ku
vkfQlj ls ckrphr dh gSA eSa Òh djhc&djhc 12 oh,yv¨t ls ckrphr dh gSA This effective plan is useful
from all angles. From the angle of seeing the election processes is appreciated, from seeing the
angle of the Law and Order, the angle of the purity of the Elections, and all that we are here to
discuss about and multilayer of health check up of electoral rolls. eYVh j¨Yl pSd gq,A We along
with the collector,SDO, and BRO,checked up. We also appointed seniors as observers, to check
whether the electoral rolls are in order or not. fMohtu DySDVlZ d¨ vkCloZj cuk;k x;kA blls y¨x¨a esa
fo'okl iSnk gqvk fd ftl o¨Vj fyLV~l ls ge o¨V djus tk;saxs] og o¨Vj fyLV fuf'pr :i ls lgh g¨xhA eSa ;gka
61
vkid¨ caxykns’k dk vuqÒo crkuk pkgwxkaA As far as Bangladesh is concerned, the voter list was made
up afresh and the kind of commitment and passion to get that voter list made, resulted in a
very heavy turn out in Bangladesh Parliament Elections. So, all these things resulted in an im-
pression that both at the Political Level and Election Machinery Level, there is a greater aware-
ness in the people, regarding their responsibility and the result was that when we had elections
in Rajasthan, there were not too many problems. The overall impression was that the elections
were held peacefully and in a proper manner.
Now, having said this and the impression about the recent elections, the experiences of
the elections have to be shared. After this only the Election Watch will be able to comment.
Thereafter, the comment will come from the chair. vc jktLFkku Vhe ds t¨ lnL; gSa] os viuh ckr dgsaA
MS RENUKA PAMECHA: eSa jktLFkku ds pquko ds ckjs esa iwjh çfØ;k d¨ cgqr czhQ esa crkuk pkgrh gwaA iwjs çÒkoh
:i esa lu~ 2003] 2004 v©j 2008 esa bySD’ku okp ds lkFk iwjk leXkz –f’Vd¨.k ysdj ds bySD’ku okp gqvk A lwpuk]
jktLFkku j¨txkj vfÒ;ku ls tqM+k gqvk ,d –f’Vd¨.k gSaA os lkjs laxBu VªkaliSjslaVh] vkj Vh vkà ds fy, ,y vkj Ã
th , ds fy,] y¨x a ds chp esa dke djus ls tqM+s gq, gSa] os gh y¨x bySD’kuokp ds dk;ZØe¨a ls tqM+s gq, jgs gSaA mlesa
mu çl¢ZuSfyVht d¨ Òh t¨M+k x;k] t¨ le; ij fu.kZ; ysus ds ç¨lSl dk fgLlk curs gSaA fo|kFkÆ] vè;kid v©j
,uthv a o ehfM;k ds y¨x blls tqM+sA mlesa ,d feyk&tqyk Lo:i mÒj dj vk;kA loky ,d fnu ;k ,d ,fQMSfoV
dk ugÈ Fkk] ge igys pquko ys dj nwljs pquko rd iwjh çfØ;k ls tqM+s jgsA tu vf/kdkj ;k=k ds ekè;e ls ’kq#vkr
gqÃA lkbfdy ;k=k] iSny ;k=k ;k tuvf/kdkj ;k=k] xkao&xkao ÄwesaA mlds ckn muds chp esa tkdj muds eqÌ a d¨
mBkus dh ckr gqÃA ;g dke yxkrkj ikap lky rd pykA vyx&vyx eqÌ a ijA y¨der ;k=k ds ekè;e ls pquko ds
,d o"kZ igys ’kq#vkr gqÃ] ftlls fd tuĨ"k.kk i= rS;kj g¨ ldsA tuĨ"k.kk i= y¨x a ds chp ls mBk, x, eqÌ a ls
rS;kj gqvkA mld¨ pquko ds n©jku y¨x¨a ds chp ys tk;k x;k] rkfd os mlesa v©j D;k t¨M+uk pkgrs gSa] t¨M+ ldsaA
mlls ogka ppkZ;sa Òh gqÃa] ogka Òh tueap gq,] ogka y¨x a us mlesa uà ckrsa Òh t¨M+hA tSls fd dk;ZdrkZv a d¨ okfil
cqyk fy;k tk,] lEifŸk ds C;¨js ds ckjs esa muds ftrus Òh eqÌs gSa] /ku&taxy&tehu ls tqM+s gq, eqÌs] U;wure etnwjh ds
eqÌs & mu lc eqÌ a d¨ mlesa mBk;k x;kA ml Ĩ"k.kk i= d¨ jktuhfrd ny a rd igqapk;k] ftlls jktuhfrd ny
mud¨ vius Ĩ"k.kk i= esa ’kkfey dj djsaA ysfdu jktuhfrd ny pquko ls ikap fnu igys viuk Ĩ"k.kk i= tkjh
djrs gSaA dqN ny r¨ tkjh gh ugÈ djrs gSaA geus ;g Òh eqÌk mBk;k fd fiNyh fo/kku lÒk muls lacaf/kr fdrus
loky iwNs x,A fdruk iSlk mu ij [kpZ gqvk v©j mldh iwjh tkudkjh vkjVhvkà ls y¢dj y¨x¨a rd igqapk;h xÃA
;g ik;k x;k fd vk/ks ls Òh T;knk ,sls fo/kk;d Fks] ftUg aus fiNyh fo/kku lÒk esa ,dÒh loky ugÈ mBk;kA mldk Òh
iwjk C;©jk y¨x a ds chp ys tkus dh d¨f’k’k dh xÃ] ftlls y¨x mu ds ckjs esa Òh tku ldsaA bu Ĩ"k.kk i= a ds lkFk
ge lkjs jktuhfrd ny a ds y¨x¨a ls feys] mudh ikVÆ vkfQl esa x,] mud¨ gekjk Ĩ"k.kk i= fn;k v©j tueap ds
fy, vkeaf=r fd;kA D;¨afd lkjh ;k=k;sa t¨ iwjs jktLFkku esa Äwe dj vkà FkÈ] os lc y¨x t;iqj esa bdV~Bs gq, v©j
62
ml Ĩ"k.kk i= ij ,d ladYi i= rS;kj gqvk v©j jktuhfrd ny¨a d¨ fn;k x;k fd os bl ladYi i= ij viuk er
nsaA os mlls lger gSa ;k vlger gSaA vxj os thr dj vkrs gSa] r¨ ml fn’kk esa dne mBk;saxs ;k ugÈA jktLFkku esa
dqy 48 ny a us pquko yM+k] ysfdu çeq[k ny ikap&N% gh FksA 8 ny¨a d¨ geus vkeaf=r fd;kA rhu muesa ls vk, v©j
ckdh ugÈ vk,A t¨ lŸkk#<+ ny Fkk] og ugÈ vk;kA tc vk, ugÈ] r¨ dfeVesaV dk d¨Ã ç'u ugÈ g¨rk gSA ladYi i=
ij iwjs fnu dh ppkZ FkhA lkjs jktLFkku ls y¨x vk, FksA
eSa ,d ckr v©j dguk pkgrh gwa] ckdh ckrsa r¨ ’kadjth crk;saxsA tueap dk t¨ eqÌk mBk] tueap ds ckn tc
pquko çfØ;k ’kq# gqÃ] r¨ ,fQMsfoV dk iwjk fooj.k] ftlesa ,Mhvkj+] vfuy th ds lkFk iwjk lewg t¨ fnYyh ls vk;k]
mlus t¨ enn dh v©j muds lkFk jktLFkku ds 20&25 dk;ZdrkZ tqM+s] dke fd;kA gesa lhMh ysus esa fnDdr gqÃ] r¨ gesa
fnYyh esa fy[kuk iM+k] rc tkdj gesa lhVh feyhA ge ftl rjg ls Òh vkadM+s fudky lds] fudkys v©j mudk fujh{k.k
fd;k] çSl esa igqapkus dh d¨f’k’k dhA ip¢Z fudkys v©j t¨ ftys dh lwpuk;sa Fkh] mud¨ fty¨a esa Òstk] rkfd fty a esa
y¨dy isilZ esa ns ldsaA fty a esa mudk çpkj v©j çlkj g¨ lds] D;¨afd gekjs ;gka jhtuYl isilZ gSaA D;¨afd ÒhyokM+k
dk lekpkj t;iqj esa ugÈ Nirk gS v©j t;iqj dk lekpkj mn;iqj esa ugÈ Nirk gSA fty¨a esa Òstk dk;ZdrkZv a ds
ikl] mUg aus ml QSlys d¨ NkikA ftrus ip¢Z cuk ldrs Fks] y¨x¨a rd igqapkus dh d¨f’k’k dhA tSls&tSls lwpuk;sa vkrh
FkÈ] ge j¨t çSl d¨ lwpuk;sa nsrs FksA bl ckj bySD’ku okp v©j ehfM;k okp ds vykok çSl okp }kjk ,fQMsfoV dk
,ukfylSl fd;k] t¨ ge ekurs gSa fd ,d egRoiw.kZ ckr gSA ,d vk/k v[kckj a us r¨ ftEesnkjh Òh yh fd lkjs jktLFkku
esa lwpukv a d¨ QSyk;saxsA muds 30 ifCyds’kUl fudyrs gSa] mu lc esa ;g tkudkfj;k miyC/k g¨xÈA t¨ e¨Vh&e¨Vh
ckr fudy dj vkÃ] 48 ny v©j 1094 çR;k’kh Fks] 275 dj¨M+ifr Fks] vijk/kh 220 Fks] t¨ thr dj vk, gSa] muesa 200
dk gh voy¨du fd;k gSA 30 fØfeuYl gSa] t¨ fo/kku lÒk esa igqap x, gSaA 85 dj¨M+ifr igqap x, gSa A 74 iq#"k v©j
11 efgyk;sa gSaA 18 y¨x ,sls gSa] ftudk iSu uEcj ugÈ gSA mUg¨aus ikap lky esa fdruk dek;k gS] mldk Òh fujh{k.k
fd;k gSA fiNyh ckj t¨ y¨x Fks v©j bl ckj t¨ y¨x vk, gSa] mUg¨aus fdruk dek;k gS] mlesa muds /ku esa dkQh xquk
o`f) gqà gSA ml ckjs esa Òh iwjk fo'ys"k.k djus dh d¨f’k’k dh gSA fdu ij xEÒhj /kkjkv a esa vijk/k gSA odhy¨a ds lkFk
cSBdj mudk iwjk C;©jk ns[kk x;kA xEÒhj vijk/k v©j N¨Vs vijk/k ds fdrus&fdrus vijk/k gSa] r¨ irk yxk fd fdlh
ij 19 gS] 20 gSa] 15 gSa] 14 gSa] bl rjg ls iwjk fo'ys"k.k fd;k x;kA blfy, fd vkxs Òh ml çfØ;k d¨ ys tkuk gS fd
os vkxs D;k djrs gSaA bySD’kuokp ml fnu [kRe ugÈ g¨ tkrk gS] ftl fnu pquko [kRe g¨ tkrs gSaA ;g 1 yxkrkj
ç¨lSl gSaA
rhljk dke geus fd;k fd geus ehfM;k d¨ Òh okp fd;kA ehfM;k esa geus t¨ loky mBk, v©j lh à lh d¨
i= Òh fy[kk v©j jktLFkku ds Ãlh d¨ Òh fy[kkA jktLFkku esa ,d rjg ,MoÉVtesaV dh okj gSA çpkj ;q) ehfM;k us
fd;kA brus cM+s&cM+s çpkj] ftlesa lkeXkzh dk uke ugÈ irk] dY;k.k ifj"kn dk irk ugÈ] muds uke ls çpkj g¨ jgk
gSA og d©u dj jgk gS v©j tkfr ds uke ij czkºe.k lekt] vXkzoky lekt tSu lekt] tkfr iapk;r¨a ds ekè;e ls
fdlh ds Qsoj esa o¨V Mkyus dk dke fd;kA mlls yxk fd ehfM;k dk Òh d¨M vkQ dUMDV g¨uk pkfg,A blfy,
geus os i= fy[ksA os i= dÇVXl ds lkFk Òsts] D;k ;g ok;ys’ku ugÈ gSA og Òh geus ehfM;k okp ds ekè;e ls dke
d¨ djus dh d¨f’k’k dhA ,toÉVtesaV ds lkFk&lkFk bl ckr d¨ Òh ns[kus dh d¨f’k’k dh fd t¨ deZpkjh ;wfu;u gSa]
ljdkj dh] mUg¨aus Òh ny ds i= esa ,MoÆVtesaV fudkyk] D;k os fudky ldrs gSa? og ok;ys’ku gS ;k ugÈ] v©j t¨
63
Òh pht Fkh] mld¨ geus lh à lh d¨ Òh v©j à lh d¨ Òh ÒsthA mu ij D;k dk;Zokgh gqÃ] mldk geus Q¨y¨vi ugÈ
fd;k gSA ge vkj Vh vkà iwNsxsa fd ml ij D;k g¨ ldrk gS ;k fdl rjg ls g¨ ldrk gSA
,d v©j ckr t¨ geus djus dh d¨f’k’k dh] çR;k’kh okp dh ’kq#vkr g¨uh pkfg,] ge ;g eglwl djrs jgs gSa
v©j tc jktuhfrd ny Ĩ"k.kk dj nsrs gSa vafre le; esa] r¨ mlls igys ns[kus ds fy, dqN Òh ugÈ g¨rk gSA mld¨
Òh ns[kk tkuk pkfg,A ,sls v[kckj t¨ :jy jktLFkku rd igqaprs gSa] mudk mi;¨x fd;k v©j muds iwjs&iwjs vad fud-
kys] muesa lkjh tkudkjh t¨ geus bySD’ku okp ds ekè;e ls fudkyh Fkh] muesa fudkyhA ogh ehfM;k gS] r¨ :jy {ks= a
rd ys ldrk gSA geus bySD’ku ds fnu Òh gSYi ykbu ds ekèe; ls iwjs fty¨a ls gekjk lEidZ jgk v©j t¨&t¨
f’kdk;rsa vkrÈ jgÈ] muds ogka ds vkCtoZj v©j DySDVj ls ckr djds fuiVkus dk ;k D;k lek/kku g¨ ldrk gS] djus
dk dke fd;kA ,sls dà lkjs ,sls eqÌs gSa] ftud¨ vkt Òh ge yxkrkj dke djrs jgsaxs] tkjh jgsxk v©j iwjs ilZiSfDVo
ij gekjh fuxjkuh] bySfDVM fjçtSVsfVo ij gekjh fuxkjuh v©j os y¨x t¨ tqeZ djds fo/kku lÒk esa igqap x, gSa] muds
fcgsfo;j d¨ v©j mudh gj pht d¨ ge ns[kus dk dke vyx&vyx rjhds ls djus dk djrs jgsaxsA /kU;okn
MR VINOD ZUTSHI (CEO RAJASTHAN): esjs fopkj ls gekjs t¨ NŸkhlx<+ ds çfrfuf/k gSa] os vius fopkj nsaxsA
MR U P OJHA: eg¨n;] eSa viuh ckr cgqr gh Fk¨M+s ’kCn¨a esa dgus dk ç;kl d:axkA ysfdu n¨ Òkx¨a esa j[kuk
pkgwxkaA igys Òkx esa pquko ds n©jku t¨ geus vkCto¢Z’kUl dh gSa v©j nwljs Òkx esa ,d N¨Vh lh dsl LVMh gS] t¨ eSa
j[kuk pkgwaxkA NŸkhlx<+ dk fiNyk vke pquko Bhd Js.kh esa jgk gSA ernku djhc 70 çfr’kr gS] t¨ us’kuy ,ozst ds
fglkc ls dkQh vPNk gSA pquko ds n©jku geus t¨ Òh vkadM+s bdV~Bs fd, Fks] os lkjs vkadM+s ehfM;k ds ekè;e ls çSl
dkUÝsal ds ekè;e ls geus QSykus dh d¨f’k’k dhA blds vykok dqN i¨LVlZ v©j cSulZ cuk,] mud¨ fpidkus dh
d¨f’k’k dhA ftldk cgqr vPNk fjlikal gesa feykA pquko vk;qDr ds d¨M vkQ dUMDV ds pyrs dqN vPNh phtsa gqÃ
gSaA igyh ;g fd i¨LVj v©j cSuj dkQh de la[;k es yxsA nhokj a esa fy[kuk djhc&djhc ugÈ gqvkA iwjs ns’k dk r¨
irk ugÈ] ysfdu jkT; esa ,d fo/kku lÒk dk {ks= gS] rkisj] tgka ekMy vkQ dUMDV ds ekeys esa yxÒx lÒh mEeh-
nokj a ij tqekZuk fd;k x;kA blesa lcls vf/kd tqekZuk 6 yk[k 70 gtkj #i, dk gqvk] t¨ mEehnokj thr gS] mlds
Åij fd;k x;kA blds ckjs esa t¨ dfe;ka utj vkÃ] eSa mud¨ ;gk crkuk pkgwaxkA
ernkrk lwph esa y¨x¨a ds uke xk;c g¨us ds dkj.k gtkj¨a y¨x okfil x, gSaA nwljk] ernkrk lwph esa xM+cM+h
dh otg ls v©j xyr ernkrk ifjp; i= dh otg ls dà y¨x ernku ls oafpr gq,A /ku dk dkQh uaxk ukp gqvk gS
iwjs pquko esaA ‘’kgjh {ks=¨a esa 50 yk[k ls rhu dj¨M+ rd ,d {ks= esa [kpZ gqvk gSA ysfdu pquko vk;¨x }kjk vkCtoZl
dh t¨ Òwfedk jgh gS] og dkQh lUnsgkLin jgh gSA mUg aus D;k fd;k gS] bldk dqN irk ugh pyk gSA ;g pquko
‘’kjkc ckaVus ds ekeys fiNys pquko a ls vkxs jgk gSA gesa ,slk yxrk gS fd bl lkjs ny fu;e ds :i esa viuk pqds
gSaA fdlh d¨ d¨Ã ijs’kkuh ugÈ jgrh gSA geus vius i¨LVj ds ekè;e ls ‘’kjkc ds f[kykQ vfÒ;ku pyk;kA ;g ,d
vfÒ;ku Fkk] ftlesa Xkzkeh.k ernkrkv a dk d¨Ã lg;¨x ugÈ feykA u ekMy d¨M vki dUM~DV ds ekè;e ls] u LVsV
e’khujh ds ikl] u pquko vk;¨x ds ikl bl leL;k ls fuiVus dh d¨Ã dkjxj ;¨tuk ugÈ fn[k jgh gSA ehfM;k us
viuk iwjk fgLlk bl pqukoh Òz’Vkpkj ls olwy fd;kA tSlk vÒh crk;k x;k fd ,MoÆVtesaV u djrs gq, Òh fdl rjg
ls çpkj fd;k x;kA NŸkhlx<+ ds ehfM;k us viuk dke Òjiwj fd;kA blds vykok ehfM;k us tkfr v©j /keZ ds vk/kkj
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ij dkQh fooj.k NkisA eryc fd tkfr v©j /keZ ds vkadM+ a dk vk/kkj cukdj çR;kf’k; a dh thr dk v©j gkj dk iwjk
vuqeku yxkrs jgsA bl çdkj dh fji¨ÉVx v¨ihfu; v©j ,fXtV i¨y ls T;knk vkifŸktud gSA bl ij rRdky j¨d ds
fy, d¨Ã u d¨Ã dk;Zokgh djuh pkfg,A ns[kk tk,] r¨ NŸkhlx<+ dk ,d fgLlk uDly çÒkfor gSA eSa vkid¨ uDlyh
{ks= ls çÒkfor ,d ÄVuk dk eSa ftØ djuk pkgwaxkA
NŸkhlx<+ dh jkt/kkuh jk;iqj ls nwj djhc&djhc 400 fdy¨ehVj nwj carsokM+k ftyk gS] bl ftys dk vkf[kjh
d¨uk d¨aVk fo/kkulÒk gS] t¨ fd vkUèkz çns’k ds ckMZj ij yxrk gSA uDlykbV oSYV ds ,d ne eè; esa fLFkr gSA bl
fo/kku lÒk dk ,d xkao x¨xqaMk] t¨ fd ftyk eq[;ky; ls djhc&djhc 130 fdy¨ehVj dh nwjh ij gSA ;gka ftl fnu
pquko g¨us Fks] ml fnu pquko ny ugÈ igqap ik;k] ;gh v[kckj a esa lwpuk vkÃA i¨Çyx ny D;¨a ugÈ igqapk bldh d¨Ã
tkudkjh ugÈ gS] ysfdu blds ckn esa fji¨Çyx vkMZj gq,A mlds ckn vfu;ferrk ds vkj¨i esa ogka ds 17 dÆe;¨a d¨
fuyfEcr fd;k x;kA bl ekeys dh tkap djus ds fy,] lacaf/kr dÆe;¨a ls ckr djus ds fy, eSa narsokM+k x;kA ogka
tkdj irk yxk] tgka i¨Çyx cwFk cuk;k x;k Fkk] og txg igkM+h ds Åij gSA ftyk eq[;ky; ls nqjukiy Fkkuk djhc
70 fdy¨ehVj gSA nqjukiky ls xkao dh nwjh 34 fdy¨ehVj gSA ftlesa vkf[kjh ds 15 fdy¨ehVj iSny pyuk iM+rk FkkA
ernku ls ,d fnu igys i¨Çyx ny d¨ ftys ds fy, jokuk fd;k x;k] i¨Çyx ny ‘kke d¨ n¨ cts igys igqap xÃ
FkhA nqjukiky Fkkus ds ikl] tgka ls 35 fdy¨ehVj tkuk FkkA ysfdu ogka ds Fkkusnkj v©j lqj{kkdeÆ mUg aus mud¨ d¨Ã
Òh lqj{k nsus ls v©j jkr d¨ ogka igqapkus ls bUdkj dj fn;kA mud¨ jkr Fkkus esa gh fcrkus ds fy, dgk x;kA nwljs
fnu mud¨ ikap cts mBk;k x;k v©j ,d Vªd esa cSBkdj x¨nkj¨M+k uke dh ,d txg gS] 15 fdy¨ehVj] ogka rd ys
tk;k x;kA mudh MÓwVh Òh vkf[kjh e©ds ij yxkà xà FkhA mudh MÓqVh dgÈ v©j yxh Fkh] ysfdu fQj ;gka ij
yxkà xÃA iSny igkM+h dh ;k=k rhu ÄUVs djus ds ckn igkMh ds uhps igqapsA muds lkFk lhvkjih,i v©j ,lihv¨
;kfu Lis’ku iqfyl vkfQlj] t¨ iqfyl ds vax ugÈ g¨rs gSa] vke turk esa ls Lis’ky ikoj nsdj cuk;k tkrk gSA
,lihv¨ lyok uked vkUn¨yu ls tqM+s gq, y¨x gSaA ;s lhvkjih,Q v©j ,lihv¨ iwjs jkLrs i¨Çyx ny d¨ Mjkrs jgs]
fMe¨jykbt djrs jgsA igkM+h ls uhps igqapdj dgus yxs fd igkM+h ds Åij 500 ls T;knk udlykbV~l gSa v©j gekjs
ikl flQZ vk/ks ÄUVs dk x¨yk&ck:n gSA vxj ge y¨x tk;saxs] r¨ okfil vkus dh d¨Ã mEehn ugÈ gS] blfy, vki
y¨x ;gÈ cSBdj t¨ dqN Qslyk djuk gS] dj ysaA i¨Çyx ny ds lkFk Òkjrh; dE;qfuLV ikVÆ ds n¨] dkaXkzsl ds n¨]
chtsih ds n¨ v©j ih,lih dk ,d dk;ZdrkZ FksA bu lkr a i¨Çyx ,tsaV~l us lhvkjih,i ds nokc esa vkdj] t¨ Òh ckrsa
dh g¨axh] muds n¨ otZu gSaA ,d ;g fd mUg¨aus ogÈ Ãoh,e e’khy [k¨y dj o¨V~l vkils esa ckaV fy,A nwljh otZu]
vkfQfl;y fji¨VZ ds vuqlkj] igkM+h ds ikap ikjs Fks] pkj ikjs Åij v©j ,d uhps] mUg¨aus ogÈ Ãoh,e [k¨yk] uDlykbV
dh otg ls fd muds ikl x¨yk ck:n ugÈ Fkk v©j xkao oky¨a us ogÈ vkdj ernku fd;kA fji¨VZ ds vuqlkj ch,lih
d¨ lcls de o¨V feysA bl ckjs esa i=dkj¨a d¨ crk;k x;k v©j mUg aus ml ckr d¨ vkxs c<+k;kA fQj ;g gqvk fd 17
ds 17 y¨x lLiSaM g¨ x,A dsl ntZ gqvk v©j tsy Òh gqÃ] ysfdu ;s tekur ij >wV x, gSaA ns[kus okyh ckr ;g gS
fd vk/ks ÄUVs ds x¨yk&ck:n ds lkFk v©j ,d QkYVh fofM;k dSejk ds lkFk 55 lky ds vkneh d¨ 17 fdy¨ehVj dh
;k=k iSny fdl vk/kkj ij djkà xÃA dgkuh ;gÈ ij [kRe ugÈ g¨rh gSA rhljh ckj i¨Çyx ds fy, vkMZj gq, v©j
bldh ftEesnkjh ogka ds ,lih us [kqn mBkÃA ,lih lkgc MSftxusVsM i¨Çyx cw/k rd ugÈ igqap ik,A vYVhesVyk Ãlh
ls çkFkZuk dh xà v©j i¨Çyx mlh txg ij djkà xÃ] tgka igys fji¨VZ fd;k Fkk fd geus i¨Çyx djokà gSA ogka
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dsoy 650 o¨Vj crk, tkrs gSa] ysfdu 10 o¨V iM+s v©j ,lih lkgc lkjk nku ogka ij Fks v©j ftys dh iqfyl Q¨lZ
FkhA blds ckotwn Òh 10 o¨V iM+sA
uDlykÃV us CySdsV dky fd;k Fkk fd t¨ o¨V Mkysxk] ge mlds gkFk dkV nsaxsA i¨Çyx ny N¨Vs deZpkjh
g¨rs gSa v©j MÓqVh yxkus okys jSosU;q foÒkx ds y¨x g¨rs gSa] DySDVj lkgc g¨rs gSa v©j mudk LVkQ g¨rk gSA os dÒh
ml txg ij ugÈ tkrs gSa] tgka ij i¨Çyx cwFk cuk, tkrs gSaA t¨ vkneh vkfQl esa cSB dj i¨Çyx cwFk cuk jgk gS]
mlh vkneh d¨ ftEesnkjh Òh nh xà gS fd vki t¨ i¨Çyx djokus okys gSa] mudh vki ftEesnkjh ysaxs v©j dUVª y esa Òh
j[ksaxsA cLrj ,d ,slk {ks= gS] tgka lM+d ds ckgj futke ugÈ pyrk gS] ogka uDlykbV dk jkt pyrk gSA tgka
ljdkj dk futke py jgk gS] ml ljdkj ls Òh vki Ýh v©j Qs;j i¨y dh mEehn dj jgs gSaA x¨xqaMk ,d ,slk
mnkgj.k gS] t¨ idM+k x;k gS] ,sls chfl; a mnkgj.k g¨ ldrs gSa] tgka fji¨VZ u g¨us dh otg ls vki y¨x ugÈ tkrs
gSaA vko';drk bl ckr dh gS fd vki lÒh bl elys d¨ mBk;saA vxj uDlykbV {ks= gS] r¨ mldh LVªSVsth lkmFk
eqEcà tSlh ugÈ g¨ ldrh gSA vkius t¨ fu;e lkmFk eqEcà ds fy, cuk;k gS] ogh fu;e x¨xqeMk ds fy, ugÈ pysxkA
,sls mnkgj.k cLrj esa ugÈ gq, gSa] igkM+h ds Åij i¨Çyx cwFk cuk;k x;k] mud¨ uhps ysdj vk, v©j xkao okys ,uekl
o¨V nsus dsfy, [kqn uhps mrj dj vk,] r¨ ml fLFkfr esa jsosU;q vkfQlj dh gB/keÆrk D;¨a] tgka geus i¨Çyx ds fy,
dgk gS] ogÈ dh tk,A uhps ds vf/kdkfj; a dh ugÈ lqurs gSa] uhps ds deZpkfj; a dh ugÈ lqurs gSa v©j mud¨ csotg
fofDVekbts’ku fd;k tk jgk gSA ns[kk tk,] çtkrU= ds j[koky a esa t¨ fupys Lrj ds deZpkjh gSa] mudk cgqr cM+k
gkFk gSA muds cxSj çtkrU= pyus okyk ugÈ gSA eq>s bruk gh dguk gSA
MR VINOD ZUTSHI (CEO RAJASTHAN): /kU;okn] vkius NŸkhlx<+ pqukn ds laca/k esa O;kid leh{kk dh gSA t¨
{ks= LVth vkius crk;h gS] og okLro esa ,d ,cjs’ku gSA vkius lgh dgk gS] t¨ eSa Òh l¨prk gwa] ftrus Òh uDlykbV
{ks= gS] mudh LVªsVsth vyx g¨uh pkfg,A bl ckjs esa vyx ls fopkj dj ldrs gSaA vc jktLFkku ds t¨ çfrfu/kh vk,
gSa] muls dgwaxk fd os viuh ckr dgsaA
MR GOPAL VERMA: bl lÒk esa n¨ çdkj ds vuqÒo [kV~Vs v©j ehVs jgs] nfyr bySD’ku okp ds ckjs esaA ;g
ftEesnkjh igyh ckj jktLFkku esa yh xà fd nfyr d¨ jktLFkku esa lgh :i esa] fu’i{k :i esa ernuk djus fn;k tk,A
pquko pkj ucEcj ls g¨us Fks] blfy, ,d uoEcj ls gh geus nfyr bySD’ku okp dk dk;Z ’kq# fd;k v©j 24 ÄUVs
dk;kZy; pyk;kA blds fy, geus jktLFkku esa ftrus Òh fMohtu gS] gj fMohtu esa çSl dkUÝsal dhA iwjs fty a esa r¨
ugÈ dj lds] ysfdu geus yxÒx 18 fty a esa] 33 esa ls] ogka fMLVªDV d¨vkÆMusVj] ogka ds dk;ZdrkZ fpfUgr fd,A
dk;ZdrkZv a ds ekè;e ls geus laosnu’khy bykd a d¨ fpfUgr fd;kA mu laosnu’khy bykd a dh lwph geus ftyk
DySDVj] ,lih] lhÃv¨ v©j lhà deh’ku d¨ ÒsthA Òstus ds ckn geus ;g fuf'pr djok;k fd ogka y¨x¨a d¨] [kkl
r©j ls nfyr oxZ ds y¨x a d¨] ernku djus ugh fn;k tk jgk gSA jktLFkku ds if'peh Òkx esa t¨ vkaxuokM+h dsUæ gS]
mud¨ ernku dsUæ cuk j[kk Fkk] tcfd vkaxuokM+h ds fy, d¨Ã fuf'pr fcÇYMx ugÈ FkhA os fdlh egkjktkv a ds]
jktcwr ifjokj ds fdlh cM+s fdys esa pyrh gSA geus d¨f’k’k dh fd ;g O;oLFkk cnys v©j t¨ ljdkjh fcÇYMx gS] ogka
g¨] egy¨a esa u g¨a] muls nwj jgsaA fiNyh ckj ds eqdkcys esa t¨ bl ckj pquko gq, gSa] os dkQh Bhd gq, gSaA fiNyh ckj
,llh,lVh ,DV dh /kkjk 317 es fn;k gS fd ;fn fdlh d¨ ernku djus ls j¨dk tk, ;k çR;k’kh fo’ks"k ds i{k esa
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ernku djus dsfy, ckè; fd;k tk,] r¨ mlds f[kyki bl /kkjk esa rgr ,QvkÃvkj ykat g¨ ldrh gSA lu~ 2003 esa
tc pquko gq, Fks] r¨ dsoy ,d ,QvkÃvkj ykt gqà Fkh v©j og Òh /kkjk 310 esa dsoy lk/kkj.k viekfur djus dh
ÄVuk ij gqà FkhA ysfdu vc dh ckj bySD’ku okp ds fglkc ls 9 ,QvkÃvkj ykt gqà gSaA blds lkFk gh 181
f’kdk;rsa ged¨ çkIr gqà gSa] mu f’kdk;r a d¨ vkids ;gka Òh] DySDVj ds ;gka v©j v©j txg a ij igqapk;k gSA vkCtoZlZ
dk Òh vPNk fjlikal feyk gSA tc dgÈ ij Òh d¨Ã ÄVuk ÄVrh gS] ge vkCtoZlZ d¨ Q¨u yxkrs gSaA os dgrs gSa fd
gekjs ikl fyLV gS] laosnu’khy bykd¨a dh] ge d¨f’k’k dj jgs gSaA
n©lk v©j dj©yh & n¨ ftys gSa v©j bu esa V¨MkÒhe v©j em;Salh fuokZpu {ks= gSa] tgka dsoy n¨&rhu
O;fDr;¨a us gh ernku fd;k gSA ogka fji¨Çyx gqÃ] Qk;Çjx Òh gqÃA fji¨Çyx dh fji¨Çyx D;k g¨xh & eSa x¨MkpUæ th
dh ckr dg jgk gwa & ogka ij eh.kk v©j xqtZj n¨ tkfr;ka gSa] tgka dkaXkzsl us gh bud¨ ernku djus ds fy, ugÈ fu-
dyus fn;kA ernku djuk r¨ cgqr nwj dh ckr gSA ,slh lwpuk;sa vkà gSa v©j fQj DySDVj lkgc us gekjs dk;ZdrkZv a
d¨ cqyk;k v©j dgus yxs fd fji¨Çyx djok nsrs gSaA fQj fji¨Çyx esa Òh ogh fLFkfr jgh] t¨ igys gqà FkhA ;s lkjh
phtsa gekjh utj esa vkÃ] r¨ d¨f’k’k dh] v©j 65 ,sls i¨Çyx cwFk Fks] tgka fji¨Çyx dh çkFkZuk dh xÃA mUg¨aus gekjh
ckr d¨ ekukA blls igys] tSlk fd eSMe us crk;k] geus Òh ,d tu Ĩ"k.kk i= ds uke ls eSuhQSLV¨a fn;k FkkA gj
jktuhfrd ny d¨ fn;k Fkk v©j muds lkeus geus ekaxs Òh j[kh FkhA ftl çdkj egkjk’Vª v©j ;wih dk VSusalh ,DV gS]
mlh rjg ls jktLFkku dk Òh VSusalh ,DV gSA bl ,DV dh /kkjk 183¼ch½ ds vuqlkj nfyr dh tehu xSj nfyr ds uke
ls ugÈ g¨ ldrh gSA geus blds fy, dgk fd vyx ls LiS’ky d¨VZ g¨uh pkfg,A vkt jktLFkku esa lcls T;knk
ok;¨ysax tehu ds ihNs gSaA ftrus Òh ,QvkÃvkj nfyr }kjk ykat g¨rs gSa] muesa ls 60 çfr’kr tehu ds ihNs g¨rs gSaA
geus cgqr lkjh ekaxs j[kh Fkh] ftuesa ,d ekax ;g Òh FkhA
geus ,d ekax ;g Òh j[kh Fkh fd vc rd f’k{kk ea=h ,llh ugÈ cuk gS v©j l¨’k;y oSyQs;j ea=h xSj nfyr
ugÈ cuk gS] ges’kk gh nfyr cuk gSA geus igyh ckj ekax j[kh Fkh v©j jktuhfrd ny¨a ds ikl Ĩ"k.kk i= Òstk Fkk fd
f’k{kk ea=h nfyr g¨uk pkfg, v©j lekt dY;k.k ea=h xSj nfyr g¨uk pkfg,A eSa ;g ugÈ dgwaxk fd gekjs ç;kl¨a ls]
ysfdu jktLFkku bySD’ku okp dk gesa iwjk lg;¨x feyk v©j geus ,d nwljs ds lkFk feydj dke fd;k v©j igyh ckj
jktLFkku esa nfyr d¨ f’k{kk ea=h cuk;k x;k v©j xSj nfyr d¨ lektdY;k.k ea=h cuk;k x;kA ;g gekjh cgqr cM+h
miyfC/k gSA
tSlk fd t¨’kh th us Òh dgk gS v©j gekjh çkFkZuk gS fd vÒh gky esa lalnh; pquko vkus okys gSa] bu pquko a
esa ge os xyfr;ka t¨ g¨ pqdh gSa] u n¨gjk;saA nfyr a ds fy, ;g lqfuf'pr fd;k tk, fd os LorU= v©j fu’i{k :i ls
v©j ernku dk lgh :i esa mi;¨x djsaA ;fn ,slh d¨f’k’k g¨xh] r¨ lÒh ds fy, okLro esa y¨drU= lPps :i esa leFkZ
g¨ ldrk gSA
MR VINOD ZUTSHI (CEO RAJASTHAN): eSa ,d ckr nfyr bySD’ku okp dh ,fçf’k,V djuk pkgwaxkA mUg¨aus
cgqr xgjkà ls ,d i¨Çyx LVs’ku dk vè;;u fd;k gS] tSlk fd mUg aus dgk Òh gSA esjs ikl Òh mUg¨aus gj ftys dh
lwph Òsth v©j crk;k fd d©u&d©u ls laosnu’khy ftys gSaA blds lkFk iqfyl LVs’ku dk uke v©j xkao dk Òh uke gSA
,d ugÈ] de ls de 10&12 ,sls ftys gSa] ftudh tkudkjh nh xÃA vkius ,d rjg ls Ã;lZ v©j vkbt v¨iu djds
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dke fd;kA geus mu lwfp;¨a d¨ Mkmu fn ykbu igqapk;kA Micro study is very much appreciated. vkius
cgqr vPNk dke fd;k gSA vc eSa NŸkhlx<+ ds lkFkh ls dgwaxk fd os vius fopkj j[ksaA
Jh fj;kt vEcj% Jh fj;kt vEcj% Jh fj;kt vEcj% Jh fj;kt vEcj% gekjs lkFkh v¨>k th us pquko ds n©jku dh ckrsa crkÃa] bl lEesyu esa vkus ls igys Òh geus
muls ckrphr dhA eSa cgqr gh la{ksi esa bySDVª jy i¨fyfVDl esa D;k lq/kkj g¨ ldrs gSa] muds ckjs esa viuh ckr dgwaxkA
iSlk & vxj fdlh Òh mEehnokj ls iwNs fd os pquko D; a yM+ jgs gSa] r¨ og ;gh dgsxk fd eSa vkidh lsok
djus ds fy, yM+ jgk gwaA vki gekjh lsok djus ds fy, yM+ jgs gSa] r¨ crkb, fd vki fdl rjg ls gekjh lsok djus
ds yk;d gSa? ,d rjhd ;g Òh g¨ ldrk gS fd vkius vktrd D;k dke fd, gSa] os crk,a A nwljk rjhdk gS] vkidh
D;k dkcfy;r gS] vkidh d¨Ã fo’ks"k f’k{kk gSA vki ;s lkjh ckrsa fy[kdj ns nhft, v©j os lkjh ckrsa txg&txg QSyk
nh tk;saA t¨ y¨x i<+ ugh ldrs gSa] muds fy, lhVh cuk nh tk,A mld¨ txg&txg xkao esa iapk;r ySoy rd ig-
qapk fn;k tk,A u mlls T;knk c¨ysa v©j u deA vki ;g crkb, fd vki gekjh lsok dSls dj ldrs gSaA ;g dke
ljdkj r©j ij bySD’ku deh’ku ds vUnj g¨uk pkfg,A t¨ Òh [kM+k g¨] ,d ckj og viuh ckr dg nsa v©j ,d i¨LVj
Niok dj ns] d¨Ã lhth cuok ns v©j ;g bysd'u deh’ku dk dke gS fd og mld¨ xkao&xkao esa fn[kk nsA y¨x r;
dj ysaxs fd fdld¨ er nsuk gSA vkids vkus dh d¨Ã t:jr ugÈ gS v©j u dgh tkus dh t:jr gS v©j u gh vkid¨
lkM+h ;k ‘’kjkc nsus dh t:jr gSA esjh –f’V esa ;g iSls dk r¨M+ gSA
vc eku yhft,] xM+cM+h djrs gq,- d¨Ã idM+k tkrk gSA ’kjkc r¨ og rc Òh ns ldrk gS] lkM+h r¨ og rc Òh
ckaV ldrk gSA blds fy, gekjk lq>ko gS] muls dgk tk,] vxj dgÈ ij d¨Ã ’kjkc dh xkM+h idM+hxh ;k lkM+h ckaVrs
gq, idM+k x;k] r¨ ml fuokZpu {ks= dk pquko jÌ dj fn;k tk,xk v©j vki lÒh mEehnokj vxyh ckj pquko esa [kM+s
ugÈ g¨ ldrs gSaA ;g vki lc dh ftEesnkjh gS fd vki cnek’kh u djsaA fdruk ;g g¨ ldrk gS] ;g eq>s ekywe ugÈ
gS] ysfdu esjk ;g lq>ko gSA
tgka rd eSuhQsLV¨ dk loky gS] ;g ns[kuk pkfg, fd esuhQsLV¨a esa ftruh phtsa fy[kh xà gS] D;k os çy¨Òu
dh Js.kh esa vkrh gSA vxj os çy¨Òu dh Js.kh esa vkrh gS] r¨ vkn’kZ lafgrk ds fglkc ls cSu yxk nsuk pkfg,A nwljh
ckr ;g fd pquko eSuhQsLV¨ esa ftruh phtsa fy[kh xà gS] D;k mud¨ yhxyh ckbaM fd;k tk ldrk gS? vxj vkius
bu ckr a d¨ dg dj pquko thrk gS] v©j vki ikoj esa vk tkrs gSa] r¨ os dke r¨ vkid¨ djus gh iM+sxsaA vxj ugÈ
djsaxs] r¨ vki tokcnsg g axs v©j ml fglkc ls vkid¨ gtkZuk nsuk g¨xk v©j g¨ ldrk gS] vkidh ljdkj Òh pyh
tk,A rhljh ckr & o¨VlZ ,tqds’kuA ge y¨x ,Mhvkj d¨ fny ls /kU;okn nsrs gSa fd vki y¨x¨a d¨ ç;kl dh otg
ls vkt ged¨ mEehnokj a dh ,tqds’ku cSdXkzkmUM] bd¨u¨fed cSdXkzkmUM v©j fØfeuy cSdXkzkmUV dk irk pyrk gSA
bu ckr a d¨ ,d&,d xkao rd igqapkus dh t:jr gS] t¨ fd ugh g¨ ik jgk gSA ;g pquko vk;¨x dh MÓqVh g¨uh
pkfg, fd t¨ Òh ,fQMSfoV fdlh mEehnokj us Òjk gS] mld¨ ljy Òk"kk esa v©j la{ksi esa gj iapk;r Lrj v©j e©gYys
esa igqapk;k tk,] rkfd os ns[k ldsa fd mudk mEehnokj dSlk gSA tc rd bu ckr a d¨ turk rd ugÈ igqapk;k tk,xk]
rc rd ,fQtsfoV Òj dj nsus ls ;k mld¨ bUVjusV ij Mky nsus ls] fdlh d¨ d¨Ã Qk;nk ugÈ g¨us okyk gSA ftl
{ks= ls eSa vkrk gS] ogka dsoy n¨ çfr’kr gh y¨x bUVjusV dk bLrseky djrs g axs- esjk ;g Òh lq>ko gS] dkxt Nkis
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tkrs gSa fd gesa o¨V nhft,] eSa fdruk vPNk gwa] fdruk lwUnj gwa] mu dkxt a ds lkFk vkidk ,fQMsfoV Òh fn;k tk,
fd eSaus fdrus vijk/k fd,] esjs ikl fdruk iSlk gS v©j eSa dgka rd i<+k gqvk gwaA
,d N¨Vh lh vkf[kjh ckr] fiNys E;qfufliy pquko esa eSa etkd dk fo"k; cu x;kA eSaus ns[kk fd ogka 50 okMZ
gSaA eSaus y¨x¨a ls dgk] gj okMZ esa de ls de 10&10 y¨x r¨ [kM+s g¨xsa gh] bldk eryc 500 y¨x pquko esa [kM+s gSaA
bu 500 y¨x a ls vki tkdj iwNsaxs fd vki D;k djus okys gSa] ysfdu ikap l© ds ikap l© ;gh dgsaxs fd eSa rc rd ugÈ
l¨Åaxk] tc rd fd vkids bl ‘’kgj d¨ lcls vPNk ugÈ cuk nwaxkA eSaus vius n¨Lr a ls iwNk] ;s 500 y¨x D;k dke
djsaxsA eSa ,d etkd dk fo"k; cuk jgk v©j eq>s tokc rd ugÈ feyk A /kU;okn
MR VINOD ZUTSHI (CEO RAJASTHAN)- vkius cgqr ØkafUrdkjh fopkj çdV fd, A ns[kus] lquus ds fglkc ls
gkL;kLin çrhr g¨rs g axs] ysfdu vkids fopkj a esa cgqr xgjkà gSA eSa le>rk gwa fd fdlh u fdlh vkidh dgh gqÃ
ckr lp g¨xh] ,slk esjk ekuuk gSA ‘ ’kuS&’kuS ge bld¨ vkxs fodflr djsaxsA vc jktLFkku ls ,d çfrfuf/k v©j
vk;s gSa] os Òh n¨ feuV esa viuh ckr dgsaxs v©j muds ckn NŸkhlx<+ ds t¨ çfrfuf/k gS] os viuh ckr dgsaxsA
MR SHANKAR SINGH: eSa n¨ feuV esa viuh ckr lekIr d:axkA cgqr vPNh rjg ls okp g¨ jgk gS fd fLFkfr esa
lq/kkj vk,xkA cgqr fopkj.kh; eqÌs gSa] t¨ gekjs lkeus vk, gSaA ge p©jkg¨ ij ukVd djrs gSa v©j ge ,d ukVd ysdj
x, FksA eSa ,d QtÆ usrk dk j¨y djrk gwaA t¨ ;g dgrk gS fd eSa D;k&D;k QtÆ dke dj ldrk gwaA eSa blesa cgqr
etcwr gwa v©j lcd¨ vPNk yxrk gS] ge O;ax :i esa djrs Fks v©j var esa y¨x ,d gh loky djrs Fks fd ge tk;sa
r¨ dgka tk;saA y¨x a dk ;g dguk Fkk fd tc ls pquko g¨ jgk gSa] vki dqN Òh djok y¨] ysfdu Qals gq, r¨ ge gh
gSaA o¨V nsus okys r¨ ge gh gSa] ysfdu thrrk ges’kk usrk gh gS] pkgs og d¨Ã Òh usrk g¨A eSa vkid¨ ,d N¨Vh lh
dgkuh lqukrk gwa] ftl ij vki fopkj djsa fd gesa D;k djuk pkfg,A
jktLFkku ds ,d ys[kd us fy[kh gSA ,d p¨j d¨ ltk nh xÃA jktk us dgk & 100 I;kt [kkv¨ ;k 100 twrs
[kkv¨A p¨j us l¨pk fd I;kt [kk ysrk gwa] 100 twrs d©u [kk,xkA ysfdu ‘krZ ;g gS fd n¨u¨a gh fLFkfr; a esa :duk
ugÈ g¨xkA p¨j us 10&20 I;kt [kkus [kk, v©j mldh gkyr [kjkc g¨us yxhA mlds ukd] eqag v©j vk¡[k ls ikuh cgus
yxk v©j lkFk gh eqag&vka[k yky g¨ xÃA p¨j dgus yxk fd eSa vxj v©j I;kt [kkÅaxk] r¨ ej tkÅaxkA eSa v©j I;kt
ugÈ [kk ldrk gwa] twrs [kk ywaxkA mlds flj ij fQj twrs iM+us yxsA 10&20 twrs iM+us ds ckn mldh gkyr fQj
[kjkc g¨ xà v©j dguk yxk fd v©j twrs iM+s r¨ eSa ej tkÅaxkA mlh n©jku mlus eqag ns[kk] r¨ mls ukeZy yxkA
mlus dgk fd eSa v©j twrs ugÈ [kk ldrk gwa] cps gq, I;kt [kk ywaxkA 10&20 I;kt [kkus ds ckn mldh gkyr fQj
oSlh g¨ xÃA mlus fQj dgk fd eSa I;kt ugÈ [kk ldrk gwa] twrs [kk ywaxkA mlh n©jku mlus ns[kk fd mldk flj
dB¨j g¨ x;k gSA eryc ;g fd vke turk ikap lky I;kt [kk, v©j fQj twrs [kk,A d©u lk ny turk ds eqÌ a dh
ckr djrk gS v©j turk cqjh rjg ls Qalh gqà gSA turk dk ,d loky gekjs çfr Òh FkkA vki brus lky¨a ls ;s dke
dj jgs gSa] vki jktuhfr es vkb,A ysfdu ,fDVfoLV rS;kj ugÈ gS] ,fDVfoLV dh r¨ tekur gh tCr g¨ tk,xhA fQj
os dgus yxs fd vki r¨ lekt lsoh gSa] vki dSls ikVÆ esa vk x,A cqf)thoh dgrs gSa fd usrkfxjh cgqr [kjkc gS] bld¨
lq/kkj¨a ysfdu os vkus ds fy, rS;kj ugÈ gSaA ge lky a ls jktuhfr dh ckr djrs pys tk;saxs] bySD’ku okp tkap dj
ysaxs] ysfdu ewy ckr ogÈ vVdh jg tk,xh] ogh I;kt v©j ogh twrsA
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MR U P OJHA: ckrsa cgqr g¨ xà gS v©j yxÒx lÒh eqÌs doj dj fy, gSa] ysfdu ,d&n¨ lq>ko eSa viuh v¨j ls
nsuk pkgrk gwa] fcuk fdlh Òwfedk dsA eq>s yxrk gS fd gekjk jktuhfrd <kapk [kjkc gS v©j bldh otg ;s jktuhfrd
y¨x gh gSaA jktuhfr esa [kkl r©j ls n¨ rjg ds g¨ y¨x vkrs gSa] rhljh rjg ds y¨x¨a d¨ eSa N¨M+ jgk gwaA igyh rjg
ds os y¨x gSa] ftuds ikl Fk¨M+h ‘’kq)rk v©j ifo=rk ckdh gS] ftudh cn©yr ;g ns’k py jgk gSA nwljh rjg ds os
y¨x gSa] t¨ dSfj;j dh –f’V ls vkrs gSaA dgÈ u©djh ugh fey ikÃ] T;knk Bhd ls i<+ ugÈ ik,] nqdku ugÈ pyrh gS]
O;olk; ugÈ pyrk gS] r¨ jktuhfr dk jkLrk idM+ ysrs gSaA ,sls gh y¨x¨a ds dkj.k ;g flLVe [kjkc g¨rk gSA esjk
fopkj gS fd ,sls y¨x¨a ds fy, jktuhfr esa d¨Ã ekinaM g¨uk pkfg,A gekjs ;gka NŸkhlx<+ esa iapk;r dk lnL; g¨us ds
fy, n¨&rhu ekinaM gS- ,d r¨ ;g gS fd mlds n¨ cPp a ls T;knk ugÈ g¨us pkfg,A nwljk] f’k{kk U;wure çkFkfed gS]
lk{kjrk dk Lrkj çkIr fd, gq, g¨uk pkfg,A rhljs & fdlh Òh rjg dk ljdkjh dtZ ;k fMQkYVj ugÈ g¨uk pkfg,]
VSDl d¨Ã cdk;k ugÈ g¨uk pkfg,A vkius dgÈ ij Òh ljdkj tehu dk ,UبpesaV ugÈ fd;k gqvk g¨uk pkfg,A ,sls
cgqr lkjs fu;e iapk;r¨a dk lnL; cuus ds fy, gSaA esjs fopkj fopkj ls ;gh ckè;rk fo/kk;d v©j lklan ds fy, Òh
g¨uh pkfg, v©j mudh vjgrk esa mud¨ ‘’kkfey dj ldrs gSaA
nwljh lq>ko ;g gS fd vxj ;g muds fy, dSfj;j gS] r¨ fuf'pr :i ls muds fy, ;g ekuns; Òh g¨uk
pkfg,] rkfd ‘’kq# ls gh blesa çf’kf{kr v©j lgh y¨x dEihfV’ku ds lkFk vk;saA blesa çeka’ku Òh dkji¨jsV lSDVj dh
rjg ls g¨uk pkfg,A vkidh Òjrh N¨Vs vf/kdkjh ds :i esa g¨rh gS v©j fQj vki cM+s vf/kdkjh curs gSaA mlh rjg ls
igys vki iapk;r çfrfuf/k cusa v©j fQj ftyk iapk;r ls çfrfuf/k cusa v©j fQj vki fo/kk;d v©j lklan dk QkeZ Òj
ldrs g¨A vxj vkius d¨Ã iapk;r dk pquko ugÈ yM+k gS] r¨ vkidk QkeZ fjtSDV g¨ ldrk gSA blls mudk Øe’k%
çf’k{k.k Òh g¨rk jgsxk v©j irk pysxk fd çtkrU= D;k pht gS] mld¨ vki le>saxsA lkFk gh turk ds çfr tokcnsgh
Òh le> esa vk,xhA ,slk esjk l¨puk gSA
MR VINOD ZUTSHI (CEO RAJASTHAN): le;kÒko ds dkj.k ç’ku&mŸkj ,d lkFk ys ysaxsA eSa vf/kd le; u
ysrs gq,] vki lÒh oDrkv a d¨ /kU;okn nsuk pkgwxkaA t¨ ckrsa vki }kjk crk;h xà gS v©j bySD’ku vFkkfjVh ds :i esa
vkils ‘’ks;j dj jgs gSa- lÒh dk ekuuk gS fd çR;k’kh vPNk g¨uk pkfg,A lÒh çR;k’kh ,d tSls g¨axs] r¨ pquus okys
ds lkeus d¨Ã fodYi ugÈ jg tk,xkA eSa le>rk gwa fd bl fn’kk esa lÒh y¨x dke dj jgs gSaA bl ckjs esa Òh pquko
vk;¨x us dgk gS fd O;oLFkk vPNh g¨] mldh ftEesnkjh ge y¨x¨a dh gS] bySD’ku vFkkfjVht dh gSA ogka Òh ge lc
d¨ vPNk g¨uk g¨xkA tSls vPNs çR;k’kh g¨] oSls O;oLFkk Òh vPNh g¨uh pkfg,A ,d&n¨ ,cjs’kUl ds ckjs esa NŸkhlx<+
ds çfrfuf/k us crk;k] ogka dh t¨ fLFkfr gS v©j gekjs ;gka V¨MkÒhe v©j egqvk dk gokyk fn;k] eSa ekurk gwa fd
jktLFkku esa fji¨Çyx Òh djok;kA vk’kk djrs gSa fd mlesa dqN gn rd lq/kkj g¨xkA rhljs & ge lÒh y¨x ,d er ls
mÒjs gSa] /ku v©j ’kjkc dk ftruk Òh çy¨Òu gS] mldk vlj vÒh Òh ns[kk x;k gS] eSa le>rk gwa fd mlds fy, o¨Vj
d¨ Òh vPNk g¨uk g¨xkA NŸkhlx<+ dk t¨ vkius mnkgj.k fn;k gS] mlesa gesa o¨Vj dk Òh d¨v¨ÆMus’ku ugÈ feyrk gSA
rhu¨a gh Lrj ij lq/kkj r¨ vPNk bEçS’ku vk,xkA o¨Vj vPNk g¨] og çy¨Òu esa u vk,] ge y¨x a dh O;oLFkk vPNh g¨
r¨ ge mu ij fu;U=.k dj ldsa] dkuwu dh ikyuk dj ldsaA eSa lÒh J¨rkv¨a d¨ /kU;okn nsrk gwa v©j oDrkv¨a d¨ Òh
/kU;okn nsrk gwaA
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MR P R RAMESH: eSa fgekpy çns’k dk jgus okyk gwaA vÒh gekjs lkFkh us NŸkhlx<+ ds ckjs esa cryk;kA eSa viuh
ckr ’ksj ls ’kq# djuk pkgrk gwa &
uuuu’kseu ds gh yqV tkus dk xe g¨rk] r¨ D;k xe Fkk Akseu ds gh yqV tkus dk xe g¨rk] r¨ D;k xe Fkk Akseu ds gh yqV tkus dk xe g¨rk] r¨ D;k xe Fkk Akseu ds gh yqV tkus dk xe g¨rk] r¨ D;k xe Fkk A ;gka r¨ cspus oky a us peu csp Mkyk AA;gka r¨ cspus oky a us peu csp Mkyk AA;gka r¨ cspus oky a us peu csp Mkyk AA;gka r¨ cspus oky a us peu csp Mkyk AA
eSa fdlh ikVÆ dk li¨VZj ugÈ gwaA ogka dh ljdkj us viuk eSuhQSLV¨ ikl djus dsckn vky MSI;qVh deh’kuj] gekjs ;gka
Mh,e ugÈ dgk tkrk gS] d¨ ns fn;k gS] rkfd os ftl çk;¨fjVh esa eSuhQSLV¨ gS] mlh çk;¨fjVh ds lkFk bEeyhesaV djsaA
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EXPERIENCES FROM RECENT ELECTIONS – II
MR ANIL BAIRWAL: vxys lS’ku ds lÒkifr lhÃv¨ Jh ts ,l ekFkqj th gSaA buds vykok eSa vkeaf=r dj jgk gwa
& fnYyh ls lhÃv¨] Jherh lrchj csnh] eè;çns’k ls Jh jkds’k jatu] Jh uohu xqIrk v©j Jh ,ds pkYlZ v©j Jh
fodkl JhokLroA
MR J S MATHUR (CHIEF ELECTORAL OFFICER, MP): eSa viuh ckr dqN fcUnqv a ds :i esa j[kuk pkgrk gwaA
fiNys eè; çns’k ds pquko 2003 esa geus dSEisu dh rjQ ls lÒh jktuhfrd ny¨a d¨ ,d i= Òstk Fkk] ftlesa muls
dgk x;k Fkk fd fØfeuy cSdXkzkmUV ds y¨x¨a d¨ fVdV u nsaA bl ckj geus 150 ysVj] 22 fty a esa vyx&vyx XkzqIr
gSa] ,uthv©t gSa] ehfM;k ds vyx&vyx Q¨jEl gSa] gj jktuhfrd ny tSls dkaXkzsl] chtsih] ,lih v©j ch,lih d¨ Òh
Òsts gSaA fiNyh ckj chtsih :Çyx ikVÆ ugÈ Fkh] mlesa T;knk fØfeuYl d¨ fVdV fn;k FkkA bl ckj dkaXkzsl :Çyx
ikVÆ ugÈ Fkh] r¨ mlus T;knk fØfeuYl d¨ fVDV fn, gSa] ysfdu ,fQMsfoV ysus esa ge y¨x¨a d¨ dkQh e’kDdr djuh
iM+hA gkykafd] bl ckjs esa lhÃv¨ lkgc ls gekjh ckr gqà FkhA mUg aus vk'oklu fn;k Fkk fd le; ls ,fQMsfoV fey
tk;saxsA mudh rjQ ls ;g Òh irk pyk fd 11 rkjh[k ds ckn] t¨ fd fon~Mªkoy rkjh[k gS] fey tk;saxkA t¨ jhtu
fn;k x;k] og tSU;qbu FkkA dà y¨x a d¨ n¨&n¨ ,fQMsfoV vk, gSa v©j fonMªky ds ckn dh fLFkfr esa ge y¨x a d¨
dkQh ijs’kkuh g¨rhA ge ;g fLFkfr 2003 ds pquko esa ns[k pqds gSa] ysfdu ge d¨ ;g tkudkjh 16 rkjh[k ds ckn feyh]
ikap fnu nsj lsA blds fy, ge y¨x¨a d¨ 1900 #i, Òh tek djkus iM+sA
nwljh ckr] o¨Vj vos;juSl dh gSA bl ckjs esa vk;¨x us lhMh cuokà FkhA ;g dkQh vPNk ç;kl FkkA IykÇux
;g Fkh fd lhMh d¨ ‘’kgj ds y¨dy dscy ij fn[kk;saxsA igys vk;¨x us DySDVj d¨ lhMh Òsth FkhA Ò¨iky ds
vklikl ds vk/ks fty a d¨ N¨M+dj ckr djsa] r¨ fdlh ftys esa ;g lhMh ugÈ pyhA ml lhMh esa dqN deh FkhA igyh
ckr og lhMh bruh yEch Fkh fd mld¨ ns[kdj uÈn vk tkrh FkhA tSlS cwFk ij vki tk;saxs v©j vkid¨ L;kgh yxsxh]
r¨ bl ckr d¨ crkus esa vkius dkQh le; yxk fn;kA bu lc pkt a d¨ Fk¨M+k ‘’kkVZ dj ldrs Fks] bUVjSÇLVx cuk
ldrs FksA gesa fiNys pquko esa y¨d lŸkk ls ,d lhMh feyh Fkh] ftlesa dqN fQYe LVkj vihy dj jgs Fks fd o¨V nsuk
gSA ml pht d¨ geus y¨dj dscy ij fn;kA y¨x a ls irk pyk fd mldk vxj dkQh vPNk gqvk gS v©j dkQh vPNh
ckrsa dgh xà gSaA bl rjg ds dke vk;¨x dh rjQ ls bQSfDVo g¨ ldrs gSaA ;g lhMh geus mUgÈ dscy vkijsVlZ d¨
nh] ftuls gekjk laca/k Fkk v©j ge ls iSls dh ekax ugÈ dj jgs FksA vk;¨x vxj pkgs] r¨ eè;çns’k esa gj dLcs esa
y©dy pSuy ij viuh ckr d¨ vyx&vyx rjhds ls igqapk ldrk gS] D;¨afd yEch lhMh d¨Ã ns[kuk ilUn ugÈ djrk
gSA
eSa vkid¨ ;g Òh crkuk pkgrk gwa fd o¨Vj vos;juSl ds fy, geus vkV¨fjD’kk dk p;u fd;k FkkA vkV¨fjD’kk
ds ihNs 1x1 dk LØhu yxk fn;k v©j vihy djrs Fks fd o¨V nsaA blds vykok geus ,l,e,l dEiSu Òh pyk;kA
gekjs ikl djhc 1450 Q¨u uEclZ gSaA mu ij geus 15 uoEcj ls igys gj nwljs fnu] fQj 15 ls 26 rkjh[k rd gj
j¨t ,l,e,l Òstrs rsA y¨x¨a ls vihy djrs Fks fd o¨V nsus tk;saA o¨V Mkyrs le; bl ckr dk [;ky j[ksa fd mlds
f[kykQ d¨Ã fØfeuy pkt¢Zt u g aA rhljk & ,eih bySD’ku okp dh 2003 dh t¨ QkbaÇMXl Fkh] mld¨ ge ,l,e,l
72
ds tfj, y¨x a rd igqapkrs FksA ,eih esa bl ckj fØfeuy mEehnokj a dh la[;k de jgh gSA ,d pht v©j] 21 rkjh[k
d¨ geusa viuh fji¨VZ Ò¨iky esa çLrqr dh] ysfdu 21 rkjh[k rd lhÃv¨ dh rjQ ls lkjs ,fQMSfoV oSclkbV ij ugÈ
FksA lj] vkils çkFkZuk gS fd vxyh ckj le; ls oSclkbV ij ;g tkudkjh miyC/k djk;saA dkj.k ;g fd ehfM;k y¨x a
dk Q¨u vkrk Fkk fd geus t¨ tkudkjh mud¨ nh gS v©j t¨ os uSV ij ns[k jgs gSa] og mlesa miyC/k ugÈ gS v©j vk-
id¨ ;g tkudkjh feyh dgka lsA
tgka rd ehfM;k dk loky gS] eSa ekurk gwa fd og djIV gSA bldk lcwr gS] bySD’ku okp 2008A tgka ,d ls
Ms<+ ist dk dojst mUg aus ged¨ fn;kA t¨ dke os jktuhfrd ny¨a ls iSlk ysdj djrs Fks] Ýh esa fd;kA eè; çns’k dk
,d i= gS] nSfud ÒkLdjA bl isij esa O;oLFkk gS] gj ftys ds fglkc ls tkudkjh nsus dh] mUg aus dgk fd vki gesa
mUgÈ fty a ds ckjs esa tkudkjh nsaA ge y¨x¨a us nh v©j mUg aus mls çlkfjr fd;kA ,d fnu esa if=dk esa Ms<+ ist
fn;kA efgyk mEehnokj bl ckj unkjr jghA t¨ jktuhfrd ny laln ugÈ pyus nsrs Fks efgyk vkj{k.k ds uke ij]
chtsih v©j dkaXkzsl us nl efgykv a d¨ Òh fVdV ugÈ fn;kA
MR A K CHARLES: eSa viuh ckr dgus ls igys ,d ’ksj dguk pkgrk gwa &
,d gh mYyw dkQh Fkk] cjckus xqfyLrka djus d¨],d gh mYyw dkQh Fkk] cjckus xqfyLrka djus d¨],d gh mYyw dkQh Fkk] cjckus xqfyLrka djus d¨],d gh mYyw dkQh Fkk] cjckus xqfyLrka djus d¨]
gj gj gj gj ’kk[k ij mYyw cSBk gS] vatkesa xqfyLrka D;k g¨xk Akk[k ij mYyw cSBk gS] vatkesa xqfyLrka D;k g¨xk Akk[k ij mYyw cSBk gS] vatkesa xqfyLrka D;k g¨xk Akk[k ij mYyw cSBk gS] vatkesa xqfyLrka D;k g¨xk A
eg¨n;] ge lqcg ls lacaf/kr fo’k; ij ij ppkZ dj jgs gS] vkf[kj D;k g¨xkA dqN yxrk ugÈ gS fd cnyko
dh dgÈ ls d¨Ã fdj.k vk,xhA eSa ckykÄkV] eè; çns’k ls gwa] t¨ uDlyh çÒkfor ftyk gSA geus bldh ’kq#vkr
iapk;rhjkt egklaÄ ds lkFk dhA eè; çns’k esa iapk;r¨a d¨ geus ,d usVodZ esa cka/kk gSA mldh otg ;g gS] ctk; ge
fdlh ikVÆ d¨ dgsa fd vki fdlh vPNk vkneh d¨ fVdV nsa] rkfd og fo/kk;d dk pquko yM+sA geus bldh ’kq#vkr
tM+ a ls dhA ge ;g d¨f’k’k dj jgs gSa fd ljiap vPNk pqudj vk tk,A ctk, blds fd ge ikVÆ; a ls ;g vuqj¨/k
djsa] gekjs t¨ fuokZfpr çfrfuf/k gSa] ftUg aus tehuh Lrj ij tuusrk ds :i esa viuh txg cukà gS] os ny¨a ls çkFkZuk
djsa fd vki vPNs vknfe; a d¨ o¨V nsa] vU;Fkk vki gekjs ikl u vk;sa] rkfd ge ikVÆ ds fy, o¨V ekax ldsaA ;g ,d
vPNh ckr gS] iapk;r¨a ds pquko ikVÆ dh Òkxhnkjh ugÈ gSA ,slk yxrk gS fd dkQh dqN cnyko vk,xkA tSlk fd lqcg
v#.kkth crk jgh FkÈ fd fdl çdkj de iSlk esa thr gkfly dhA ;g fcydqy lgh ckr gS fd fo/kk;d ;k lklan ds
fy, cgqr eqf'dy g¨rk gS] brus c<+s {ks= esa igqap ikuk] ysfdu iapk;r Lrj ij ;g dke cgqr vklku g¨ tkrk gSA ;fn
vPNs mEehnokj g axs v©j iapk;r çfrfuf/k;¨a dk muesa fo'okl g¨xk] r¨ ‘’kk;n ge dqN csgrj ifjorZu dh dYiuk
dj ldrs gSaA eSa viuh ckr lekIr djus ls igys fQj ,d ’ksj dguk pkgrk gwa &
d©u dgrk gS fd vkleka esa Nsn ugh g¨ ldrk Ad©u dgrk gS fd vkleka esa Nsn ugh g¨ ldrk Ad©u dgrk gS fd vkleka esa Nsn ugh g¨ ldrk Ad©u dgrk gS fd vkleka esa Nsn ugh g¨ ldrk A ,d iRFkj r¨ rfo;r ls mNky¨a ;kj¨a AA,d iRFkj r¨ rfo;r ls mNky¨a ;kj¨a AA,d iRFkj r¨ rfo;r ls mNky¨a ;kj¨a AA,d iRFkj r¨ rfo;r ls mNky¨a ;kj¨a AA
MR J S MATHUR (CEO MP): ge y¨x lqcg ls ppkZ dj jgs gSa fd jktuhfrd ny vius mEehnokj a d¨ p;u lgh
djsaA geSa ;g eSlst o¨VlZ rd igqpkuk t:jh gS fd os lgh ernku djsaA os ;g Òh ns[ksa] t¨ dke bySD’ku okp dj jgs
gSa v©j t¨ nwljh laLFkk;sa dj jgh gS] [kkl r©j ij gekjs Xkzkeh.k {ks=¨a esa] tSls fd vkt lqcg fopkj O;Dr fd, x,] ge
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mu {ks=¨a esa çpkj djsa fd xyr dk leFkZu u djsaA tc rd jktuhfr esa ,sls y¨x jgsaxs] ’kjkc nsdj] iSlk nsdj o¨V ys
ysrs gSa v©j ,sls y¨x¨a dh deh ugÈ gSA eSa le>rk gwa fd 1947 ls t¨ ehfMy Dykl gS] mlus viuk dke de dj fn;kA
vc fQj vkxkt gqvk gS] ’kgj a esa t¨ i<+k&fy[kk rcdk gS v©j t¨ ;wFk gS] eqEcà vVSd esa Òh gesa ;gh ns[kus d¨ feykA
;g t:j l dEiSu d¨ yhM dj ldrk gS v©j bld¨ vkxs ys tk-ldrk gSA gekjk bafMiSaMsal LVªxy Òh blh ySoy ls
’kq# gqvk FkkA
MR RAKESH RANJAN: eSa ekg©y d¨ Fk¨M+k gYdk djrs gq,] bySD’ku fjQkeZ D;¨a g¨uk pkfg,] D; afd ftl rjg dh
fLFkfr f=iqj© v©j mŸkj çns’k esa ns[kh gS] ml fglkc ls eSa vkid¨ crk jgk gwaA
fo/kku lÒk esa vktdy fopkj ugÈ]fo/kku lÒk esa vktdy fopkj ugÈ]fo/kku lÒk esa vktdy fopkj ugÈ]fo/kku lÒk esa vktdy fopkj ugÈ] >.Ms] MUMs v©j ekbd pyrs gSaA>.Ms] MUMs v©j ekbd pyrs gSaA>.Ms] MUMs v©j ekbd pyrs gSaA>.Ms] MUMs v©j ekbd pyrs gSaA
bllsbllsbllsblls vki lgt vuqeku yxk ldrs gSa]vki lgt vuqeku yxk ldrs gSa]vki lgt vuqeku yxk ldrs gSa]vki lgt vuqeku yxk ldrs gSa] xqUMs] eokxqUMs] eokxqUMs] eokxqUMs] eokyh] ekfQ;k xyh dwp¨a esa ugÈyh] ekfQ;k xyh dwp¨a esa ugÈyh] ekfQ;k xyh dwp¨a esa ugÈyh] ekfQ;k xyh dwp¨a esa ugÈ
laln esa iyrs gSaAlaln esa iyrs gSaAlaln esa iyrs gSaAlaln esa iyrs gSaA
gesa bl fLFkfr esa lq/kkj djuk pkfg,A ge lÒh bl fo"k; ij ppkZ dj jgs gSaA bySD’ku okp djrs gq,] t¨
gesa ijs’kkfu;k vk jgh gS] VSDuhdy leL;k;sa] eSa pkgrk gwa fd os vkils ‘’ks;j djsaA
igyh ckr & ,fQMsfoV t¨ çR;kf’k; a }kjk Òjs tkrs gSa] mldk isij vPNh DokfyVh dk ugÈ g¨rk gS] ftlls
L;kgh isij u QSysA dkj.k ;g fd ge tc mld¨ pSd vkmV djrs gSa] r¨ fMthV ;k r¨ gesa lkQ le> esa ugÈ vkrs gSa
;k v¨oj&jkbÇVx dh otg ls le> esa ugÈ vkrs gSaA esjk fuosnu gS fd t¨ Òh pquko vf/kdkjh g¨] t¨ çR;kf’k; a ds
,fQMsfoV pSd djsa] ;¨ r¨ ogÈ ij gh lq/kkj djs ysa v©j t¨ tkudkjh pquko vk;¨x pkgrk gS] og Li’V g¨uh pkfg,] t¨
i<+h tk ldsA dkj.k ;gh fd os ;s xyfr;ka tkucw>dj djrs gSa] rkfd lgh vkadM+s ehfM;k rd u igqaps v©j lkFk gh
turk rd u igqapsaA ,d {ks= esa 30&40 çR;k’kh g¨rs gSa v©j ml {ks= dk pquko vf/kdkjh tkudkfj; a d¨ vPNh rjg ls
pSd dj ldrk gSA fdlh Òh dkye esa v¨oj&jkbÇVx u g¨] Li’V g¨] bldk è;ku j[k dj mlesa lq/kkj djok ldrk
gSA bldh LdSUM lhMh t¨ gesa feyrh gS] mlls gesa MkVk d¨ fudkyus esa ijs’kkuh g¨rh gS v©j tkudkjh vke turk rd
igqapus esa leL;kv¨a dk lkeuk djuk iM+rk gSA
bl ckj ds pquko eSa blfy, vPNk dgwaxk] D;¨afd l ckj flySDl dk ;q) ugÈ Fkk] u gh çnw"k.k Fkk v©j y¨x
‘’kkUr ekg©y esa pquko dj ik,A blfy, ge mud¨ /kU;okn nsrs gSaA bl ckj ds pquko esa gesa ,d xyrh v©j ns[kus
d¨ feyhA t¨ ie¶ySV çR;kf’k;¨a }kjk Niok, tkrs gSa] mu ij la[;k fy[kh g¨rh gSA Niokrs gSa] 50]000 v©j fy[kk g¨rk
gS] 5]000A bl rjg ls [kpZ esa ,d iM+h Nqi tkrh gSA ;fn ikap yk[k çfr;ka Niokrs gSa] ge lÒh ns[krs gSa] ysfdu fy[kk
g¨rk gS] 50]000A bl ij Òh fdlh rjg ls vadq’k yxkuk cgqr t:jh gSA pquko [kpZ Òh bl rjg ls fd;k tkrk gS] t¨
irk ugÈ yx ldrk gSA
,d ckr lÒh dg jgs gSa fd bl lky pquko [kpZ [kpÆys gq, gSaA eSa vius {ks= ls pquko ls vankt yxk ldrk
gwa] pquko [kpÆysa ugÈ gq, gSaA pquko ds i'pkr pquko çR;kf’k;¨a }kjk pquko ij [kpZ dk C;©jk pquko vk;¨x d¨ nsuk
vfuok;Z fd;k gqvk gSA gekjs {ks= esa çR;kf’k; a us 3&4 yk[k #i, dk [kpZ fn;k gS] tfcd vki ;g vPNh rjg ls tkurs
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gSa fd [kpZ 50&60 yk[k #i, rd fd;k g¨xkA vkt dh rkjh[k esa 3&4 yk[k #i, r¨ ljiap ds pquko esa [kpZ fd, tk
jgs gSaA gekjs fo/kku lÒk ds çR;k’kh iwjs dk iwjk pquko thr x,A blds vfrfjDr eSa ;g dguk pkgwaxk fd çR;kf’k; a
}kjk t¨ çps caVok, tkrs gSa] mu ij muds us’kuy yhMj] LVsV yhMj v©j mudk [kqn dk Q¨V¨ o pquko fpºu g¨rk gSA
ml dkxt ds lkFk ikVÆ dk Ĩ"k.kk i= Òh layXu g¨uk pkfg, v©j lkFk gh çR;k’kh dk Lo;a dk Ĩ"k.kk i= Òh g¨uk
pkfg, fd og ml {ks= esa D;k fodkl djuk pkgrk gSA og Ĩ"k.kk i= =h layXu g¨uk pkfg,] rkfd os turk ls dfe-
VesaV g¨ lds v©j turk d¨ irk py lds fd t¨ çR;k’kh ml {ks= ls [kM+k g¨ jgk gS] mld¨ ml {ks= ds ckjs esa
fdruh tkudkjh gSA gekjs ;gka ,d ,slk çR;k’kh [kM+k gqvk] ftld¨ u geus dÒh jktuhfrd thou esa ns[kk v©j u gh
dÒh lkekftd thou esa ns[kk FkkA og cgqtulekt ikVÆ dh rjQ ls [kM+k gqvk Fkk v©j mUg aus 50&60 yk[k #i, [kpZ
fd, g¨xsaA eSa dVuh fo/kkulÒk {ks= dh ckr dg jgk gwaA ,slk y¨x a dk vUnkt gS v©j mud¨ 12 gtkj o¨V feys g axsA
fuf'pr r©j ij mud¨ fdl vk/kkj ij feys brus o¨V] bldk vUnktk yxk ldrs gSa] cy] nk: v©j iSl a ds cy ijA
ml çR;k’kh ‘’kgj ds fodkl v©j y¨x a ls d¨Ã tqM+ko ugÈ gS] fQj Òh og 12 gtkj o¨V ysdj vkrk gSA bl pht ij
gesa è;ku nsuk pkfg,A eSa d¨f’k’k dj jgk gwa fd bl O;oLFkk d¨ [kRe fd;k tk,A
rhljs & eè; çns’k bySD’ku okp esa ge y¨x¨a us 13 jSM {ks= Ĩf"kr fd, gq, gSaA dkj.k ;g fd mu {ks=¨a ls t¨
mEehnokj [kM+s gq, gSa] mudk fØfey fjdkMZ gSA vc ;fn ernkrk ;g pkgrk gwa fd bl mEehnokj d¨ u pqusa] r¨ fdlds
pqusaxs] tcfd lcdh fLFkfr ,d tSlh gSA
MR VIKAS KUMAR: gekjs ikl fnYyh bySD’ku okp dk 2003 dk MkVk e©twn FkkA bl ckj ge y¨x¨a us ,l,e,l
dEiSu ‘’kq# fd;k bySD’ku ds fy,A igys ge y¨x¨a us MkVk DySDV fd;k] mld¨ ,l,e,l ds }kjk ;g crk;k fd
vkids ny ds vUrj fdrus fØfeuYl gSaA lkjh tkudkjh ny ds gj usrk ds ikl Òsth fd vkids ;gka brus y¨x
fØfeuYl gSa v©j ,l,e,l ds }kjk ;g tkudkjh nh xÃA mldk çÒko ;g gqvk fd gj ny ds y¨x vk, v©j
tkudkjh ysdj pys x,A mUg aus vk'oklu fn;k fd ge ,sls y¨x¨a d¨ [kM+k ugÈ djsaxs] ysfdu oSlk gqvk ugÈ v©j ;g
ppkZ dk fo"k; cukA ,l,e,l tkus ls mUg¨aus dky&cSd fd;kA jktLFkku ls Òh dky&cSd vk;k Fkk fd ;s ,l,e,l
dgka ls Òst jgs gSaA gekjs ckjs esa y¨x¨a us iwNk] blls mu y¨x¨a d¨ yxk fd mUgsa d¨Ã okp dj jgk gSA
nwljs & fnYyh esa ge y¨x¨a us gSYi ykbu cSBkÃ] ftlls fnYyh ds mEehnokj ds ckjs esa gSYiykbu ds tfj,
d¨Ã Òh tkudkjh ys ldsA bldk Òh dkQh bEiSDV gqvkA pquko ds fy, u¨feus’ku g¨us ds ckn y¨x¨a us vius mEehnokj
ds ckjs esa tkudkjh yhA iwNk x;k] gekjs ;gka ;s mEehnokj gSa] mlds ckjs crkb,A ;g Òh ns[kus esa vk;k fd gekjs ;gka
rhu&pkj mEehnokj gSa v©j rhu¨a&pkj¨a fØfeuy cSdXkzkmUM ds gSa] crkb, fd ge D;k djsaA eSaus dgk] ernku r¨ t:j
djuk gS] ysfdu vkid¨ l¨p&le>dj er nsuk gSA ge ttesaV r¨ ugÈ ns ldrs gSa fd vkid¨ fdld¨ er djuk gS]
ysfdu er t:j nsuk gSA mUg aus dgk fd ‘None of the Above’ dk vki'u g¨rk] r¨ ge y¨x ml ij fopkj djrsA
bl ckj ge y¨x¨a us ;g fopkj j[kk gS fd ‘NOA’ dk eqÌk Òh g¨uk pkfg,] rkfd y¨x a ds ikl vki'u jgsA y¨x¨a us
dgk gekjs ikl d¨Ã vkI’ku ugÈ gS] fQj gesa mUgÈ esa ls pquuk iM+rk gSA ;g ,d cgqr cM+h leL;k utj vkÃA ,d
ckr ;g Òh gS fd T;knk ls T;knk mEehnokj 25&30 çfr’kr ernku ls gh thr tkrs gSa] d¨Ã Òh 50+ esa d¨Ã ugÈ
vkrk gSA ;g r¨ ,d flLVe gSA esjk viuk fopkj gS fd dqN gh o¨V ysdj mEehnokj d¨ thruk g¨rk gSA fQj blesa
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;g g¨rk gS fd mEehnokj d¨ fdlh ,d [kkl lSD’ku d¨ gh Vkx¢ZV djuk g¨rk gS v©j og mlh d¨ Vkx¢ZV djrk gS]
blds pyrs ,slk yxrk gS fd iSls dk çÒko r¨ de g¨ tk,xk] ysfdu tkfr d¨ Vkx¢ZV fd;k tkrk gSA pwafd mud¨ 25
çfr’kr o¨V ysus gSa] vxj os n¨ tkfr; a d¨ Vkx¢ZV djrs gSa] r¨ lQy g¨ tk;saxsA ,slk g¨rk Òh gSA vxj ipkl çfr’kr
dh ckr j[kh tkrh gS] r¨ O;oLFkk Qqy çwQ g¨ tk,xh v©j y¨x tkfr ds vk/kkj ij ugÈ tk;saxsA eq>s yxrk gS fd bl
flLVe d¨ pst djus ds fy, ge y¨x a d¨ ç;kl djuk pkfg,A oSls Òh 100 Qhlnh çwQ flLVe d¨Ã ugÈ g¨rk gS]
ysfdu 50+ dk g¨rk gS] r¨ Bhd gSA blls eq>s yxrk gS fd dkLV flLVe VwVsxk v©j fodkl dk eqÌk cusxkA esjs vius
fopkj ls ;g g¨uk t:jh gS v©j blds fy, gesa dEiSu djuk pkfg,A
eg¨n;] vU; y¨x bl QhYM esa ugÈ vkrs gSaA tSlk fd NŸkhlx<+ ds lkFkh dg jgs Fks fd ;g dSfj;j v¨fj;saVsV
,fj;k ugÈ gSA lgh ckr gS] tc rd buj MSe¨Øslh ugÈ jgsxh] rc rd y¨x ugÈ vk;saxsA vxj fdlh ifjokj esa igys ls
gh d¨Ã jktuhfr esa gS] r¨ ml ifjokj ds lnL; d¨ r¨ igys ls gh rS;kj IysVQkeZ fey tk,xkA blfy, vke vkneh
ugÈ vkuk pkgrs gSa] D;¨afd mld¨ yxrk gS fd vxj os nl lky dke djsaxs] r¨ g¨ ldrk gS fd mls fVdV gh u fey-
sA ;g ,d cgqr cM+h leL;k gSA mlds fy, buj MSe¨Øslh d¨ LVªkax djuk cgqr t:jh gSA ;g dSls g¨xk] eSa T;knk ugÈ
dg ldrk gwa] ysfdu ,sls y¨x¨a dk pquus ds le; è;ku j[kk tk,A ,slk d¨Ã vkneh ugÈ g¨uk pkfg,] ftld¨ Åij ls
cSBk fn;k tk,A gekjs chp esa t¨ vkneh g¨] og Xkzkl :V ySoy dk vkneh g¨ v©j çkbejh ySoy ij dke fd;k gqvk
g¨A vxj ij fdlh ny ls tqM+k gqvk gS] r¨ D;k mlus Xkzkl:V ySoy ij dke fd;k gS ;k ugÈ fd;k gS ;k lh/ks r©j
ij jktuhfr esa vkdj ny dk tujy lSØsVjh cu x;k gSA bu pht a d¨ è;ku esa j[kdj ernku djuk pkfg,A bu lkjh
pht a dk è;ku j[kuk pkfg,A le; dk [;ky djrs gq, v©j vU; lkfFk; a us Òh vius fopkj çdV djus gSa] eSa viuh
ckr lekIr djrk gwaA
DELEGATE: vÒh t¨ NŸkhlx<+ ds pquko 14 uoEcj d¨ gq, gSa] eSa ml lanÒZ esa c¨yuk pkgrh gwaA Ãlh ds }kjk fof/k
fun¢Z’k iqfLrdk gj mEehnokj d¨ nh xà gS fd mud¨ D;k djuk pkfg, v©j D;k ugÈ djuk pkfg,A bySD’ku deh’ku
ds lD;Zqyj ds vuqlkj & Announcement of new projects and programmes or concessions or finan-
cial grants in any form or promises thereof or laying a foundation stone etc. which have the ef-
fect of influencing the voters in favour of the party in power is prohibited. After the declaration
of the ordinance of election and till the process is over, in between that shall not be done. ysfdu
bafM;u us’kuy dkaXkzsl dk Ĩ"k.kk i= tkjh gqvk Fkk] 5 uoEcj d¨ v©j 15 vDVwcj d¨ vkÆMusal is’k gqvk FkkA
MR J S MATHUR (CEO MP): ;g bafMfoT;qvy dk;ZØe ij fuÒZj djrk gS] oSls eSfuQSLV¨ i¨fyfVdy ny¨a ds ckn
esa gh vkrs gSaA
DELEGATE: blesa lkQ fy[kk gqvk gS] ,ukmUlesaV ;k eSfuQSLV¨] n¨u a ,d gh leku gSA nwljs] foKkiu a ds }kjk
ernkrkv a d¨ [kjhnus dk flyflyk pyrk gS] chtsih v©j dkaXkzsl ds }kjkA chtsih us dgk 3 #i, fdy¨ pkoy nsaxs]
dkaXkzsl us dgk ge n¨ #i, fdy¨ nsaxs v©j fQj chtsih us dgk fd ge vfrxjhc a d¨ ,d #i, fdy¨ pkoy nsaxsA
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MR J S MATHUR (CEO MP): These are micro level things. The fact is that I am not from Chattis-
garh, and therefore, I will not be in position to answer your query.
DELEGATE: tc 12 uoEcj d¨ ;g foKkiu vk;k Fkk] r¨ eSaus mld¨ rjthg ugÈ nhA ysfdu tc mUg aus foKkiu
fn;k] r¨ eSaus dstkjko lkgc ls Q¨u ij ckr dh FkhA mUg aus dgk Fkk fd ge fji¨VZ djsaxs v©j dk;Zokgh djsaxs] ;g
fuf'pr :i ls ok;¨ys’ku gSA mlds ckn ckr vkÃ&xà g¨ xÃA
MR J S MATHUR (CEO MP): eSa vkid¨ ,d mnkgj.k nsrk gwaA eè; çns’k esa ,d mipquko gqvk] ftlesa bl rjg
dh f’kdk;r vkÃA eq[; ea=h us ,d lÒkesa dgk fd ge brus #i, fdy¨ pkoy nsaxsA This point was already
there in their manifesto and after the election he was elected as Chief Minister of the State.
Ãlh us ;g O;w fy;k fd pwafd eSfuQSLV a esa ;g eqÌk igys ls gh Fkk] t¨ igys gh ‘’kkldh Lrj ij fu.kZ; fy;k Fkk] Òys
gh mldk dk;kZUo;u ugÈ gqvk Fkk] therefore the EC did not consider it to be a crime. vxj d¨Ã LiSflfQd
dsl gS] r¨ ge NŸkhlx<+ ls fji¨VZ eaxk ys ysaxsA As I said earlier, frankly speaking I am not competent
to answer this question.
DELEGATE: ge Ãlhd¨ /kU;okn nsuk pkgrs gSa] mUg aus fnYyh o¨Vj ijlsaVst d¨ c<+ku ds fy, t¨ mUg aus dSEisu
pyk;kA o¨V n¨] ugÈ r¨ iIiw g¨A ;g cgqr vPNk dne mBk;kA eSa pkgrk gwa fd bl rjg dk dSEisu iwjs ns’k esa pyk;k
tkuk pkfg,] rkfd o¨ÇVx ijlsaVst c<+sA
MR J S MATHUR (CEO MP): ;g ,d loky ugh gS] cfYd vkCtjos’ku gSA ;gka ij bySD’ku okp ds lnL; }kjk
dgk x;k fd N¨Vs xkao a esa ’kjkc ;k lkM+h ds uke ij o¨V fy, tkrs gSaA bldk jhtu D;k gS? bldk jhtu ;g gS fd
ml o¨Vj dh d¨Ã ,DliSDVs’ku gh ugÈ gSA mls ;g irk gh ugÈ gS fd mlls Òh T;knk mls fey ldrk gSA lky a ls
[kjkc bUÝkLVªDpj esa jg dj] og mlesa <y pqdk gSA ;g ckr flQZ N¨Vs ’kgj a dh ugÈ gSA eqEcà esa Òh lM+d [kjkc gS]
o"kkZ ds e©le esa lM+dsa [k¨n nh tkrh gSa v©j ogka ds y¨x vkfn g¨ pqds gSaA ,DliSDVs’ku mlls T;knk ugÈ gS] D; afd
;g lky a ls pyk vk jgk gSA vkidk ekbaMlSV blesa <y pqdk gSA vxj vkid¨ ;g pht cnyuh gS] r¨ o¨VlZ d¨ ;g
fo'okl fnykuk g¨xk fd vki blls T;knk ,DliSDV dj ldrs gSaA bldk rjhdk ;g g¨ ldrk gS fd y¨dy ySoy ij
fMcsV g¨] ftlesa fd ny mEehnokj vkdj ;g crk;sa fd ge ;g djsaxs ;k og djsaxsA turk vkils fMllr djds ,d
eSuhQSLV¨ rS;kj djs fd mudh t:jrsa v©j rdyhQsa D;k gSaA tSls dgÈ ij fczt dh t:jr gS] ¶ykÃv¨oj dh t:jr gS]
r¨ os ckrsa eSuhQSLV¨a esa vk;sa v©j os ny a ds lkeus j[kh tk;saA d©u lh ikVÆ mld¨ ,DliSDV djrh gS] mlds fglkc ls
fQj er nsuk pkfg,A esjs [;ky ls o¨VlZ d¨ viuh mEehnsa c<+kdj j[kuh pkfg, v©j lgh Òh j[kuh pkfg,A jktuhfrd
ny¨a esa Òh y¨x vke turk esa ls gh vkrs gSaA fnYyh ds laca/k esa ,d cgqr vPNk ikbaV mBk;k x;k fd ogka tkfrokn dh
ckr mBkà xÃA tkfrokn ;k /keZ] ifCyd ,tqds’ku ds fy, ge dsoy jktuhfrd ny a d¨ gh n¨"kh djkj ugÈ ns ldrs
gSaA turk Òh o¨ÇVx mlh vk/kkj ij djsA vÒh ch,lih dk mnkgj.k fn;k x;k] ftlesa V¨Vy vuu¨u mEehnokj d¨ 12
77
gtkj o¨V feysA ;g ,slk ugÈ gS fd dsoy nk: ls feysA vxj mEehnokj gS] pkgs Mkdw eaxyÇlg g¨] r¨ o¨V r¨ nsuk
gh gSA bl rjg dh pht¨a d¨ è;ku esa j[kuk g¨xk] tc ge bySD’ku fjQkElZ dh ckr dgrs gSaA
MR J S MATHUR (CEO MP): vc ge bl iSuy d¨ [kRe djrs gSa v©j ;g iSuy dy Òh tkjh jgsxkA
MS SATBIR SILAS BEDI (CHIEF ELECTORAL OFFICER, DELHI): esjk dUluZ dsoy esVª i¨fyVu bySDVª jy
fcgsfo;j ls gSa] t¨ eq>s gkà dUluZ dh pht yxrh gS] og o¨Vj dk VuZvkmVA When I was the Director of
Education in Delhi, a lot of people told me regarding teachers’ transfer, teachers’ union, school
buildings, new halls, new houses, ;g lc tkurs gq, fd ge Ldwy LVwMsaV~l ds fy, pykrs gSaA blh çdkj
bySD’ku flLVe d¨Ã jktuhfrd ny] ehfM;k ds fMld’ku ds fy, ugÈ gS] ;g o¨VlZ ds fy, gSaA vxj ge o¨VlZ ds
ikl tkrs gSa] r¨ ;g muds fy, gSA In Delhi, I found that the voter apathy was appalling. lu~ 2007 esa tc
,elhMh ds pquko gq, Fks] mlesa 43 çfr’kr y¨x a us vkdj ernku fd;k FkkA eSa bySD’ku ç¨lsl ds çfr dfeVsM gwaA
blus eq>s ijs’kku fd;k v©j eSaus l¨pk] ,slk D;¨a gS? fLFkfr ;g gS fd o¨ÇVx QS’ku ls ckgj g¨ xà gS v©j y¨x ;g
le>us yxs gSa fd t¨ y¨x o¨V nsrs gSa] xjhc g¨rs gSaA os >qXxhokys gSa v©j xjhc y¨x a dh ykbu esa d©u [kM+k g¨xkA eSa
ml ykbu esa D;¨a [kM+k g¨Åa] tgka esjk u©dj v©j esjh esM&los±V [kM+h gSA People stopped voting and the
most important thing is, if only 42 per cent people are coming out to vote, you really can’t
blame the system. Those to be blamed are those 60 per cent who are sitting at home and not
casting their votes. They are to be blamed firstly. vxj eSa o¨V djus ds fy, ugÈ tkrh gwa] r¨ eq>s flLVe
d¨ Cyse djus dk d¨Ã vf/kdkj ugÈ gSA I am not a stake holder for the politician, so he does not care
for me. eq>s d¨Ã ,d gtkj #i;k o¨V Mkyus ds fy, ugÈ nsrk gS] D;¨afd mls irk gS fd eSa o¨V Mkyus ds fy, ugÈ
tkÅaxhA ge y¨x o¨Vj dh ckr dj jgs gSaA I really appreciate the Election Watch, I really appreciate
ADR, and their venture. I am sure that in the coming elections, one category of people you
should really focus on is the voter. mls ckgj fudkfy,] vxj og ckgj ugÈ fudysxk] r¨ og LVsd g¨YMj gh
ugÈ gS] LV¨d g¨YMj >qXxhokyk gS] mlls 500 #i, esa o¨V [kjhnk tk ldrk gSA ,d ikmt yhdj esa [kjhnk tk ldrk
gS v©j vxj eSa LVsd g¨YMj gwa] r¨ eSa l¨p&le>dj o¨V nwaxhA eSa vius vkid¨ LVsd g¨YMj ugÈ le>rh gwa] r¨ eSa lgh
fopkj j[k ldrh gwa] ysfdu eSa viuk o¨V Mkyus ds fy, ugh tkrh gwaA That is why, what we did was to try to
make voting fashionable v©j geus fMlkbM fd;k] ge ;g ugÈ dgsaxs fd gesa Òkjr dk fuekZ.k djuk gS ;k
fnYyhd¨ viuh le>¨] ,slk dqN ugÈ dgsaxsA geus gky gh dh ,d fiDpj dk xkuk fy;k] ftlesa iIiw lc dqN dj
ldrk gS] ysfdu Mkal ugÈ dj ldrk gS v©j geus dgk & fnYyh okys lc dqN dj ldrs gSa] ysfdu o¨V ugÈ Mkyrs
gSa] blfy, fd og iIiw gSA blls gesa lar¨"k feyk fd ge o¨V ds çfr’kr d¨ c<+k lds v©j ;g çfr’kr 43 çfr’kr ls
60 çfr’kr rd x;k ;kfu fd 19 yk[k y¨x a d¨ ge blesa yk ldsA esjk l¨puk gS fd gesa o¨Vj d¨ ckgj ykuk pkfg,A
flLVe r¨ vius vki lq/kj tk,xkA vki D;k pkgrs gSa fd eSa bldk tokc nwaA vki jh;yh ml ç'u ls nwj tkuk pkgrs
78
gSaA vxj eu ls ugÈ fudysxk fd o¨V djuk gS] r¨ naM ls D;k g¨xkA blls gesa D;k Qk;nk g¨xkA vxj eu ls fu-
dysxk fd ;g gekjh ftEesnkjh gS] r¨ Qk;nk t:j g¨xkA ;g phdu v©j ,x tSlh dgkuh gSA tc rd eq>s ilUn dk
mEehnokj ugÈ feysxh] eSa ckgj ugÈ fudywaxkA
MR J S MATHUR (CEO MP): ge o¨Vj dh ckr dj jgs gSa v©j eqÌs d¨ geus o¨Vj esa fjMÓql dj fn;kA tc
vktknh dh yM+kà yM+h tk jgh Fkh r¨ xka/kh th us dgk Fkk fd ,d u ,d fnu vaXkzst r¨ ;gka ls pys tk;saxsA mlds
ckn jkt dSls pysxk v©j d©u pyk,xk? fopkj O;Dr fd;k x;k fd vaXkzst t¨ bruh nwj cSBs gSa] ,d N¨Vs ns’k d¨
mUg¨aus xqyke cuk fn;kA ml oDr ge ;qfuoÆlVh esa FksA ml oDr jkt djus okys jktuhfrd ny] jktk&egkjktk&uokc
ds ikl d¨Ã vf[r;kj ugÈ gSA vxj geus og cnyuk gS] r¨ og vf[r;kj turk ds gkFk esa gSA vf[r;kj dk eryc gS
fd og ftEesnkjh g¨xh] vktknh d¨ egQwt j[kus dhA og ns’k dk ekfyd gSA tc lafo/kku lÒk cSBh] r¨ loky vk;k
fd mld¨ ekfyd cukus dk D;k rjhdk gSA fopkj O;fDr fd;k x;k fd ,MYV ÝSpkbt dj fn;k tk,A lc d¨
vf[r;kj g¨] o¨V nsus dk v©j ftEesnkjh ds lkFkA fQj loky mBk fd y¨x i<+s&fy[ks ugÈ gS v©j mud¨ nl lky esa
i<+uk&fy[kuk fl[kkb,A vkÆVdy 45 blhfy, r¨ cuk;k x;k FkkA lafo/kku esa ,d vkÆVdy ftlesa nl lky dh lhek
j[kh xÃAog dgrk gS fd lkM+h ys y¨] r¨ og ns’k dk ekfyd D;k gqvk] mld¨ csp fn;kA bySD’ku okp d¨ tehu ij
mrj lcls igys o¨Vj ,tqds’ku ij dSEisu djuk pkfg,A mud¨ crk;sa fd vki ekfyd gSaA vxj vkius xQyr dh] r¨
fQj ns’k dh vktknh pyh tk,xhA xka/kh th dgrs Fks] vaXkzst fQj okfil vk tk;saxs] vki ekfyd ugÈ jgsA blfy, bl
lans’k d¨ cM+s t¨j ls bySD’ku okp pyk,A bldh dke;kch f=y¨pu th us crkÃA fØfeuYl 25 çfr’kr ls 10 çfr’kr
ij vk x, gSaA fØfeuy dk‘’kCn tc eSa bl lanÒZ esa lqurk gwa] r¨ e©r vk tkrh gSA ns’k d¨ vktkn djkus esa Qkalh ij
yVd x, v©j Òkjr ekrk dh t; c¨yrs jgsA vkt ge fØfeuYl dh ckr dgrs gSa] r¨ blls T;knk nqnZ’kk D;k g¨
ldrh gSA vc mlds fy, j¨us dh t:jr ugÈ gSaA vxys nl lky esa bld¨ Bhd djuk gSA blfy, bySD’ku okp dk
lcls dke g¨xk] o¨VlZ d¨ rS;kj djukA vxys pquko ds fy, bUrtkj djus dh t:jr ugÈ gSA Äj&Äj tkdj dgsaxs
fd vki bl ns’k ds ekfyd gSaA Òkjr ekrk ds liwr gSaA vkid¨ è;ku j[kuk g¨xk] r¨ t:jr mldk vlj g¨xkA
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DAY TWO- 01.02.2009
ROLE OF BUREAUCRACY
MR. JAGDEEP CHHOKAR: vki y¨x¨a dk ,d ckj fQj ls Lokxr djrk gwaA j¨y vkQ C;qj¨Øslh dk iwjk dk;ZØe
pquko vk;¨x dh rjQ ls r¨ pyrk gh gSA pquko vk;¨x iwjh rjg ls C;qj¨Øslh ij fuÒZj djrh gSA lkjs y¨x C;qj¨Øslh
ds dk;ZØe esa bUokYi g¨rs gSaA pquko ds le; esa os pquko vk;¨x ds fy, dke djrs gSaA blfy, C;qj¨Øslh ds y¨x t¨
pquko vk;¨x ds fy, dke djrs gSa] mudk cgqr gh egRoiw.kZ j¨y g¨rk gSA vkt ds fo"k; esa lÒk esa n¨ egRoiw.kZ oDrk
gSA muesa ls ,d gSa] Jh Mh,e lq[kkUrj] okbl ps;jeSu] vfXuA vfXu ds ckjs esa eqEcà ds y¨x¨a d¨ dqN crkus dh t:jr
ugÈ gSA mUg aus t¨ ;gka ij dke fd;k gS] mlls cgqr dqN cnyko vk;k gS v©j cgqr vPNk dke gqvk gSA The other
person is, Shri Sivaramakrishnan, Former IAS, CPR. He is currently the Chairman of Policy and
Research, Delhi. Shri Sivaramakrishan has worked extensively in constituencies and Panchayats.
Both the participants have first-hand experience in managing the elections.Now, I request Shri
Sukhtankar to place his views.
SHRI D.M. SUKHTANKAR: Mr. Chairman and my former colleague and co-speaker, Mr. Sivara-
makrishnan and friends: I have been asked to speak on the role of bureaucracy, of course,
in the context of conducting elections. Shri Sivaramakrishnan and I have been bureaucrats for
almost 34-35 years now. When we entered service and were under training, one of the impor-
tant virtues or lessons we learnt was that as a bureaucrat, or as an administrator, you are ex-
pected to be impartial and you are expected to advice without restraint to the political gov-
ernment in power, when it is in the process of formulation of policies or making legislations.
Once the decisions are taken by the Government in power, of course, subject to the fact that
they were in accordance with law, they are faithfully and honestly implemented irrespective of
whatever may be your personal opinion. I think, in the context of the duty and the role of bu-
reaucracy in the conduct of elections, I would say that while under the Constitution it is the sta-
tutory or constitutional duty of the Election Commission to ensure that elections are carried out
in a fair and free manner, ultimately it is the same instrument, named bureaucracy which will
bear the brunt of actually carrying out elections in the field. Therefore, in one sentence we can
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summarise by saying that the role of bureaucracy is essentially to wholeheartedly help the Elec-
tion Commission to carry out the elections in a free and fair manner.
Yesterday, we got to know that there are mainly three groups of stakeholders in the process of
elections. They are namely the voters, the political parties and the Election machinery. There-
fore, in the conduct of elections, the bureaucracy or election machinery at the administrative
level has a very onerous responsibility to discharge. If you look at the process of elections right
from the time the enrollment of voters start till the election results are declared, the whole
process has to pass several individual stages. For example, in the enrollment of voters, one has
to ensure that the voters list is up-to-date and there are no false names. This is something that
is to be ensured primarily by the election machinery. We received several suggestions yester-
day regarding the process by which they should be ensured; i.e. how to enroll the new voters,
particularly those who have completed the age of 18; how to get people enrolled in the new list
when they shift from one place to another, etc. The voter’s list preparation is a very important
duty of the Election machinery to begin with.
Then, of course, in this process, it will be in the interest of the bureaucracy to keep inti-
mate contact either with the political party, the NGOs or others who are interested in ensuring
that the voters’ list is up-to-date and accurate. Keeping contact with political parties, as I men-
tioned, also allows them to have a stake in the process of elections. There is nothing wrong in
ensuring that they are also involved in the process. We need not be subservient. There are sev-
eral other issues as well which become contentious, like for example, the issue of an ID card,
ensuring of photographs on the electoral rolls, the process of actual elections right from the
printing of ballot papers ensuring that they reach their respective polling booths, and finally, of
course, the declaration of results and so on. In this whole process, to ensure that the elections
are held in a free and fair manner, the Election Commission in consultation with the political
parties prepared the Model Code of Conduct which has to be very faithfully and fearlessly en-
forced. Though the responsibility lies with the Election Commission, at the State level, it is the
responsibility of the Chief Secretary and others who are also involved in the process to ensure
that this is done in a very impartial manner. That responsibility squarely falls on the Election
81
machinery and this is not a very easy task. All kinds of pulls and pressures get exerted. But the
fundamental duty of bureaucracy remains to enforce the rule of law and the code of conduct
whether in elections or anywhere else. This must be done impartially and to the best of the
conscience of the people involved in this entire process. Now, there are certain other things in
which the election machinery or bureaucracy can have some kind of supportive or supplemen-
tary role. This help is of generally creating awareness amongst the voters, the public at large,
regarding the value of their votes and the importance of casting their votes. It was mentioned
yesterday in so many different contexts that if democracy has to be really a participative, and
an effectively functioning democracy, then, it’s important for the voters to cast their votes. Un-
less voters don’t vote, it will cease to be a truly representative democracy. Therefore, creating
awareness among voters to enroll themselves, to go and cast their votes etc., is something of
course to be primarily done by the NGOs and those who claim to be the representatives of
people in various capacities, in various fields of the civil society. What I have said is not some-
thing unique.The role of bureaucracy in the conduct of elections or doing any duty in some de-
partment, secretariat or working in any hierarchy is certainly assisting and implementing the
policies of the Government at a particular time and ensuring that in the process of decision
making, they give their advice freely and do not get intimidated, by whatever may be the opi-
nion and the political affiliation of the Government at that particular time. I know, what I am
speaking is something that has echoed for more than 20-25 years now, and much water had
flowed down the Mithi River in Mumbai. Perhaps the whole value system in the bureaucracy
has undergone various changes for so many reasons. Whenever one political party goes and
another political party comes to power, the first thing they do is to change the Chief Secretary
and change the Secretaries of all the important Departments i.e, the Police Commissioner, the
DGP, etc. I don’t understand it & it never used to happen during my time. I was lucky to retire in
1990, particularly in Maharashtra. Since the time the coalition government of BJP and Shiv Sena
came to power, they had totally subverted some of the well established conventions in building
up along with the bureaucracy. We are still suffering. In fact, things might worsen over a period
of time. Therefore, to expect the bureaucracy to work fearlessly, without any bias, without wor-
rying what the boss would say is perhaps asking for too much. But one has to realize that unless
82
the bureaucracy does not stand strong together to do this, I think, it won’t be able to perform
its true role as all of us would appreciate. That is why the Supreme Court for example, while
dealing with Police Reforms asked to depoliticize the policy machinery. Equally there is an ur-
gent need to depoliticize the bureaucracy, if it has to properly perform its role, whether it is in
the context of elections or in any other capacity. I think, sooner or later, either with the help or
with the intervention of judiciary or hopefully by some kind of process of introspection,
amongst the political parties, this will happen over a period of time. But till then, the bureau-
cracy must do whatever best it can, to perform its role in the true spirit in which it was envi-
saged, maybe by Sardar Patel, when they conceived all India service and they thought of the
role of administration and bureaucracy at the senior level. With these words, I would close.
Thank you.
MR JAGDEEP CHHOKAR: Thank you. I think, what you have said is really enlightening. I can as-
sure you much water had flowed down the Yamuna in Delhi as well. I am sure; the current bu-
reaucrats who are sitting here would take their heart. There is a slight hope from the judiciary.
In my personal view, the hope for introspection on the part of political parties is unlikely and
unrealistic. And it is for the citizens to do this. In which form the citizens do this; it is for us to
decide.
SHRI SIVARAMAKRISHNAN: Mr. Chairman, My Senior Colleague and Mentor, Mr. Sukhtankar,
Distinguished Guests and Friends. I did mention it to the organizers that in this session I had
been delegated to speak on the Role of Bureaucracy and discuss if there is some way by which, I
can somehow wriggle myself out of this caste label. Therefore, I am starting with the hypothe-
sis; the best bureaucrat is an Ex-Bureaucrat because having served the government for 35
years, particularly when you are on an exalted atmosphere of a Secretary to the Government of
India, amnesia comes to you very easily. All your colleagues and subordinates would quite pre-
fer to encourage your infallibility. But you actually start to learn about life only after retirement.
I spent 16 years in re-learning the whole business of life. About 5-6 years ago, when disclosure
regime came into practice in the court, I was a member in the legal team which fought the case;
I was also a member in the Delhi Election Watch. I am very happy to see a strong community
83
that has taken shape; thanks to the ADR and all the participating states. I am also particularly
delighted to listen to the songs yesterday because in all these matters, nothing could have been
done quickly. While a good practice takes a long time to establish, bad practice travels very
quickly. We must also take it and be prepared that we are here for a long haul. Free and fair
manner of elections cannot be guaranteed and it is a matter of a continuous watch. The orga-
nizing principle in the whole business is the reversion of the dictum. Not ;Fkk jktk] ;Fkk çtk] but
;Fkk çtk] ;Fkk jktk”
Therefore, we need to fight our way out to finally achieve the kind of elections we deserve. I
would like to share some more of my thoughts on something else. I agree with most of what
has been said yesterday, as far as dissemination, process, technology, and the society are con-
cerned. I agree with the views that have been presented on these issues today. But I would also
like to share a few thoughts. Some systemic changes are necessary. Starting with the premise
of Indian democracy, the Indian electoral system is indivisible. It is not just limited to the Par-
liamentary elections and Assembly elections. We now have some commitments at least in the
Constitutional terms, from the Parliament down to the Panchayats, we have accepted the sys-
tem of Electoral Democracy. If one part of it is subverted, it is very much unlikely that the other
part will remain. This I think has to be accepted.
Let me talk about a few specific things now. Take for example, the Common Electoral Roll. You
cannot have an Indian citizen voter in the UP Panchayat elections and not a voter in the Assem-
bly elections. This is a point which has been discussed. The Election Commission itself in the re-
port of March 2004 recommended the concept of Common Electoral Roll. In the Venkatachaliah
Commission, it shows the Veerappa Moily Administrative Reforms Commission. One is happy to
find that since 2005, the Election Commission of India and the Chief Electoral Officers of the
States have been meeting regularly. The most recent report of the Institute of Rural Manage-
ment, Anand in the state of Panchayat also pleaded for Electoral Rolls. Still as of date, it has not
come into existence. This is very important. One is very grateful that after a long delay, the De-
limitation Commission of India has finally concluded its work. Still many will suggest the way
Delimitation could have been done or the way the reserved constituency should have been
carved out. Still, the Delimitation Commission has done its work. But it is to be noticed that out
84
of 25 States, the Delimitation Units correspond to the census unit in only 6 states. This particu-
lar problem has been there because in some states, you go on the basis of Revenue jurisdiction;
and in some other states, you proceed on the basis of Panchayat and Municipal. I think, it is ne-
cessary that we move as discussed and agreed upon in Bangalore, we must take up the building
block approach in the Electoral Conference. The citizens of India should be able to tell as to
which Panchayat and which Assembly Constituency does he belong to and to which Panchayat
does his vote belong ; and which Assembly constituency comes under the Lok Sabha unit. It
could be possible to take up this building block approach. But you will still find that it is not fully
implemented. The Delimitation itself has produced quite a lot of funny conflicts. In the case of
UP, for example, the Kuldip Commission said it would complete its delimitation first and even-
tually asked the other to complete it. The State Election Commissioner said he would do his de-
limitation first and asked how he could wait for his delimitation. This matter was then referred
to the court and in the case of Kamlesh Prasad Singh, the court rightly said, “At this rate, we will
have only delimitations and no elections. So, let us put a quietous to this.”
As the disclosure regime has now been broadly accepted, not only in the case of the Assembly
and Parliamentary elections but also in case of the Local-body elections, yet we still face prob-
lems with regard to the eligibility, qualifications and disqualifications. We are all familiar with
the great office of profit controversy. The Parliament concluded that instead of applying its
mind to evolve proper criteria so as to decide on an office of profit, it is much better to produce
a list mentioning which offices are excluded. Here again, you would find a very funny kind of a
situation along with a conflicting judgment. In the case of Maharashtra, they have said that an
employee of the State Road Transport Corporation can stand for the Local-body elections. By
the UP High Court, in the case of UP Road Transport Corporation, you cannot. In Karnataka, a
woman who cooks mid-day meal on a part-time basis comes for a couple of hours and cooks on
a contractual basis. They say that she is holding an office of profit. Since we have so many High
Courts, it becomes inevitable to not have any conflicting judgments. But the basic regime of
who is qualified and who is not, reference was made about norms. Here again, it is necessary,
that an average Indian citizen gets a clear idea whether he can contest or not. If he cannot con-
85
test, what are the valid reasons for that? It cannot be exclusive—for the Parliament and the As-
sembly.
The most important thing is the regularity of elections. This regularity is also a continuous
process. Here again I would suggest that there must have been some kind of assaults. I am very
happy that one of our State Election Commissioners, Mr. Madhav Rao was here. He was the
Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh. Madhav Rao took the honour of dragging his former em-
ployer, first to the High Court, when the AP Government delayed the holding of elections. A
landmark judgment was given. Those kinds of instances were repeated elsewhere as well. The
Bangalore Municipal Corporation has expanded its boundary to double or triple-fold. Now it is
called the Brihan Bangaluru Nagar Palika, BBNP and is about to observe the anniversary of su-
percession. The Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections are also due. Is voting for an As-
sembly election for a Hyderabad citizen an adequate compensation for the Municipal Corpora-
tion? He will be told that he has a participating role in deciding the policy of the country, in
signing the nuclear deal, etc. But you have no voice in your own neighbourhood. Why is this
happening?
The High Court cases, the Supreme Court cases, as somebody had earlier made a reference to,
are mere acts of god. That has been repeated. Somehow the principal of godliness has also
been transferred to the principle of political leaders inheriting godly quality. Therefore, the acts
of god are substituted fairly and regularly. Delimitation is one of the things. This is a book, Na-
gar Palika Review of 300 pages. You can find out how the High Court contradicts each other and
how the Supreme Court judgment can be circumvented. The most recent case from Gujarat was
the one in which the five Judge-bench of the SC very clearly said that according to the Constitu-
tion, a Municipal Corporation or a Panchayat will have a tenure of 5 years. Since I was involved
in the Constitutional Amendment, I knew it is no longer one of the clearest set of words in the
English language. But even that appears to be unclear to many people. Therefore, what hap-
pens is that the State Government intrudes into the whole election process. Somehow it has
been protected by a series of strenuous efforts, as far as the Election Commission is concerned.
But let us understand very clearly that the regularity of elections and the free and fair conduct
86
of elections depends on the election and the electoral machinery. It is in no way different to the
judicial machinery in the country. The Election Commission, the State Election Commission, the
Chief Electoral Officers in the State constitutes a part of the machinery. In order to secure the
integrity of that part of machinery the Supreme Court said, starting from the ADRK, that the su-
perintendence, direction and responsibility of conducting elections is a composite responsibili-
ty, and therefore not to be broken up artificially. It cannot be so absurd so as to say that the
Election Commission would send a draft notification and the Government will vet, or the Gov-
ernment will send a draft notification and the Election Commission will vet. We Babus have
played these games for so many years and we are certainly capable of tieing up the whole
process into a series of knot. In order to protect that, the creation of election machinery is very
important. Venkatachaliah Commission has made it very clear that the Election Commissioner
and its members should be appointed by a body consisting of the Prime Minister, the leader of
the opposition in the Lok Sabha, the leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, the Speaker and
the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha. This recommendation has still not been implemented.
We are now beginning to see some disturbing trends in the vulnerability of the Election Com-
mission. If we do not fight for the integrity of the Election Commission, and the whole election
machinery, the gains that all of us have made may not last for long. I want to voice this particu-
lar warning. I think it is extremely important that we address such systemic issues, while the
procedures and disclosure regimes can be taken care of. I think, till the Indian citizens don’t
have the confidence that they were not just involved in a 5-year game of excitement for the
Assembly and the Parliament but, are infact a part of the continued reasonably established
election system, I am afraid, our gains may be somewhat short-lived. In this business, I feel, all
of us have moved significantly forward but let us not get intoxicated by the limited success we
have; there is still along way to go and one of these days I hope, we will be closer to that end of
the long road.
MR JAGDEEP CHHOKAR: Thank you, Mr. Sivaramakrishnan for the stirring presentation. I must
say that the 35 years of being a bureaucrat does not give one a caste certificate instead it alters
one’s DNA. This comes very clearly in your case. The fact that there are so many reports and
87
recommendations of committees and commissions appointed by the Government, yet none of
which has been implemented, which is a fact not only in the Electoral system but in every sys-
tem. I am particularly grateful to you for saying that the best bureaucrat is the Ex-bureaucrat
because I think the implementation is being held up between the Political executive and the
Bureaucratic executive. This is my personal opinion and not the opinion of the National Election
Watch.
MR Y.P. SINGH: Respected Members of the Jury and Members of this audience, as said earlier,
the best bureaucrat is the Ex-bureaucrat. I would like to say that a rebel Ex-bureaucrat is some-
one who is far better than a bureaucrat. I think a person who is within the system has to be a
whistle blower. If the system has to be reformed, he is the best person to say that the system is
bad, and he is the one who identifies the wrongs within the system. Unfortunately, today be-
cause of the stringent level of hierarchy, the people who are vested with power don’t look at
such activities in a right perspective. If a person tries to reform the system by being a part of it,
he is ostracized and ultimately he is not able to do anything. Though, he may not be able to do
anything, is one thing. But the way the rigours of his crusade is demonstrated before others,
even those who want to do something would back off and say that they don’t want to be cruci-
fied the way he was. That is the crux of the reason for such an intense decadence to step into
the system. Today we have bureaucrats in the government who are not willing to give a nega-
tive answer. Everybody is affirmative in his or her answer. This is the reason that today when
we talk about reforms, as Mr. Sivaramakrishnan has clearly said, everything is there but the will
of the people who are supposed to implement this is lacking. They do not take a step forward
because they contemplate their future in their current actions; hence, the systems are still the
same. For instance, recently when I was in UP I observed the elections. In Lucknow there were
hoardings glorifying the deeds of Mayawati at every junction of the city. It reminds me of the
Gobels, who was the Propaganda Minister of Hitler. Something exactly like what was there in
Germany during the Second World War. When the Chief Minister of a State, on the eve of the
elections misused her power and position, neither a bureaucrat nor any police officer can dare
to touch a hoarding. We see many of them in Mumbai as well. Perhaps in mumbai other parties
too would have their hoardings. In UP, the existing Chief Minister is the sole prerogative to
88
have those hoardings. If you have lakhs and lakhs of hoardings at every junction of the city, say-
ing that Mayawati is the best Chief Minister and the work she has been doing is something
enormous and nobody gets a chance to ever put up hoardings. Even though it is the same
Mayawati who is trying to manipulate cases with the CBI to see that the untold wealth, which
she has gathered over the years, is not questioned the way it should be. When we are not al-
lowed to put up such hoardings while the ones, which extol the existing deeds of the current
incumbent, I think, the democracy would function in India more effectively as the people in In-
dia are very gullible. The basic problem with our citizen is that there is not much of application
of the mind; they are uneducated hence get swayed by what is profusely apparent all over. If
this system were there, we would really not be allowed to function.
Well, as far as technicalities are concerned, the actual things that are there at the
ground level may not be so bad when it comes to elections. Fortunately or unfortunately, I was
the Commandant of the Police Reserve Force, a post almost like a punishment, which I quit af-
ter 5 years. Our job was to send force all over the country; we were manpower suppliers to var-
ious States all over India, whenever required. Our force used to go not just to Maharashtra but
also all over India. If there is no election in Maharashtra and there is one taking place in Karna-
taka, they would require our force and we used to send it over. Many a times, I used to go and
pay a visit to the local area and try to study what was happening there. Well, as far as the in-
trinsic and the hardware of elections are concerned, more or less, it functions the way it should.
There is hardly any rigging. A person is free to vote the way he wants to. But the way the overall
milieu got developed, and the way things are functioning, not only the hands of people but also
their minds are being manipulated. For this, we do not have any system as such and this is one
of the reasons why despite the fact that the hardware of the election machinery is functioning
properly .
When we were in the police, any person who had the best record in his service and who occu-
pied the highest position would generally be the most corrupt, and the worst officer. This is the
basic malady in our system. The incumbent at the highest level doesn’t have credentials above
the board. The very fact that they have indulged in manipulations and they are expert in machi-
89
nation which is why they have paved their way to the pinnacles of glory, of bureaucracy, and to
the pinnacles of our administrative system. This is where the malady lies. This is where we have
enlightened people like Mr. Ranade and many others. The only hope of survival is an alert NGO.
There is no hope in anyone of them when we say alert bureaucracy, alert Government, alert
executive. The only hope with us is an alert NGO; the way when they solicit accountability, and
pierce the system, as we have the best laws implemented by the worst people. We can use the
best laws to see that the rule of law functions. This is the only hope which is there at the mo-
ment. I have been given a time frame to speak in. I am extremely grateful to all of you and to
the organizers who have afforded me this opportunity to present my brief viewpoints.
PROF TRILOCHAN SHASTRI: I will just take two minutes to give a quick brief of what we have
discussed yesterday. The entire day we had discussions on various issues, out of which two or
three things emerged. One is about the experience of the recently conducted Election Watches
from the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Delhi. They shared a gamut of
experiences with us. On the other hand we would also like to compliment the Election Com-
mission for the cooperation we have got. There were some minor issues, which we will discuss
a little later, particularly about getting the affidavits on time and other issues similar to that.
There was a lot of discussion on the various aspects of the Civil Society Movement. One of the
issues that we have flagged for ourselves and we will be coming to you and talking to you later
about is the Political Party Reforms. I think, the Election Commission has also taken up this issue
and written to the Government. One of the issues we want to take up with the support of the
Election Commission is the need for a Comprehensive Bill to regulate the functioning of the po-
litical parties. You will recall that we have had discussions on this in the past also. I thought, I
would mention that from our side that we will use the Law Commission report which has a
drafted Bill for the political parties’ regulation as the basis for lobbying from our side. And we
would seek your support.
There are two or three suggestions which the Election Commission has also been push-
ing with the Government. We also hope to pass a resolution just before lunch. I will mention it
in two sentences. The first is the demand for “No criminals”. We want to place on record, the
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demand that we don’t want people with serious criminal offences to be allowed to contest the
elections. Second one is the issue of ‘I vote for nobody’. Right now, people are going and using
49-O for “No vote”. We are asking for the “None of the above” button on the electronic ma-
chine and also to maintain the secrecy. We should provide the people with an option if they do
not wish to vote for any of the candidates. Third resolution is as I have already mentioned it the
demand for a Comprehensive Bill to regulate the political parties. This is a very brief overview
of what we had discussed yesterday. But we will brief you in detail some other time. With these
words, I would like to invite Dr. Quraishi, Election Commissioner to address us.
DR QURAISHI, ELECTION COMMISSIONER: I am very privileged and honoured to be here today
to share the experience of the Election Commission about the electoral process in the country. I
am here more to hear from you, as to what more needs to be done to cleanse the system. I
have no doubt in my mind that India’s USP is our democracy. We are able to hold our head high
all over the world because of the functioning of our democracy. We are treated with respect, as
the largest democracy which is functioning, its alive, and by and large doing a good job. I am
very happy with the work of ADR and the National Election Watch network. I will lose no op-
portunity to mention about the great job that you people are doing. My own feeling is that the
Election Commission has been able to do its job the way it is doing with three very important
partners, the pillars of support—Judiciary, particularly the Supreme Court which has watched
over our independence ferociously. Otherwise, we would have been swallowed long ago. Now
the Civil Society Organization is also a very smartly organized network. You are a force to reck-
on with, and your support is our strength.
I am happy with the role of the media because they work as a watchdog over India’s
democracy and they have been our greatest allies. They have been able to reach and expose
the malpractise where even we can not reach and we take suo-motu cognizance of what we see
on the media and take corrective measures accordingly.
Our strength in our entire efforts has been the perception which the general public has
about us. Once you have acquired that reputation, it becomes a great source of strength and it
makes the task much easier because of our credibility and actions and moreover our actions are
91
accepted by the people. The day our bona-fide would be suspected and our decisions would be
questioned; our job would become extremely difficult. In this process, the Model Code of Con-
duct is the most powerful tool that we use, where our policy is zero-tolerance and we have
been able to use it very effectively.
As a former bureaucrat, I was quite tempted to carry on the conversation which was
started in the previous session. My own experience as a bureaucrat, you might have some tem-
porary setbacks, cold shouldering, may be sidelined or placed in the cold storage, but eventual-
ly after a period of 35 years, I would say that overall every bureaucrat had some good posts and
bad posts. One should not be scared that he would be sidelined instead should be satisfied that
ultimately one would get -their due. You should follow your conscience and you won’t be a los-
er.
Some of the issues that we have in the Election Commission about which we are con-
cerned and bothered about, is the muscle power, which has only been substantially controlled
but not entirely. How we did it is a matter of detail. But I would rather keep my own presenta-
tion short. As advised by the organizers and Mr. Chokkar, I would focus more on the question-
answer session because by that way you will be able to draw more information out of me. The
second concern is the role of money power where I must admit our failure. We have not been
very successful on this front. We get information on the under-hand exchange of money, some-
times at midnight we get a report on the distribution of liquor and money; we send our observ-
ers, and our team to check. We got a report that the local police officials were not taking ac-
tions. Moreover neither the SP nor did the DIG take any actions, inspite of the information pro-
vided by us. We changed those officers at midnight itself because the next morning there was a
poll. We had no time to wait. Despite that, the problem persists and we need to focus a little
The third phenomenon which we have recently seen although it is also listed in one of
the electoral reforms which is still pending in the government is about the expenditure control
for the elections. According to the media earlier they were spending 2 - 3 crores on elections.
Now because of the expenditure control, every vehicle you use is accounted for, how many
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banners and posters have been published and how much money has been saved. The media
asks them for money so as to write articles. They say if they gave Rs.10 lakh, they would write
for them and would demolish their rivals. It will not appear like an advertisement, but will look
either like an editorial report, or a normal newspaper report which is happening increasingly.
We have been receiving a lot of complaints but we have not been able to do anything effective
about it so far because we really don’t know what to do. As I mentioned earlier, media is our
ally and if the same ally becomes an enemy, how are we supposed to deal with it? That be-
comes a problem; it is paradoxical and we have to find a way out. Maybe you will guide us.
One more area of concern is the people’s faith in the bureaucracy which is declining par-
ticularly in the local police. As a result of which wherever we go, the demand of the political
parties and the candidates is to bring in the Central Force. We have been getting the Central
forces and wherever we have been able to do that, our results have been quite good. But as a
rule, this is not very sustainable. In fact, we used to call them the Central Para-Military Forces.
Every day and every time I used to hear this word ‘Para-Military’ in the Election Commission, it
used to offend me. The word ‘military’, reminded me of dictatorship. I used to think whether
we really are in a democratic country or under some dictatorship. We are using the word ‘mili-
tary’. Technically, the word for this should be either the Central Police Force, or the Central Po-
lice Organization. I suggested changing the idiom. In fact, it has also become a part of our
psyche. We proudly use the word, “Para-Military Force”. It is a democracy. If you are using the
word “police”, it is fine. We should at least use the correct technical term. The fact that we are
using the Central Police Force in every election is becoming a constraint. After all, those forces
are limited. The law and order situation being acute, we are not able to get the force that is re-
quired. That is why, if we do it in phases, we are being criticized. Look you people have been
working for two months long. We are not happy to do that. In fact, in this chain of repeated
elections and so many phases, the strain basically lies on us only. But we have to rotate the
same force. We need to change that. We have done an exercise in the Election Commission, re-
thinking, as to how to reduce dependence on the Central Police Forces. Can we have systemic
changes; can we improve the system so that we don’t have to depend on them. One of the
suggestions which have been given to us and we have also implemented it which is the use of
93
videography. If we can’t have a police force, what do we do? You chase a candidate who has
criminal charges against him with a video camera. After some time, he will give it up, feeling
that he is being watched, and that his actions are being recorded. That in itself is a deterrent.
To increase the use of the external observers puts a lot of pressure on our bureaucracy. One-
third of our IAS officers in the country, maybe 40-45% of officers are called for the duty as ob-
servers in elections. The normal work of an officer comes to a standstill, which is not fair, nor
correct, nor sustainable. But without the observers, people don’t have faith. Mind you! The pa-
radox is within the bureaucracy. They hate bureaucracy, as it exists within the State but they
love it when it comes from outside. People are the same. It is only at the local level that they
get mixed up. Intrinsically bureaucracy is neither good nor bad. It is basically good. It is like a
vehicle, it depends upon the driver and how he drives. Same bureaucrats when they go to oth-
er States, they deliver.
Third advice is that we now have to evolve as a Micro observer. Since we don’t have
force, what we do is, we get the local government, the Central government employees or the
bank employees to just sit in the polling booths. They keep sitting for the whole day, and watch
the proceedings. Sometimes, it is videographed as well.
One more concern that we have is, the low turnout of the voters. Because of the people’s apa-
thy, if it is apathy at all, we can deal with the voters’ education and awareness. In some States,
a good job was done. Our Delhi CEO is also present here. She has done a great experiment of
using the media to increase the voter’s participation. I do not know whether you have had an
opportunity or if you would have an opportunity to make a presentation on that or no. The
young people here in the audience must have heard the song, Pappu dance… Using that song of
AR Rahman, 16 song paradies have been produced on the same song. Pappu in that real song, is
a smart, handsome, educated person, with all the qualities. His only disqualification was that he
could not dance, for which he was being criticized. She impoverished this song, saying that Pap-
pu can do everything, including dance but he can not go and vote. Therefore, he is a useless
guy. After that song, many youths were put into a question whether they want to become
94
another Pappu or not and they replied that they didn’t want to be a Pappu. A lot of young
people came out and voted. It became a kind of fashion.
The second thing which I have been expressing my concern is about the urban voters. Like
Mumbai for instance, where the turnout was 24-25% in several constituencies. They are so
called educated people, sitting in their drawing room and criticizing the Government. If one is
not participating in the democratic process, then you lose all your rights to comment on the
government. It is a matter of shame and embarrassment. The media can easily do that too. This
Pappu campaign was a part of that only. Vinod, the CEO from Rajasthan also did another media
campaign for the voter’s education. He would also like to share his experiences with us. There
were several civil societies’ organizations together which had played the biggest role. Our
second ally, the media, will also play an important role.
One more concern has aggravated recently after the Mumbai terror attack. You know TV chan-
nels do a quick survey about the public attitude. One was regarding the fitness of our politicians
or something to that effect and 99.9% of the people replied that they hate politicians. This con-
demn for politician is not a good thing in a democracy. It is something regarding which we need
to be a bit concerned about. How you can have democracy without the politicians? This kind of
public perception needs to be changed. The politicians need to change their conduct and the
people have to be educated. We have to make sure that this attitude changes. I remember a
presentation which which took place about six months back in various countries worlwide. At
least in three countries, the people’s perception with regard to democracy and its respect has
gone down substantially. Don’t be surprised if people hate democracy because ultimately at the
end of the day, they want good governance. If democracy does not give good governance, they
may go for an alternative form of government. This is happening in other parts of the world as
well. Let us not join the rank of those countries.
There are one or two initiatives that we have taken in the recent past. Let us pay a little more
focus on the gender. When we do our analysis, we would like to see the male: female ratio. It is
visible in the electoral rolls also. We came across the fact that the number of female voters was
less and that of the male voters which was correspondingly higher. Sometimes we found that a
95
deliberate effort was made; 20,000 female voters were eliminated and replaced by the male
voters. The overall figure didn’t tell you the tale. When we examined in detail, we realized what
was happening. The possible explanation could be that it was easier to manipulate election
through men, bogus voting, and booth capturing. This is probably the reason for fewer women
and more men voters. Our analysis has tried to restore the balance. We would like to have a
reflection of the number of women we have in a society, in whatever population ratio, in the
electoral roll. We also feel that the youth need to participate more. For that, I have mentioned
one campaign.
I have to mention the Corporate Social Responsibility. The Tata Tea campaign, “Jago Re” is very
commendable. I am a student of Social Marketing and Social Communication. I feel that this
teaches more than one lesson to us. Apart from the fact that the corporate organization has
shown its social responsibility, it has benefited them as well in the form of commercial benifits.I
don’t remember how many tea brands are advertised on the TV but I remember the Tata Tea.
The Tata Tea has become popular. They have done a better job commercially and also in the
process done a very good social job. So, social message can be keyed on with the commercial
message. The Tata Tea had done it with no extra cost. This is something to emulate for most of
you as you have a corporate background. You have to develop this as a case study and take this
message to the corporate world.
I would like to raise one or two more points. Very often we have heard, that there are
too many elections and therefore there should be a law stating that the elections should be
held only once in 5 years. As I have said, personally I feel there is no harm in too many elec-
tions. If anybody should complain at all, it is we, because it is a strain on us. Last year, it was so
tiring when the 12 States went to the polls. You know, the politicians tend to forget their prom-
ises and they recall them actually after 5 years only. At least because of the repeated elections,
they have to remember those promises they have made. If once in two or three years, we have
the Assembly elections, followed by the Lok Sabha elections and there are Local-body elections
too, at least people can catch them and remind them of their promises, which in turn may be
good for the public itself.
96
There are one or two more suggestions which I have. If you may consider correctly un-
der the law, one can not campaign through any media 48 hours before the end of the poll ex-
cept the print media. There are two contradictions here. One is, you have the Newspaper ad-
vertisement for the whole day but you cannot have any television advertisements, which
sounds quite ridiculous. Why should there be a distinction between the electronic media and
the print media or the public meetings. I am referring to a problem of money power which we
have not been able to check. My suggestion is, if we reverse the rule, the door-to-door cam-
paign which is allowed in the next 48 hours, should be stopped. In the Door-to-door campaign,
envelopes are slipped under the door, handing over the money or gold ring or whatever to the
people, which have now become a common trend. The public contact should be avoided. If one
is appealing on the television or an advertisement or by means of newspapers that is safer, and
much better. The public contact or the source of corruption should be avoided. Maybe we need
to change the rule. To articulate this as a reform proposal, it has got to be studied, discussed
and articulated more effectively.
Then, why don’t we have a compulsory voting. To my mind, compulsory voting and de-
mocracy are a little inconsistent. If we involve school children, young people, they get con-
scious, and they will ask their parents as to why they have not voted. They must demand to
show their finger mark of having voted. If they have not voted, then they need to hide their
face from the children. Compulsory voting is not a good idea. Some countries of the world have
a law that if they don’t vote, they are fined and in some cases, they are jailed as well. Also for
practical reasons for us, we don’t have so many jails. I don’t think, it is a good idea.
The third proposal which we hear every now and then is the public funding of elections.
To my mind, it is the most ridiculous idea. What will happen is that thousand crores or two
thousand crores of public money will be used. Along with that, the black money of thousand
crores under the table will also be used anyway. When we say that, we have failed to control
the money power otherwise, do you imagine that public funding is done; everybody else will
keep the entire dip pocket sealed. This is a very funny suggestion according to me, and needs to
be given a burial as quickly as possible.
97
Finally, democracy, the whole process of election is essential for our survival, but it has
its byproducts. The communalism, casteism, regionalism has increased mani-fold. 30-40 years
ago, people who are not aware of their castes are now made aware of their castes, sub-castes
and sub-sub castes. That is how the voting pattern is decided. Can something be done against
this through our reforms? You please suggest a way out of this dilemma. There is so much to
say but I think, I will confine the remarks to these observations and I will be very happy to at-
tempt to answer to your questions, if any.
DELEGATE: eSa NŸkhlx<+ ls gwaA dy eSaus çtSaVs’ku esa uDlykbV }kjk g¨us okys ernku dk eqÌk mBk;k FkkA uD-
lykbV {ks=¨a esa dà ,slh txgsa gSa] tgka ij thj¨ ijlsaV i¨Çyx g¨rh gS ;k 2&3 ijlsaV i¨Çyx g¨rh gS v©j ogka ipkl a
tkusa tkrh gSaA D;k ,sls uDlykbV {ks=¨a ds fy,] tgka ij ljdkj pquko djkus esa l{ke ugÈ gS] dqN fu;e a esa cnyko
ugÈ fd;k tkuk pkfg,A ,MfefuLVªsu dk nk;jk lM+d ds ,d fdy¨ehVj ds vUnj ugÈ pyrk gSA u os ernku dÆe;¨a
d¨ lqj{kk ns ldrs gSa] u os Bhd ls pquko djk ldrs gSaA ogka ds fy, fu;e a esa cnyko fd;k tkuk pkfg,A
DR QURAISHI, ELECTION COMMISSIONER: D;k g¨uk pkfg,
DELEGATE:,sls ,d&n¨ mnkgj.k gq, gSa] tgka i¨Çyx cqFk cnys x, gSa] ogka o¨ÇVx ijlsaVst c<+k gSA i¨Çyx cqFk
flySD’ku esa vxj çSfDVdy ,ç¨t viukà tk, v©j i¨Çyx cwFk d¨ o¨VlZ rd ys tkus ds ctk,] o¨VlZ d¨ i¨Çyx cwFk
ij ys tk;k tk,] lqj{kk ds lkFk] r¨ csgrj g¨ ldrk gSA
DR QURAISHI, ELECTION COMMISSIONER: vkidk dUluZ v©j lq>ko n¨u a vPNs gSaA uDlkybV cSYV esa gesa
pquko djus esa fpUrk g¨rh gSA gky gh esa NŸkhlx<+ v©j vU; {ks=¨a esa Òh dqN fd;k gSA vkid¨ tkudj gSjkuh g¨xh]
NŸkhlx<+ esa ge y¨x Q¨lZ ysdj x,] ,fMDosVyh fMIyk;esaV dk Iyku cuk;kA eSa vkils ;g Òh ‘’ks;j d:axk] tSlk
fd v[kckj a esa vk;k Òh gS] ogka ds Mh,lih us ç¨VSLV fd;k gS fd fnYyh oky a d¨ D;k irk gS] t¨ ge fMIyk;esaV crkrs
gSaA mud¨ ;g ckr le> esa ugÈ vkà fd ge y¨x g¨e fefuLVªh ls yM+dj Q¨lZ ysdj x,] og pquko djkus ds fy, gS]
ekv¨ÃLV leL;k d¨ dUVª y djus ds fy, ugÈ gSA mUg aus Q¨lZ d¨ ekv¨bLV leL;k d¨ dUVª y djus ds fy, yxk
fn;kA geus dgk] ge pquko djk;saxs] vki ekv¨bLV d¨ Mhy djrs jfg,A ge t¨ Q¨lZ ysdj x, gSa] mld¨ vxj taxy¨a
esa Òst fn;k] r¨ pquko dSls djk;saxsA gekjh d¨f’k’k Fkh fd :V d¨ xkMZ djuk pkfg,] i¨Çyx LVs’ku d¨ xkMZ djuk
pkfg,A ,d txg ls >wBh fji¨VZ vkà fd iqfyl oky a us i¨Çyx vkfQlj d¨ ,UØst fd;k fd >wBh fji¨VZ ns n¨ v©j
ogÈ cSBdj] e’khu nckdj o¨V ns n¨A gesa bldh Òud yx xà fd blesa dqN xM+cM+h gSA tc bUoSLVhxs’ku fd;k] r¨
irk yxk fd ogka i¨Çyx r¨ gqvk gh ugÈA geus ,d ckj ugÈ] n¨ ckj fji¨Çyx djokà v©j fjtYV feykAIn many
cases, we have changed the location, and brought the polling station down. As per our analysis
and situation, blesa t¨ buiqV vk;k] mlesa gekjh d¨f’k’k g¨xh fd dke Bhd g¨A fu;e pst djuk iM+sxk] r¨ djsaxsA
d¨Ã ernkrk o¨V ls oafpr u jg tk,] ;g gekjh d¨f’k’k gSA
98
DELEGATE: rhljh i¨Çyx esa i¨Çyx LVs’ku cnyk x;k gS v©j mlds ckotwn Òh rhu ijlsaV i¨Çyx gqà gSA
DR QURAISHI, ELECTION COMMISSIONER: ,sls esa i¨Çyx ijlsaV dh T;knk fpUrk ugÈ g¨rh gS] flok; blds
fd gesa yxs] de çfr’kr bafVfeMs’ku dh otg ls gS] Mj ds ekjs ugÈ gSA vnjokbt ,iSFkh Òh ugÈ vk jgk gS] fQj
mldk bykt ,tqds’ku gS] Mj ds ekjs ugÈ vk jgk gS] r¨ gesa flD¸k¨fjVh nsuh pkfg,A oyuSjsfofyVh v©j eSÇix ‘’kq#
gqvk gS] [kkl r©j ls ;wih esaA i¨Çyx LVs’ku dh igys ifjÒk"kk Fkh] ukeZy] lSÇlfVo v©j gkbijlSaflfVo] og cM+h
bu,fVd FkhA fdlh i¨Çyx LVs’ku ij 30 lky igys d¨Ã >xM+k g¨ x;k] geus mld¨ lSlafVo fMDys;j dj fn;kA
vxj eMZj gqvk] rhl lky igys] r¨ geus mld¨ gkbijlSlafVo fMDys;j dj fn;kA igys dÒh d¨Ã ÄVuk ÄVh v©j
ckn esa gkykr Bhd g¨ x,] r¨ mld¨ fMDykflQkà Òh djuk pkfg,A bl otg ls fel;wt fd;k tk jgk gSA mEehnokj a
ls iwNk tk,xk] r¨ os ,d nwljs ls cwFk d¨ lSalfVo dgsaxs] rkfd lkjh Q¨lZ ,d i¨Çyx LVs’ku ij yxk nh tk, v©j
vius i¨Çyx LVs’ku ij fjÇxx nckdj djsaxsA mudh d¨f’k’k fjolZ g¨rh FkhA xyr DykflfQds’ku dh otg ls
fMIyk;esaV Q¨lZ xyr g¨ tkrh FkhA og geus N¨M+ nhA geus ;g fopkj fd;k] ns[kk tk, fdrus y¨x¨a d¨ dkMZ feyk gS
v©j o¨ÇVx çfr’kr 50 çfr’kr gS v©j fdlh ,d cwFk esa 80 çfr’kr gS] r¨ D;k ;gka ij d¨Ã fjÇxx r¨ ugÈ gqà gSA
bld¨ Òh ns[kk tkuk pkfg,A fdlh txg ij 10&20 çfr’kr gS] r¨ fd;k bafVfeMs’ku r¨ ugÈ g¨ jgk gS] bld¨ okp
djuk pkfg,A bl rjg ls geus 8&10 ØkbVsfj;k cuk, gq, gSaA mŸkj çns’k esa ,sls y¨x lkeus vk,] ftUg aus 57 lky esa
igyh ckj o¨V fd;kA ogka dh fLFkfr d¨ v©j LVªSaFku fd;k] ckn ds pquko esa v©j bld¨ v©j etcwr djsaxsA gekjh r¨
N¨Vh lh laLFkk gS] 250&300 y¨x fnYyh esa gSa v©j 10&15 y¨x jkT; a esa g¨rs gSaA pquko ds n©jku 70 yk[k y¨x gekjs
ikl MSI;qVs’ku ij g¨rs gSaA gekjh vka[ksa v©j dku r¨ vki gh y¨x gSaA jktuhfrd ny r¨ vkil dh ‘’kkVZ dÇeXl d¨
tkurs gSaA mudh f’kdk;r¨a ij Òh ge y¨x fj;SDV djrs gSa v©j ehfM;k fji¨V~lZ ij fj;SDV djrs gSaA vki y¨x a ds
buiqV~l ij Òh ge y¨x fj;SDV djrs gSaA d¨f’k’k gS fd gj vkneh d¨ o¨V djus dk e©dk feys v©j xyr y¨x a d¨
uke dVsaA
MR MADHAV RAO: You have mentioned about the role of observers. Right now, only officers
are appointed as observers and they are a very few in number. We are also feeling that already
30-40% are appointed and you cannot have more of them. One, two or three observers in a dis-
trict or a constituency are inadequate. Can you consider appointing a non-official as observers
also? We did this in Andhra Pradesh for the Local-body elections for the first time. All the politi-
cal parties objected to it. We experimented with one district. They said that this was wrong. But
I went ahead as the State Election Commissioner and this was very helpful. Then, they said, that
man could be biased. You have trusted Trilochan Sastry and Mr. Ranade. If he gives us a list of
A, B, and C, then he can be selected. A = B; B= C. Therefore, A = C. You could have trusted
people who are not officers, but who can be observers.
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In the second round, even to avoid this possible criticism, I have formed a three member
team of observers. Last year, we obtained a list of associations, civil society organisations, re-
tired officers, High Court Judges’ Association, and eminent Chartered Accountants and so on.
This is one suggestion. Second is that the tendered votes is not counted as of now. If I go to the
poll, by then, my vote has already been casted. I give tendered vote, with the knowledge that it
will not be counted unless a difference in votes is less than the tendered votes. What we did
was that we discouraged this prima-facie. If the tendered votes go beyond 3% of the total
polled votes, there should be an automatic re-election. This again gave good results. The third
is about the polling agent. The people from outside the village and outside the ward, who are
musclemen are brought as polling agents into my constituency. The antecedents of polling
agent should be verified by the police in advance, before he is appointed as a polling agent. You
have all the power. The M.S. Gill judgement says, “What is not prohibited, you are free to do it
in law”.
DR QURAISHI, ELECTION COMMISSIONER: We have been discussing about appointing non-
officials as observers. We do feel the shortage of officers. Though we did think about assigning
the retired officers. Which would be a good idea as they would have all the experience and the
credibility. They are available; they have the time; and moreover they want to volunteer. Be-
fore long, we will probably be doing exactly that. Our only constraint is how to take an action
against them. The simplest action against the officers is to suspend them. The question that
remains is what we do with the non-officials; filing an FIR and how many FIR cases will be regis-
tered. To appoint the retired officers as observers will be a good idea and I think that the polit-
ical parties will also accept that.
About the tendered vote, of course, your point is well taken. Thirdly by the way of in-
formation about the polling agent, we allow them to take people from within the same booth.
The purpose is to identify the voters. Otherwise, you will get the musclemen as polling agent
from outside. Every now and then the political parties come and represent that in a particular
area, there is no voter and they have to bring the agents from outside. We said that it is a mat-
ter of shame that in the whole constituency, they didn’t have people and they wanted to bring
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people from outside. They insisted but we did not yield. Our insistence is that the polling agent
has to be from the local booth area so that he can identify the people who come to vote.
DELEGATE: Is there any law to mix votes from more than two polling booth centres before the
actual counting?
DR QURAISHI, ELECTION COMMISSIONER: tc rd e’khu ’kq# ugÈ Fkh] fofÒUu {ks=¨a ds cSysV ckDlSl d¨
[k¨ydj feDl djrs Fks] rkfd irk u py lds fd fdl xkao esa v©j fdl {ks= esa fdl ikVÆ d¨ fdrus er feys gSaA
vxj fdlh xkao esa fdlh ikVÆ d¨ o¨V ugÈ fn;k] r¨ ml xkao d¨ vxys ikap lky rd ltk feyrh Fkh- ysfdu tc ls
e’khu vkà gS] ;g pht [kRe g¨ xà gSA gesa bldh fpUrk FkhA ;wih esa ,d mEehnokj MSdk;V Fkk v©j nwljs fuokZpu {ks=
esa nwljs MSdk;V dh enj FkhA bu y¨x¨a us e©MSl vkijsaMh D;k fd;k] 4&5 gtkj vkneh gk;j fd,] t¨ M¨j&Vw&M¨j
tkdj dgrs Fks] vxj gekjs mEehnokj d¨ 80 çfr’kr er ugÈ yk,] r¨ rqEgkjh Vkaxs r¨M+ nsaxsA Vkaxsa r¨M+uk r¨ cgqr nwj
dh ckr gS] ge rqEgkjk eMZj dj nsaxsA So, we realize that there is a need for anonymity of the area also.
We have now prepared a totaliser, Prof Indersashan is here, he is the former Director of IIT-
Madras,,d V¨Vykbtj cuok;k gS] t¨ 14 e’khu a dk MkVk ysdj ,d esa bafVXkzsV dj nsxk] but aggregrate will
be the same. bld¨ i¨fyfVdyh eUtwj g¨uk pkfg,A bl ckjs esa geus gky gh esa jktuhfrd ny¨a ls ckrphr dh]
lkjs jktuhfrd ny] ç¨QSlj lkgc v©j budh VSDyhdy Vhe e©twn Fkh v©j n¨u a deaifu;ka e©twn FkhA mUg aus
fMekaLVªsV fd;k] jktuhfrd ny¨a us bld¨ ,DlSIV dj fy;k gSA vc bld¨ ge flySfDVoyh bl pquko esa ;wt djsaxsA
gj txg djus dh t:jr ugÈ gSA tgka gesa yxsxk fd bafVfeMs’ku ds pkalSl gSa] ogka ge bld¨ ;wt djsaxsA
DELEGATE: eg¨n;] ;wih dh ckr g¨ jgh gS] eSa ijl a gh y[kuÅ ls y©Vh gwaA pwafd eSa ljdkjh u©djh esa gwa] eSa ,slh
txg ij cSBrh gwa] tgka ij y¨x ckr dj jgs Fks fd pquko vk;¨x us fyLV ekaxh gS] dfeVsM vkfQllZ dhA dfeVsM
C;qj©Øslh dh ckr gqà v©j ogka ij lkjs vkfQlj¨a esa ppkZ Fkh v©j lc ijs’kku FksA D; afd ,d ckj tc uke tkrs gSa] r¨
eq>s irk pyk gS] 6 lky rd mudh lSflfVo i¨ÇLVx ugÈ g¨rh gSA vkfQlj y¨x bl d¨f’k’k esa yxs gSa fd muds uke
u tk;sa v©j tkus ls igys pkg jgs gSa fd mudh i¨ÇLVx lkbM esa g¨ tk,A tSls vkÃth y[kuÅ dh iRuh d¨ efgyk
vk;¨x dk inkf/kdkjh cuk;k gqvk gSA os igys ls d¨f’k’k dj jgs gSa fd ge lkbM esa tk;sa] ftlls ge y¨x 6 lky dh
fyLV esa ugÈ vk;saxsA esjk ekuuk gS fd ;g t¨ desfVM C;¨j¨Øslh gS] bldh fyLV Òh pquko vk;¨x d¨ fudkyuh
pkfg,A flQZ ;g djus ls ;s dfeVsM gSa] bud¨ gVk nhft,A vke turk d¨ Òh] gekjs tSls y¨x¨a d¨ Òh irk pyuk
pkfg, v©j rÒh bu vkfQlj a ij pSd g¨xh] tc vkidh fyLV vk tk,xhA vÒh r¨ fLFkfr ;g gS fd y¨x n¨ dSEi esa
caVs gq, gSa & ,d ek;korh dSEi v©j nwljs eqyk;eÇlg dSEiA vf/kdkfj;¨a dk Òh ifjp; g¨rk gS] eq>s gSjkuh g¨rh gS] ;g
,eoh dSEi gS v©j ;g ,e,l dSEi gSA
DR QURAISHI, ELECTION COMMISSIONER: vkius cgqr gh iÆVusaV pht crkà gSA ge blls Mhy djrs gSaA
pquko ls igys ge ,d cM+h DokbV ,DllkZbt djrs gSaA oSls r¨ ge lÒh C;qj¨ØsV~l gSaA ge vius uSVoDlZ ls] ge vius
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cSpesV ls] vkfQllZ ds cSpeSV ls] gj ikflcy l¨lZ ls tkudkjh bdV~Bh djrs gSaA eè; çns’k ds lhÃv¨ lkgc cSBs gSaA
mUg¨aus cgqr gh [kqclwjr fyLV cukà gqà Fkh fd ;s vkfQlj gSa] ;s ,aVhflMSaV~l gSaA gekjs lkeus Qkby j[k nh v©j geus
pqusA dqN r¨ C;qj¨ØsV~l ,u¨fuelyh tkrs gSaA dqN jktuhfrd ny ged¨ Q¨eZyh dEiysaV djrs gSa] nwljs dSaMhMsV~l ls
f’kdk;r vkrh gSA çSl dh fji¨VZ dk ,ukfylSl djrs gSa v©j vius r©j ij M¨ft;j esaVsu djus dh d¨f’k’k djrs gSaA
nwljh pht] flLVe d¨ phV djus ds fy, Òh dk;Zokgh g¨rh gSA igys ;g Fkk fd t¨ rhu lky rd i¨LVsM gS]
mlds fy, gekjs LVSaÇMx vkMZj gSa] mud¨ ogka ls gVk;k tk,A os D;k djrs gSa fd t¨ igys dÒh rhu lky jg pqdk
g¨xk] mld¨ pquko ls igys gVk fn;k v©j vc vxj os ekaxsxs] r¨ og rhu lky ls ugÈ] rhu eghus ls gSaA r¨ geus dgk
fd ugÈ] gesa pkj lky dk ,ukfylSl pkfg,A pkj lky esa rhu lky ;gka i¨ÇLVx u dh g¨A ;g lc ge :y esa cnyko
djrs jgrs gSaA blfy, fd e¨fVosVst y¨x ;k despÇVM y¨x u vk tk;saA
eSa vkid¨ ;wih mnkgj.k nsrk gwaA ;qih dk pquko lkr Qst esa gqvkA igys n¨ Qsl esa ns[kk] mudh ckMh ySaXost
ls fd mud¨ gekjh d¨Ã ijokg ugÈ gSA os ,d ikVÆ ;k nwljh ikVÆ ds lkFk gSaA ysfdu rhljs&p©Fks Qsl esa mud¨ yxk
fd psat vki fjthe laÒo gS] r¨ mudh ckMh ySaXost psat g¨ tkrh gSA gkayfd bl ckj fMl,MokaVst ;g Fkh fd LVsV
xouZesaV r¨ cny xà gS v©j pquko laln ds gSa] r¨ dSls Mhy djsaxsA pSat vkQ xouZesaV dk d¨Ã ,';¨jsal ugÈ gSA This
time the task will be somewhat more difficult. Our feedback system is very important. Qkbuyh t¨
vkidk foÒkx gS] balhtMsaVyh ge ml ij ckbaM djuk pkgrs gSaA,d i¨LVeSau r¨ fdlds Äj esa D;k [kkuk id jgk gS]
mldk Òh irk g¨rk gSA We want to use your machinery for the election purposes, for delievering
your cards and updating the electoral rolls. You are here because you are so concerned. You
send some suggestions about involving the Department of Posts. We will be very happy to use
that. desVsM vkfQlj esa ,d yhxy leL;k gSA I am not quilty, but proved guilty. ,d llfif’k;u gSA ,d
vkneh [kjkc gS] ;g t:jh ugÈ gS fd og [kjkc gS] og Bhd Òh g¨ ldrk gSA It can be a very subjective opi-
nion. ge 15&20 fnu rd mldh okp j[krs gSaA geus ns[kk] pquko MÓqVh esa gekjs t¨ vkCtoZj gSa] ;k vkfQlj gSa]
mUg¨aus Fk¨M+h lh Òh xM+cM+h dh] rc mud¨ gVkrs gSa] og CySd ekdZ ,slk gS] t¨ ftUnxh Òj mudh flfoy lÆol dSfj;j
esa gVZ djrk gSA ge dsoy ijlSI’ku ds cslsl ij dke djsaA og yhxyh v©j e¨jyh xyr g¨xk] D;¨afd gekjk ,lSlesaV
;k fji¨VZ e¨fVosVsM Òh g¨ ldrh gSA Bhd Òh g¨ ldrh gSA
DELEGATE: eSa vkid¨ crkuk pkgrk gwa fd v[kckj ds Qqy ist esa deZpkjh ;wfu;u }kjk ,d ikVÆ dh rji ls
ckd;nk çpkj fd;k x;k gS] ftlesa fy[kk x;k gS] chtsih ljdkj us ged¨ D;k fn;k v©j dkaXkzsl dh ljdkj us ged¨
D;k&D;k ugh fn;kA ml muds vè;{k] lfpo ds uke Q¨V¨ ds lkFk fn, x, gSaA mldh f’kdk;r geus fnYyh v©j
jktLFkku CEO vkfQl esa dhA
nwljh ckr] tkfr ds uke ij o¨V ds çpkj fd;k x;k gSA tkfr czkºe.k egklÒk chtsih d¨ o¨V Mkys] QykuÈ
tSu lÒk] vXkzoky lÒk tkfr ds vk/kkj ij cM+s&cM+s v[kckj esa i¨LVlZ NisA tkfr ds vk/kkj ij bl rjg dh vihu
102
djus dk t¨ rjhdk gS- D;k ehfM;k ij Òh d¨Ã okpMkx ;k d¨M vkQ dUMDV ykxw g¨ ldrk gS ;k deZpkjh ;wfu;u ds
f[kykQ D;k ,D’ku fy;k tk ldrk gS?
DR QURAISHI, ELECTION COMMISSIONER: vkius vÒh ,d i¨LVj dh ckr dgh] fou¨nth] bl ckjs esa eq>s
crkb, fd ,slk D;k gqvk FkkA ;g cgqr xEÒhj ekeyk gSA pquko cs’kd [kRe g¨ pqds gSa] ysfdu bl pht d¨ gesa ns[kuk
pkfg,A dkLV csl i¨LVlZ dk g¨uk] ge viuh rjQ ls cgqr yM+rs gSa ehfM;k ls ge ÝSad gSa] ehfM;k ls r¨ D;k yM+saA
ehfM;k gekjs f[kykQ g¨ tk,xh] r¨ gekjh ØSMhfcfyVh d¨ os [kRe dj nsaxsA buds ikl r¨ cgqr dke gSA bySD’ku dkMZ
esa vxj d¨Ã xyr Q¨V¨ Ni xÃ] r¨ bySDV¨jy j¨y esa xyfr;ka g¨rh gSA lqçhe d¨VZ us Òh ekuk gS fd bySDV¨jy j¨y
dÒh Òh ijQSDV ugh g¨ ldrk gSA ;s ge d¨ v©j cnuke djus esa yx tk;saxsA ;s gekjs nq'eu cu tk;saxsA mld¨ Òh
ge ugÈ djuk pkgrs gSaA ysfdu vki y¨x D;k dj ldrs gSa] mu ij okp djus ds fy,] ml ij x©j dfj,A
DELEGATE: It is a good thing that the Election Commission is making people aware that they
should go out and vote in large numbers and there should be a large voter’s turnout. At the
same time, in the end of your election, the by-product of democracy should be addressed by
the entire society. This is a very pertinent question. I wanted your comments on whether diver-
sity and democracy can exist together or not. How can there be a balance and an effective sys-
tem of government having enough checks and balances and is not arbitrary. As a society how
can we change and make the system more effective?
DR QURAISHI, ELECTION COMMISSIONER: blesa r¨ d¨Ã budafllVSalh ugh gSA MkboÆlVh dk lcls vPNk
çtSVs’ku Fkzw MSe¨Øslh gh gSA pquko vk;¨x dk dke r¨ Ýh ,aM Qs;j pquko djkuk gh gSA ge mlds ckgj ugÈ tk ldrs
gSaA lekt d¨ lq/kkjuk ,d vyx ckr gSA ge vius dke d¨ iwjh rjg ls fuÒkg ysa] og ,d cgqr cM+h ckr gS- blesa r¨
l¨lk;Vh d¨ gh j¨y Iys djuk pkfg,A gekjk vkils fuosnu gS fd vki gekjs lkFk gSaA
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ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN ELECTIONS
MR ANIL BAIRWAL: bl l= d¨ ps;j djus ds fy, eSa Jh fuf[ky Ms th d¨ vkefU=r djrk gwa v©j lkFk esa ÒkÃ
egs’kkuUnth] Xkzke LojkT; lfefr v©j Jh vjfoUn dstjhoky] ifjorZu d¨ LVst ij vkus ds fy, vkefU=r djrk gwaA
MR NIKHIL DEY: lkfFk; a] tc rd egs’kkuUnth v©j vjfoUnth lÒk esa vius fopkj j[kwa] eSa n¨ ‘’kCn dguk pkgrk
gwaA eSa ;g dguk pkgrk gwa fd eSa bl lÒk d¨ ps;j djus ds yk;d ugÈ gwa v©j ps;j djuk Òh ugÈ pkgrk gwaA blds n¨
dkj.k gSa] D;¨afd vU; n¨ O;fDr Òh mrus gh vuqÒoh gSa v©j lÒk d¨ ps;j djus ds yk;d gwaA
eSa ,d pht tkuuk pkgrk gwa] ;gka ,sls fdrus y¨x gSa] t¨ fgUnh ugÈ le>rs gSaA dkj.k ;g fd ,d fjDoSLV vkà Fkh fd
fiNys lkjs lS’ku yxÒx vaXkzsth esa pys gSa v©j dqN y¨x a us dgk gS fd dqN lS’ku fgUnh Òh pysaA vkt dk fo"k;
flfoy l¨lk;Vh ls lacaf/kr gS v©j ;g fo"k; turk ls tqM+k gqvk gSA t¨ y¨x fgUnh ugÈ le>rs gSa] ;fn mud¨
VªkalysV dh lqfo/kk miyC/k djk ns] r¨ ge bl lS’ku d¨ fgUnh esa gh pyk;saA ,slk yxrk gS fd bldh lgefr gSA ;fn
d¨Ã vaXkzsth esa c¨yuk pkgsa] r¨ vaXkzsth esa viuh ckr j[k ldrs gSaA
nwljh ckr] ge Fk¨M+k&Fk¨M+k c¨ydj] ;fn bl ppkZ d¨ [kqyh ppkZ ds :i esa ysa] r¨ vPNk jgsxkA vkt dh bl
ppkZ ds fy, gekjs ikl vk/ks ÄUVs dk le; gSA bl esa vPNk jgsxk ;fn vf/kd ls vf/kd le; vkids lq>ko v©j ppkZ
ds :i esa vk ldsaA vc eSa Jh egs’kkuUnth] t¨ l©uÒæ ls gSa] vkefU=r djrk gwa v©j muds ckn Jh vjfoUn th vius
fopkj j[ksaxsA
Jh egs’kkuUn% Jh egs’kkuUn% Jh egs’kkuUn% Jh egs’kkuUn% lkfFk; a] mŸkj çns’k ds ,d ,sls {ks= ls ge vk, gSa] tgka NŸkhlx<+] >kj[k.M v©j eè;çns’k dk ,d
p©jkgk gqvk djrk FkkA ;g vkfnoklh {ks= gSA vkfnoklh dh c¨yh] Òk"kk] jgu&dgu vyx rjhds dk gSA fgUnh lc y¨x
tkurs gSa] ysfdu vaXkzsth c¨yuk t:jh gS] mlh rjg ls vkfnokfl;¨a ds chp esa u ge fgUnh dk;ns ls tkurs gSa v©j
vaXkzsth c¨yus dh r¨ ckr gh ugÈA muds chp esa Òh ge y¨x çseNk;k esa cSBdj dqN dke djuk ‘’kq# fd,A vknj.kh;
y{ehpUn R;kxhth v©j tSuth ;gka gSa] t¨ cjkcj ge y¨x a d¨ ekxZn’kZu nsrs gSaA ge y¨x vkfnokfl; a dh leL;k d¨
ysdj] mudh vktknh d¨ ysdj] t¨ vktknh] vktknh ds ckn] fnYyh ls pydj xkao a esa tkuh Fkh] ftls xka/khth Òh
pkgrs Fks] vktknh ds fy, t¨ flikgh yM+ jgs Fks] os lc flikgh xkao a esa pys tk;sa] xkao¨a dh vktknh ds fy, dke djsa]
mudk liuk dgka rd lp gqvk ;k ugÈ lp gqvk] vki lc y¨x xkao Äj ls gSa] tkurs g axsA
vkt t:jr g¨ xà gS] bySD’ku okp ysdj] lÒh lgdeÆ t¨ dke djrs gSa] mudh] t¨ xka/kh th dk liuk Fkk
Xkzke LojkT; dk] ml lius d¨ tc rd ge xkao&xkao esa ugÈ ys tk;saxs v©j xkao lÒk d¨ etcwr ugÈ djsaxs] rc rd
‘’kk;n Åij rd tkus esa gesa fdruh dfBukà g¨xh] ge lQy g¨ ik;saxs ;k ugÈ g¨ ik;saxs] blesa eq>s dqN dgus esa
cM+k lUnsg yx jgk gSA
xkao dh ckr] xkao dh /kjrh] xkao dk ty] xkao dh tehu] reke cM+s y¨x¨a dk dgÈ u dgÈ ls utj vk x;k
gSA tc xkao dk vkneh viuh pht d¨ vius gkFk ls f[kldrk gqvk ns[krk gS] r¨ vkt t¨ ckr py jgh gS] gj xkao esa
uDlykbV iSnk g axs ghA mudh tehu t¨ os vius cki&nknk ds le; ls t¨r jgs Fks] mlds fy, çse Òkà vuojr
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ç;kl fd,A mu tehu ij iwathifr t¨ ckgj jgrs gSa] fnYyh esa jgrs gSa] y[kuÅ esa jgrs gSa] tehu muds uke esa jgrk gS
v©j gy xkao dk vkneh pykrk gSA mud¨ vkt mudh tehu nsus dh t:jr gSA vki y¨x¨a dh f’knŸk ls] ysfdu xkao
esa ml fu;e ds rgr y¨x¨a d¨ tc QkeZ Òjuk g¨rk gS] r¨ ys[kiky] iVokjh v©j lkjs y¨x iSlk ys jgs gSaA QkeZ Òjus
ds uke ij] D; afd xkao ds y¨x i<+s&fy[ks ugÈ gS] tc xkao esa usrk tkrs gSa o¨V ds le; esa] r¨ dke D;k djsaxs] bl
fo"k; esa ugÈ crkrs gSaA ge O;fDrxr :i ls mud¨ D;k nsaxs] bl fo"k; esa crkrs gSaA ewY; a dh ckr ugÈ djrs gSaA ewY;¨a
dh ckr djsaxs] r¨ ‘’kk;n mud¨ vkxs le; esa fndDr g¨xhA blfy, ewY; a dh ckr ugÈ djrs gSaA Xkzke iapk;r¨a] Xkzke
lÒkv a ds l’kDrhdj.k dh ckr ugÈ djrs gSaA tc xkao etcwr g¨xk] xkao dh tehu] xkao dh /kjrh] xkao dh [kq’kgkyh]
xkao dh vktknh] xkao ds y¨x r; djsaxs] viuh p©iky¨a esa pht a d¨ r; djsaxs] t¨ xkao lÒk;sa r; djsax] ogh iapk;rsa
djsaxhA ;g ckr t¨ g¨uh Fkh] og vkt dh rkjh[k esa] eq>s yxrk gS fd xkao esa ugÈ g¨ jgh gSA ogka Òh jktuhfrd y¨x
igqap x, gSa] D;¨afd gj xkao esa ç/kkuea=h ;¨puk ds rgr cM+h&cM+h lM+dsa cu jgh gSa] mu lM+d a d¨ cukus okys cM+s&cM+s
Bsdsnkj Òh mu lM+d a d¨ cukus ds cgkus ogka igqap x, gSaA xkao ds y¨x¨a dh etnwjh dk ‘’k¨"k.k g¨ jgk gSA xkao esa
t¨ lM+d cu jgh gS] og fdlds fy, cu jgh gSA gekjs ;gka ’kknh&C;kg esa ,d fnu ds fy, d¨Ã xkM+h pyh tkrh
g¨xhA gesa lM+d¨a dh ugÈ] cfYd ikuh dh t:jr gSA ikuh ds fy, bl rjg dh d¨Ã ;¨tuk ugÈ vkà gSA xkao ds y¨x
fdl rjg dh ;¨tuk cukuk pkgrs gSa] ;s lc ckrsa xkao oky a esa vkil esa cSBdj r; g¨uh pkfg,A y¨drU= d¨ c<+koknsus
ds fy, ;g dke ugÈ g¨ jgk gSA ;g dke djus dh t:jr gSA vktknh ds le; ds y¨x¨a us vxj bl dke d¨ fd;k
g¨rk] lkjs vktknh dh yM+kà yM+us okys y¨x a us xkao¨a esa vkJe cukdj xkao esa jg jgs g¨rs] ,d&,d xkao d¨ ,MkIV
dj fy;k g¨rk] r¨ ‘’kk;n ;g ckr ugÈ g¨xhA ;s usrk xkao d¨ [kkyh ns[kdj] LorU= ns[kdj] pquko ds le; tkdj
yEcs&yEcs ok;ns djrs gSa] vius fo"k; esa de v©j ok;n¨a ds fo"k; esa cgqr crkrs gSaA mlds ckn fQj ikap lky rd xkao
ds y¨x¨a ls fj'rk gh ugÈ j[krs gSaA xkao dk vkneh tc gSaMiEi ;k ikuh ds fy, tkrk gS] r¨ ogka Òh mudh ckr ugÈ
lquh tkrh gSA Òw[ks&I;kls xkao d¨ vktkn djus dh yM+kà esa ,Mhvkj t¨ dke dj jgk gS] xkao&xkao esa ckr igqap jgh gS
v©j y¨x a us loky mBkuk ’kq# dj fn;k gSA
usrk tc pquko ds le; xkao esa tkrs gSa] r¨ y¨x muls iwNrs gS] vki fiNys pquko esa vk, Fks] cgqr lh ckrsa gqÃ
FkÈ] os dgka rd iwjh gqà gSaA vki pquko ds gekjs xkao esa fdruh ckj vk, g¨] vc rd vkius D;k dke fd, gSa v©j vc
D;¨a vk, g¨] vius LokFkZ ls vk, g¨ ;k xkao ds LokFkZ ls vk, g¨ & ;s loky xkao ds y¨x a us iwNuk ’kq# dj fn;k gSA
blls y¨x¨a esa ,d cspSuh g¨uh ’kq# g¨ xà gSA cspSuh dk vkye ;g gS fd t¨ vf/kd loky djrk gS] vf/kd c¨yrk gS]
mld¨ dg fn;k tkrk gS fd og uDlykbV gSA uDlykbV dg dj mud¨ rjg&rjg ds eqdÌe a esa Qalk fn;k tkrk gSA
,Mhvkj ds fy, ge dke djrs jgrs gSa] y¨x dke djrs jgrs gSa v©j t¨ ny thr tkrk gS ;k gkj tkrk gS] os n¨u¨a ckn
esa xkao ds y¨x a d¨ ns[kuk ugÈ pkgrs gSa] D;¨afd ;s y¨x r¨ lwpuk ds vf/kdkj dh rjg lwpuk fudkyh v©j fudykus ds
ckn v[kckj a esa nsrs gSa] Vhoh esa nsrs gSa] t¨ çdkf’kr gqvk gS] mldk mu ij ij vlj iM+k gSA ;s y¨x ckn dk;ZdrkZv a
ds nq'eu cu tkrs gSaA ge bl lnu esa ;g ckr j[kuk pkgrs gSaA dk;ZdrkZv a dh lkekftd lqj{kk ds fy, d¨Ã iDdk
bUrtke g¨ ldrk gS] vxj g¨ ldrk gS] r¨ ge lc y¨x a d¨ ml fo"k; ij ckr t:j djuh pkfg,A gekjs ikl d¨Ã
bl rjg dk ifjp; i= g¨] ;fn pquko vk;¨x ds ikl tk;sa] r¨ og ;g le>s fd ;g okLro esa lkekftd dk;ZdrkZ gS]
bldh igpku gSA t¨ dke dj jgs gSa] mud¨ d¨Ã lqj{kk feyuh pkfg,A gj ,d txg cM+s y¨x¨a d¨ iqfyl ds y¨x
tkus nsrs gSa] xkao&cfy oky a d¨ tkus nsrs gSa] cM+h xkM+h oky a d¨ tkus nsrs gSa] ysfdu vke vkneh] ftldh f’kdk;r g¨rh
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gS] tgka mld¨ igqapuk pkfg,] og ugÈ igqap ikrk gSA mldh vkokt nc tkrh gSA eq>s yxrk gS] vkt t¨ y¨x dke
dj jgs gSa] bl dke d¨ ged¨ feydj djuk pkfg,A
nwljh ckr] ,d {ks= esa] ,d dke djds] ,d lDlSl LV¨jh rS;kj djsa] og vPNh ckr gSA ysfdu mlds vykok
Òh ge viuh ckr d¨] ge viuh lqxU/k d¨ v©j nwljs {ks=¨a esa ys tk;saA l©uÒæ dh pht dSls mM+hlk ds vkfnokfl; a esa
tk;,xh] bl fo"k; ij Òh ge y¨x¨a d¨ ckr djus dh t:jr gS v©j bld¨ vkxs c<+kus dh t:jr gSA blesa dqN y¨x
leÆir çk.kok.k dk;ZdrkZ gS] mu çk.koku dk;ZdrkZv¨a dh dSls Ja[kyk cus ;k og Ja[kyk lekt ds dke d¨ vkxs c<+kus
ds fy, fujUrj dSls dke djs] bldh Òh ;¨tuk cukus ds fo"k; esa l¨puk pkfg,A pquko vk tk,] ge dqN rst g¨
tk;sa] pquko ds ckn ugÈ] pquko ls igys] pquko ds le; v©j pquko ds ckn rhu Qsl esa dke djuk gSA rhu a Qsl esa ge
vius d¨ dgka [kM+k djrs gSa] bl fo"k; esa B¨l j.kuhfr cukus dh t:jr gS v©j B¨l rjhds ls dke djus dh t:jr
gS] rÒh gekjk Lo’kkle Bhd g¨xkA tc ’kklu Bhd g¨xk] r¨ uhps ls phtsa c<+sxh v©j Åij rd vius vki igqapsxhA
tc gekjs xkao esa lkjs isM+ dkV fn, x, Fks] r¨ isM+ a dh tM+ a d¨ n¨ckjk yxkus dk dke vkfnokfl; a us fd;k FkkA ;g
,d cgqr cM+k mnkgj.k gSA le; de gS] blfy, ge pkgsaxs fd bl rjg ds dke a dh Ja[kyk dSls c<+s] blesa csgrj
rjhds ls] iwjs ns’k Òj esa] t¨ ØSfMfcyhVh ,Mhvkj dh gS] mld¨ ns[krs gq,] ge lc y¨x dke djsaA ;gh esjk fuosnu gSA
MR NIKHIL DEY: cgqr&cgqr /kU;oknA vjfoUn th ds ckjs esa ifjp; nsus dh t:jr ugÈ gSa] os [kqn gh vius ckjs esa
crk;saxsA lwpuk ds vf/kdkj ds lkFk ifjorZu ewoesaV ls ’kq# djds Xkzkl :V MSe¨Øslh ij dke dj jgs gSaA
Jh vjfoUn dstjhoky% Jh vjfoUn dstjhoky% Jh vjfoUn dstjhoky% Jh vjfoUn dstjhoky% lkfFk; a] N%&lkr lky igys lqçhe d¨VZ dk ttesaV vk;k Fkk] ftlesa lkjs mEehnokj
viuk&viuk ,fQMSfoV] ,lSV~l v©j fØfeuy ,UVhlhMSaV~l d¨ fMDys;j djuk g¨xkA ml oDr fdlh us l¨pk ugÈ Fkk
fd ;g ,d ttesaV bruk cM+k ewoesaV [kM+k dj nsxkA vkt brus lkjs y¨x t¨ bl gky esa cSBs gq, gSa] ns’k d¨us&d¨us
ls dsoy xko¨a ls gh ugÈ] cfYd ‘’kgj a ls Òh y¨x vk, gq, gSaA gj {ks= ds y¨x vk, gq, gSaA eSa lcls igys ,Mhvkj
d¨ c/kkà nsuk pkgrk gwa] [kkl r©j ls ç¨- f=y¨pu ‘’kkL=hth] Jh txnhi p¨dj] lqfuy gk.Mk] Jh vftr jk.kk Ms&
lc y¨x] ftUg¨aus fdLe&fdLe ds y¨x a d¨ bl fo"k; ds lkFk t¨M+ dj j[k fn;k gSA ;g ,d ,slk lEesyu gS] t¨ ,d
lkFk y¨x a d¨ ysdj vkrk gS v©j ,d lkFk ysdj y¨x a d¨ viuh&viu ckrsa dgus dk e©dk nsrk gSA eSa dy jkr d¨ gh
;gka vk;k gwaA vkt lqcg gh esa ,d DoS'pus;j fn[kk;k x;k] mld¨ i<+dj eq>s cgqr vPNk yxk] D;¨afd mlesa dqN ,sls
eqÌs gSa] t¨ fny d¨ Nw tkrs gSaA ;g ewoesaV iwjs ns’k ds i¨fyfVdy fjQkElZ] bySDV¨jy fjQkeZl dh ckr djus yxk gSA
mlds Åij ,d vke lgefr cukus v©j turk dh vkokt mBkus dh ckr ,thvkj djus yxk gSA blds fy, Òh eSa
,Mhvkj d¨ c/kkà nsuk pkgrk gwaA
eSa la{ksi esa viuh ckr j[krs gq,] ;g dguk pkgrk gwa fd esjs lkeus ,d /keZ ladV gS] t¨ eSa vkids lkeus
j[kuk pkgrk gwaA vki lc y¨x¨a ls eSa mez esa v©j vuqÒo esa cgqr N¨Vk gwa] ysfdu turU= d¨ Fk¨M+k cgqr le>us dh t¨
eSaus d¨f’k’k dh gS] og eSa vkids lkeus j[kuk pkgrk gwaA eq>s le> esa ugÈ vk;k fd gekjk Òkjr ns’k fdruk turkfU=d
gSA ge dgrs gSa fd India is the largest democracy in the world. eSa ,d ckr vkids lkeus j[kuk pkgrk gwaA
fiNys n¨ pquko a esa tc eSa o¨V Mkyus ds fy, x;k] cwFk rd igqapk] mEehnokj a d¨ ns[kk fd d©u&d©u ls [kM+s g¨ jgs
gSaA ckrphr dh] tkuus dh d¨f’k’k dh fd d©u&d©u y¨x gSa] r¨ fcYdqy Òh eu ugh fd;k fd fdlh Òh O;fDr d¨
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viuh dherh o¨V fn;k tk,A fQj fdlh us dgk fd vki ikVÆ ds vk/kkj ij o¨V Mky nhft,A eSaus dgk fd ;g r¨
v©j Òh eqf'dy ckr gS] D;¨afd lkjh dh lkjh ikÆV;ka ,d tSlh gSA dgus ds fy, r¨ vyx psgjk gS] ysfdu lkjs dke
,d tSls djrs gSaA tc lŸkk esa vk tkr gSa] r¨ xjhc a d¨ pwLrs gSa v©j lrkrs gSaA fdld¨ o¨V Mkyk tk,] esjs lkeus cgqr
cM+k /keZ ladV FkkA eSa i¨Çyx cwFk rd igqapdj okfil vk x;k] fcuk o¨V Mkys gq,A vki lc y¨x dgsaxs fd ;g dSlk
,fDVfoLV gSa] o¨V Òh ugÈ Mkyrk] ysfdu eSa D;k djrkA
eSaus lqcg tc DoS'pus;j i<k] r¨ eq>s vPNk yxkA mlesa “None of the above” dh ckr mB jgh gS v©j
ge y¨x¨a d¨ Òh viuh ckr dgus dk e©dk fey jgk gSA okfil vkdj eSaus l¨pk fd bu y¨x¨a d¨ ge ,e,y, v©j
,eih cukdj Òstrs gSa] ysfdu budk dke D;k gS] budk gekjs çtkrU= esa j¨y D;k gSA bld¨ eSaus le>us dh d¨f’k’k
dh v©j lafo/kku mBkdj ns[kkA tc pquko g¨rs Fks] ns’k ds d¨us&d¨us esa <sj¨a ,fDVfoLV] <sj¨a y¨x] ehfM;k ds y¨x y¨x¨a
ls vyx&vyx ls ç'u djrs gSa] tSls vkius ikap lky es D;k fd;k v©j vkus okys ikap lky a esa D;k djsaxsA ;s ç'u
fdrus tk;t gSa fd ,d ,e,y, v©j ,eih us vius fuokZpu {ks= esa D;k fd;k v©j os D;k djsaxsA lafo/kku [k¨y dj
ns[kk] r¨ irk pyk fd ,e,y, r¨ “Member of the Legislative Assembly” g¨rk gS] v©j ,eih “Mem-
ber of Parliament” g¨rk gS] ysfdu ,fXtD;qfoV dk fgLlk ugÈ g¨rk gS] og ySftlyspj dk fgLlk g¨rk gSA mldk
dke g¨rk gS fd tc d¨Ã ySftLys’ku fo/kku lÒk esa ;k laln esa vk,] r¨ ml ij ppkZ dj] ml ySftlys’ku d¨ ikl
djk,A vPNs fcy ikfjr djkus dh d¨f’k’k djsA ,d ckr ;g Òh g¨rh gS] tc Òh d¨Ã fcy laln ;k fo/kku lÒk esa
vkrk gS] r¨ ,eih ;k ,e,y, d¨ ugÈ irk g¨rk gS] ftls geus pqudj Òstk gSA ,d fcy t¨ laln esa vk;k] ml fcy
ij D;k g¨xk] og vius fuokZpu {ks= ds y¨x¨a d¨ ugh crkrk gSA mldh ikVÆ fCgi tkjh djrh gS v©j mldh
,dku~VsfcfyVh ikVÆ ds çfr g¨rh gS] fuokZpu {ks= ds y¨x a ds fy, ugÈA gkÃdekaM dgrk gS] gkFk mBkv¨] r¨ og gkFk
mBkrk gS v©j ;fn og dgrk gS fd gkFk uhps dj¨] r¨ og gkFk uhps dj nsrk gS- og dgrk gS fd “Yes” dk cVu
nckv¨a r¨ og “Yes” dk cVu nck nsrk gS v©j ;fn “No” dk cVu nckv a] r¨ og “No” dk cVu nck nsrk
gSA rc eSaus l¨pk fd ;g fdlk çtkrU= gS- geus mld¨ pqudj Òstk gS v©j og gekjh ckr rd ugÈ lqurk gSA
nwljh ckr] laln esa ;k fo/kku lÒkv a esa ç'u iwNs tkrs gSaA t¨ ç'u iwNs tkrs gSa] mldh ykVªh fudyrh gSA
vkius fdlh ,e,y, ;k ,eih ls lÒk esa ç'u iwNokus dh d¨f’k’k dh g¨] r¨ g¨rk gS fd os ,d&n¨ ckj vulDlSlQqy
g¨ tkrs gSa] D;¨afd ykVªh esa mudk uEcj ugÈ vk;kA eryc fd os ç'u Òh ugÈ iwN ldrs gSaA ns’k dh leL;kv a d¨
ykVªh ls l©Yo fd;k tkrk gSA ;g fdl rjg dk turU= gS] esjh le> esa ugÈ vk;kA ge dgrs gSa fd ge fjçtsVsfVo
MSe¨Øslh gSaA eSa r¨ dgrk gwa fd fjçtsVsfVo MSe¨Øslh Òh ugÈ gS v©j gekjs fjçtsVsfVOl Òh mrus gh ghu&nhu v©j cspkjs
gSa] ftruh fd vktkn ns’k dh turkA fefuLVj dh pyrh gS v©j lds vykok fdlh ugÈ pyrh gSA eSaus tc lklan ls
ckr dh fd ;g dSls ikl g¨ x;k v©j vkius dSls bl ij o¨V dj fn;kA mudk dguk Fkk fd gesa irk gh ugÈ pykA
lklan¨a d¨ irk ugh pyrk gS v©j fcy ikl g¨ tkrs gSaA blesa g¨rk ;g gS fd gekjh ikVÆ dk LVSaM gSA
geus dgk fd o¨V r¨ vkius fd;k Fkk] vkidh ikVÆ dk LVSaM gS] r¨ vkid¨ c¨yuk pkfg, FkkA ge ikVÆ ds f[kykQ ugÈ
c¨y ldrs gSaA ge y¨x a ds f[kykQ fcy ikl g¨ tkrs gSa v©j gekjs fjçtsaVsfVOl dqN c¨y ugÈ ldrs gSaA ,l,pv¨
d¨ gekjs ns’k esa blfy, fu;qDr fd;k fd og gekjs y¨x¨a dh lsok djs v©j lsok djus ds fy, ge y¨x a us fjl¨l¢Zt
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fn, v©j rkdr nh fd og y¨x¨a dh lsok dj ldsA ;g ,l,pv¨ gS v©j ;g vke vkneh gS] ;s nQrj esa tkrk gS v©j
og ,QvkÃvkj ntZ ugÈ djrkA bl ,l,pv¨ dh ml vkneh ds çfr d¨Ã ,dkmUVscsfyVh ugÈ gSA ,l,pv¨
,dkmUVscy gS] Mh,lih ds çfr] Mh,lh ,lih d¨ v©j ,lih vkÃth d¨] vkÃth Mhth d¨ v©j Mhth g¨e fefuLVj ds
çfr ,dkmUVscy gSA ;s bl vkneh dk dqN ugÈ fcxkM+ ldrk gS] ;s O;fDr ,e,y, ds ikl tkrk gS] ,e,y,
ySftlyspj esa cSBrk gS] ySftLyspj dh bUMk;jSDV ,dkUVsfcfyVh g¨e fefuLVj ds çfr gS] mldk d¨Ã ugÈ fcxkM+ ldrk
gSA y¨x a dk ;g ekuuk gS fd bUMk;jSDV ,dkUVsfcfyVh ;gka ls t¨ Qy¨ dj jgh gS] blds dkV dj ;gka ls
,dkUVsfcfyVh d¨ fQDl ugÈ djk;saxs] rc rd ‘’kk;n cgqr dqN lq/kkj ugÈ g¨ ldrk gSA tc rd ;s vkneh ,l,pv¨
dk Mk;jSDVyh dqN u fcxkM+ lds] rc rd eq>s yxrk gS fd lq/kkj ugÈ vk ldrk gSA ;g rÒh laÒo gS] tc ge
fjçtSVsfVo MSe¨Øslh ls Mk;jSDV MSe¨Øslh dh rjQ ugÈ tk;saxsA t¨ Òkà egs’kkuUnth us ckr dh] Xkzke lÒkv a dh]
,EikojesaV dh] y¨x fdl rjg ls vius&vius xkao esa v©j ’kgj a esa r¨ vÒh e©gYyk lÒk gS gh ugÈ] mldh ckr gesa
djuh iM+sxh] vius&vius bykds esa fdl rjg ls viuh&viuh lŸkk [kqn pyk ldsA eè; çns’k dk ,d N¨Vk lk
mnkgj.k gS] tgka eè; çns’k esa fot;Çlg dh ljdkj us y¨x¨a d¨ ¸kg rkdr nh fd os vius bykds esa viuh Vhpj dh
ru[okg dkV ldrs gSa] vxj Vhpj Ldwy esa u vk,A vkaxuokM+h dh ru[okg dkV ldrs gSa] vxj vkaxuokjh odZj] gSYFk
odZj dke ij u vk,A ge eè; çns’k esa tgka&tgka x,] tgka y¨x¨a d¨ bl ckjs esa irk Fkk] xkao bdV~Bk gqvk v©j Vhpj
dh ru[okg dkVh v©j Vhpj us Ldwy esa vkuk pkyw dj fn;kA bl rjg dh ckr Òh ge y¨x¨a d¨ lkFk esa djuh iM+sxhA
esjk ,Mhvkj ds lkfFk; a ls fuosnu gS fd ;s Òh ,d cgqr cM+k i¨fyfVdy fjQkeZ dk eqÌk gSA vÒh ge y¨x laln v©j
fo/kkulÒkv¨a esa lq/kkj dh ckr dg jgs gSa] Xkzke iapk;r¨a ds fjQkeZ dh ckr Òh vius ,tsaMs esa t¨M+ ik¸ksa] r¨ vPNk g¨xkA
iapk;r ls esjk eryc ‘’kgj dh Òh ckr gSA
eSa viuh ckr ,d ckr dg dj lekIr d:axkA cgqr cM+h vi¨pZqfuVh gekjs lkeus gS] dsUæh; ljdkj us ,d
fcy rS;kj djds lkjs jkT;¨a d¨ Òstk gS] ftldk uke gS & uxjjkt fcyA mlesa igyh ckj ‘’kgj a esa tSlk xko a esa
Xkzke lÒk g¨rh gS] eryc dh Xkzke ds lkjs o¨Vj feydj Xkzke lÒk cukrs gSa] og Xkzke lÒk y¨x¨a dh tujy ckMh g¨rh gS
v©j Xkzke lÒk d¨ dqN rkdrsa nh gSa] jkT;¨a esa r¨ ugÈ nh gSa] ‘’kgj a esa r¨ bl rjg dk d¨Ã IysVQkeZ gh ugÈ FkkA ;g
fcy igyh ckj dgrk gS fd gj E;qfufliSfyVh ds okMZ d¨ N¨Vs&N¨Vs {ks=¨a esa foÒkftr fd;k tk,xk v©j bl ,fj;k dh
tula[;k ,d ls rhu gtkj dh g¨xhA bl ,fj;k ds jgus okys y¨x¨a d¨ ,fj;k lÒk c¨yk tk,xkA ,fj;k lÒk d¨ dqN
rkdr nsus dh ckr dgh tk jgh gSA igyh ckj ’kgj a ds fy, ,slk IysVQkeZ rS;kj fd;k tk jgk gSA dsUæh; ljdkj us
jkT;¨a d¨ blls lacaf/kr ,d çk:i Òstk gS v©j dgk gS fd vki bld¨ ikl djkb, v©j ugÈ r¨ ts,u;w v©j vkj,e;w
esa vkid¨ d¨Ã lgk;rk ugÈ nh tk,xhA dsUæ dk çk:i oSls gh cgqr cqjk gS] ysfdu jkT; a us r¨ mldk v©j Òh dpjk
dj fn;kA ysfdu N% jkT; a us bl xUns fcy d¨ ikl dj fn;k gS] t¨ d¨Ã rkdr y¨x¨a d¨ ugÈ nsrk gSA esjh çkFkZuk gS]
blds Åij y¨x¨a us cgqr ppkZ dh gS] ,d ,slk fcy rS;kj fd;k gS] t¨ ge y¨x pkgrs gSa fd ljdkj ikl djsA t¨
y¨x ;gka nwljs jkT;¨a ls vk, gq, gSa] os pkgsa eq>s viuk Ã&esy ,MªSl ns nsa] ge y¨x¨a us feydj t¨ fcy rS;kj fd;k gS]
eSa vki lÒh d¨ Òst nwxkaA vxj vki y¨x viuh&viuh ljdkj a ij ncko Mky ldsa fd cqjs fcy ds LFkku ij vPNk
fcy ikfjr djsa] ftlls okLro esa y¨x¨a d¨ rkdr feys] r¨ mlls dkQh lq/kkj vk,xkA cgqr&cgqr /kU;oknA
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MR NIKHIL DEY: eSa tYnh ls dqN fcUnqv a ij viuh ckr dg nsrk gwaA mlds ckn dqN fVIif.k;ka] ppkZ ;k loky
vk;sa] r¨ cgqr vPNk gSA
lcls igys eSa ,d ckr dguk pkgrk gwaA pk: v©j fou; us xkuk xkrs gq, dgk fd bl lEesyu ls mldk fdruk lanÒZ
gSA gesa ugh yxrk gS fd ewyÒwr lanÒZ gSA mUg aus t¨ xkuk xk;k] mlls bl lEesyu ds l¨p esa ,d cgqr cM+h deh
jgsxhA vkt ogh ckr gS] pkgs i¨fyfVdy fjQkeZ g¨ ;k bySDV¨jy fjQkeZ g¨] i¨fyfVdy <kaps dh ckr g¨] r¨ og ,d
cgqr cM+h pkch gS] gekjs iwjs lekt v©j lŸkk tSls pyrk gS] mlds ckjs esaA eSa oSls gh iwNuk pkgrk gwa] ;gka fdrus y¨x a
d¨ yxrk gS fd mldk d¨Ã lanÒZ ugÈ FkkA ,slk yxrk gS] ugÈ FkkA dqN y¨x a d¨ yxrk gSA ikap&lkr y¨x a d¨
yxrk gS fd ugÈ FkkA eq>s yxrk gS fd vxj ge bySDV¨jy fjQkeZ d¨ vxj czkMSLV lSal esa ugÈ le>sa v©j ns[ksa] mld¨
c<+krs tk;sa] dqN gn rd n¨u a lkfFk; a us t¨ ckr dgh] og Òh mlh fn’kk esa gS fd ge dsoy bySD’ku okp ij fleV
tk;sa] r¨ ,d cgqr cM+h fnDdr g¨xhA ;gh g¨xk] t¨ vkt g¨ jgk gS fd gesa mEehnokj a ds ,ihMsfoV~l r¨ fey x,] mu
,fQMsfoV~l dk ikap&nl fnu esa fo'ys"k.k dj fn;k v©j mld¨ y¨x¨a ds lkeus j[k fn;k v©j fQj yxrk gS] ml <kaps
esa tgka gekjh det¨fj;ka gSa] dgÈ&u&dgh gesa dqN djuk gSA bl lanÒZ esa esjs t¨ dqN lq>ko gS] os eSa vkids lkeu
j[kuk pkgwaxkA ogh ckr gS] ge bySDV¨jy ckp ls bySDV¨jy fjQkeZ v©j i¨fyfVdy fjQkeZ dh v¨j tk jgs gSaA cgqr
vPNh ckr gS] t¨ vjfoUn us Òh dghA ysfdu ,d pht eSa lkFk&lkFk dguk pkgwaxk fd bySD’ku okp d¨ Òh gesa Mhiu
djuk pkfg,A geus mEehnokj¨a ds ,fQMsfoV~l ys fy, gSa] mlesa dà mEehnokj a us CySd N¨M+k gSA ,sls dà ,fQMsfoV~l
gSa] tgka mUg¨aus #i, thj¨] ysfdu fQj Òh og tkdj [kM+k g¨ jgk gSA ,sls dSls dh og >wB Òj ys v©j bl ,fQMsfoV
dk gels d¨Ã ysuk&nsuk ugÈ gS] he can get away with r¨ gesa mldk ihNk djuk pkfg,A ge y¨x
jkbV&Vw&bUQkes±’ku esa loky iwNrs gSa] v©j l¨prs gSa fd nqfu;k lq/kj tkuh pkfg,A mlds ckn gesa mldk ihNk djuk
iM+sxkA oSls gh bld¨ vxj bQSfDVo djuk gS] r¨ eq>s yxrk gS fd ,d dk;ZØe g¨uk pkfg, fd pquko ds ckn rd]
ftu&ftu y¨x¨a us >wB c¨yk gS] dqN cM+s&cM+s y¨x a d¨ idM+saA ftudk gesa irk gS v©j os dg jgs gSa fd u muds ikl
xkM+h gS] u Äj gS] u edku gSA mu dqN y¨x a d¨ mnkgj.k cukdj gesa mudk iwjk bUoSLVhxs’ku djds lgh ,fQMSfoV
ikby djus dk ,d flyflyk pykuk pkfg,A mlls vxyh ckj ,fQMsfoV esa cgqr lq/kkj g¨xkA mlls Òh iwjh nqfu;k
Bhd ugÈ g¨xh] ysfdu ge dqN v©j vkxs dh v¨j c<+saxsA
vxyh ckr t¨ eSa dguk pkgrk gwa] ;gka geus ;g O;oLFkk j[kh gS fd ge dqN çLrko ysuk pkgrs gSaA esjs fopkj
esa ;fn v©j y¨x a ds Òh çLrko gS] ,d ehÇVx v©j nwljh ehÇVx ds chp esa] ge y¨x¨a d¨ dgsa fd os vius çLrko Òstsa
v©j mu çLrko¨a dk iwjk ,d lS’ku j[ksaA ge vxyh dkUÝsal esa] tgka mu ij ppkZ g¨dj] mu çLrko a d¨ ikl dj ldsa]
rkfd Ld¨i okbM g¨ tk,A g¨ ldrk gS] ikap&lkr&l© y¨x feydj n¨&rhu fjt¨Y;q’ku ysa] ysfdu g¨ ldrk gS] vxj
ge lcd¨ t¨M+sa] r¨ v©j fjt¨Y;q’ku c<+saxsA ,d czkM LVsVesaV vki vkCtSfDVOl g¨uk pkfg,] D;¨afd us’kuy bySD’ku okp
igyh ckj ml :i esa LFkkfir gqvk gS] igys ,Mhvkj dkUÝSal gqvk djrk Fkk] vxj eSa lgh gwa] bl ckj us’kuy bySD’ku
okp LFkkfir gqvk gS] r¨ czkM vkCtSfDVOl D;k gSa] us’kuy bySD’ku okp ds] os bokYo g¨us pkfg, v©j ml ij ,d vke
lgefr g¨uh pkfg,A d¨M vki dUMDV ds ckjs esa eSa dguk pkgrk gwa fd ge fdlh ikVÆ ds i{k esa ugÈ gSa] ysfdu ikVÆ
oky a d¨ gesa Mjkuk ugÈ pkfg,A eq>s irk gS] f=y¨pu us v©j vki y¨x a us lkjs ,eiht d¨ fy[kkA ysfdu gesa ,d
Lis’ku IysVQkeZ cukuk pkfg,A tgka i¨fyfVdy ikVÆt vk;sa v©j ml IysVQkeZ ij muds lkFk fopkj&foe’kZ g¨A mud¨
109
,d Lis’ku LFkku gj lEesyu esa feysA muds lkFk okrkZyke djsaA C;qj¨Øslh ds lkFk ge dj jgs gSa] nwlj¨a ds lkFk dj
jgs gSa] bl IysVQkeZ ij ç;kl djuk pkfg,] rkfd os y¨x vk;saA
vafre n¨ ckrsa] IysVQkeZ cusa v©j ,fDVfoLV ,d nwljs dh enn t:j djsaA cgqr dfBu ifjfLFkfr; a esa Òh y¨x
dke dj jgs gSa v©j fdlh ds Åij vkØe.k g¨] ,d nwljs dk lkFk nsaA mldk ,d usVodZ cusa] ysfdu Lis’ku vkÃMh
dkMZ g¨ ;k u g¨] ge yM+sa v©j vke turk d¨ ,DlSl feyuh pkfg,A gesa lhMh feys] r¨ vke turk rd mldk ,DlSl
feyuk pkfg,A i¨Çyx cqFk rd y¨x a d¨ fn[kuk pkfg,] r¨ ftruk ge v¨iu cuk ldsa] mruk ml fn’kk esa pysaA gekjs
lkfFk; a esa d¨M vkQ dUMDV ok;¨ysV djsa] r¨ mud¨ vyx djsaA ckfd; a dk ge y¨x Òh lkFk nsaA bl rjg dh
O;oLFkk ge cuk;sa] rkfd d¨Ã leL;k esa gS] r¨ ge ,d nwljs dh enn dj ldsaA
vafre ckr] fjçtSaVsfVo MSe¨Øslh ls Mk;jSDV Mse¨Øslh dh rjQ tkus ds fy,A blds vykok ,d pht v©j]
mEehnokj okp v©j ikVÆ okp Òh ge y¨x¨a d¨ djuk pkfg,A dSls fdud¨ fVDV fey jgk gS] ;g Òh ns[kuk pkfg,A ge
rc vkrs gSa] tc fVdV fey pqdk g¨rk gSA ns[kuk pkfg, fd fVdV ysus ds fy, D;k ukVdckth g¨rh gSA fdrus y¨x
fnYyh esa gh cSBs jgrs gSaA lkjs ikÆV ds y¨x a dh u turk ls ckr g¨rh gS] you discussed with these people,
when they already got tickets. r¨ ikÆV; a ds Åij ncko Mkyuk pkfg,] fVdV ds ç¨lSl ls gh ’kq# djdsA ikVÆ
dh bUVjuy MSe¨Øslh dk t¨ eqÌk mBk gS] muds ckjs esa gesa ç¨ij VwYV <wa<us pkfg,A we get their accounts, we
get their methods of functioning, their elections v©j bUVjuy MSe¨Øslh dc g¨ jgk gSA ;s lc VwYl gesa
dke esa ysus pkfg,A vkf[kjh ckr t¨ lkfFk; a us dgh] esjs D;ky esa fpdu v©j ,x tSlk ç'u gSA gesa pkfg, fd ge
tk;sa] Mk;jSDV Mse¨Øslh v©j ikÆVflisVsM MSe¨Øslh dh rjQA tSlk vjfoUn us mBk;k] fu.kZ; fy, tkrs gSa] fo/kku lÒkv a
esa v©j laln esa] dà ckj ge tSls y¨x dgrs gSa fd ,d eqÌs ij yM+s v©j ge thr x,] ysfdu fo/kku lÒkv¨a esa vkB
v©j fcYl gSa] t¨ mUg aus ikl dj fy,A vkt Òh <kapk ogh gS] fo/kku lÒk v©j laln ikojQqy gS] ogÈ ls bl fdLe ds
fjQkeZ Òh vk;saxsA r¨ gesa n¨u¨a rjQ è;ku nsuk gh iM+sxk] lwpuk ds vf/kdkj] bySD’ku okp ,slh pht¨a ls ikÆVflisVjh
MSe¨Øslh dh rjQ tkuk iM+sxkA ysfdu ,d cgqr cM+k loky gS] ,d oSfDYid jktuhfr ge dSls iSnk djsaA lkFk gh
ikÆVflisVjh MSe¨Øslh py lds] ;g Òh ,d cgqr cM+k pSysat gSA
DELEGATE: gekjs t¨ lkFkh gS] mUg aus Mk;jSDV MSe¨Øslh dh ckr dgh v©j ;g ,d ljkguh; dne gS fd ge
iapk;r¨a v©j uxj ikfyd a ds l’kfDrdj.k dh ckr dg jgs gSaA eSa è;ku vkd"kZ.k djuk pkgwaxk fd bl pquko ds ckn
dqN jkT; a esa iapk;r¨a ds Òh pquko g¨us okys gSa] uxjikfydkv a ds Òh pquko g¨us okys gSa] r¨ gekjk ;g t¨ us’kuy
d¨fytu gS] ;g fdl rjg ls mles Òkxhnkjh fuÒk ldrk gS] rkfd pquko ds ckn Òh ge ikÆVflisVjh MSe¨Øslh dh ckr
dgrs gSa] ogka ij ge dSls Ýh v©j Qs;j pquko djok ldrs gSa] t¨ fd vkids jhtuy cslsl ds Åij u g¨A ogka nwljh
foMEcuk gekjh ;g Òh gS fd vkt ge Q¨V¨ bySDV¨jy j¨y dh ckr dg jgs gSaA exj vÒh ns[kus esa ;g vk;k gS fd
dqN jkT; a esa pquko {ks=¨a ds vk/kkj ij vyx o¨Vj fyLV curh gS v©j y¨dy bySD’ku ds fy, vyx fyLV curh gSA
bu fyLV~l esa fdruk leUo; g¨xk v©j ;fn ge o¨ÇVx iSVªu d¨ ns[ksa] r¨ djhc 90 çfr’kr o¨ÇVx g¨rh gSA mlesa ef-
gykv¨a dh Òkxhnkjh g¨rh gS- D;¨afd cgqr de ekÆtu ij thrus okys mEehnokj d¨ o¨V feyrs gSaA ;g eap mld¨ fdl
rjg ls Çyd dj ldrk gS] bl ij eq>s yxrk gS fd ;g lnu fopkj dj ldrk gSA
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MR NIKHIL DEY: esjk lq>ko gS fd lkr&vkB lq>ko ;k ç'u ys ysa v©j ge esa ls ckaV dj muesa tokc nsa] r¨ Bhd
jgsxk v©j le; gS v©j nwljk jkmUM Òh ys ldrs gSaA
DELEGATE: ge Mk;jSDV MSe¨Øslh dh ckr dg jgs gSa] mlds lanÒZ esa ge ns[k jgs gSa fd ns’k Òj esa dqN u, ç;kl]
u, dYpj ‘’kq# djus ds ç;kl gq, gSaA ij lR; ;g gS] t¨ Òh vPNh jktuhfr djuk pkgrs gSa] muds fy, jkLrs esa t¨
lcls cM+h #dkoV vkrh gS] tc rd vkid¨ ,d fuf'pr çfr’kr er ugÈ feyrs] rc rd vkid¨ pquko fpºu Òh ugÈ
fey ldrk gSA jk’Vªh; Lrj dh ckr r¨ cgqr nwj gS] jkT; ds Lrj ij Òh pquko yM+uk jkLrs esa #dkoV cu tkrk gSA
eq>s yxrk gS] fjQkElZ esa gesa ;g Òh ekax djuh pkfg, fd dkeu pquko fpºu d¨Ã cgqr cM+h ckr ugÈ gS] v©j dqN er
nhft,] ij uà t¨ ikVÆ cu jgh gS] mld¨ pquko fpºu feyus dk çko/kku g¨uk pkfg,] starting from the Zila Pa-
rishad and the State and the National Assembly. ge y¨x a dk fj'rk turk v©j jktusrkv a ls n¨ fdLe dk
g¨rk gS] ,d r¨ ge fdlh u fdlh ds ikl dke dh flQkfj’k ds fy, tkrs gSa] we go to them for favours ;k ge
mud¨ fØfVlkbV djus ;k maxyh mBkus dk fj'rk gSA The criticism very often well deserved. eq>s n¨ ckrsa
blesa fn[krh gSaA ,d lk/kkj.k laln lnL; ds ikl D;k lk/ku gS fd og ,d ftEesnkjh laln lnL; cu ldsA mlls
t¨ turk dh vk’kk;sa gSa] turk dh t¨ felIysLM vk’kk;sa gSa] ,d laln lnL; ls vki mEehn djrs gSa fd gekjh lM+d
D;¨a ugÈ lkQ gqÃ] ukyh D; a ugÈ lkQ gqÃ] These are the issues which often have been mixed up and
the fact is, this is not really their jobs. But some kind of awareness can pay, fdldk D;k j¨y gS]
tSlk fd vjfoUn th us loky mBk;k] mudk dke r¨ ySftLyslu gSA turk dk bl ckr dh mEehn Òh djrh gS] fd os
;s dke djsaA vki gesa isVª y iEi fnyok nhft, ;k cPps dk ,Mfe’ku djok nhft,] dke viuk djokus ds fy, ;k
flfod ,esusfVt ds fy, ge muls mEehn djrs gSaA So, somewhere a Citizen Awareness campaign fd
fdldk D;k dke gS] muls fdl pht dh mEehn dh tk,A
vafre ckr] ge pquko [kpZ dh ckr r¨ djrs gSa fd fdruk c<+ jgk gS] ,d laln lnL; t¨ fnYyh vkrk gS]
xkao ls t¨ y¨x vkrs gSa] mud¨ pk; fiykus dk t¨ [kpkZ g¨rk gS] muds Äj¨a dh t¨ gkyr g¨rh gS] mls‘’kk;n vki
tkurs g axsA Not party workers, it saddens me a great deal, pquko ds fy, mud¨ jSyh Òh djuh gS] chl
li¨VZj ysus gSa] r¨ 200 #i, j¨t ds fdjk, ij y¨x a d¨ yk;k tkrk gSA
DELEGATE: mEehnokj ftld¨ eSaus ç/kku ea=h ;k fefuLVj ds fy, ugÈ pquk gS] og esjk ç/kku ea=h ;k ea=h dSls cu
ldrk gS? eryc ;g fd ,d jkT; egkjk’Vª ;k mŸkj çns’k esa pquk gqvk lnL; esjk ç/kku ea=h dSls cu ldrk gS .
mlds fy, eSaus o¨V ugÈ fn;k gSA
DELEGATE: fofÒUu ny¨a ds ikl dj¨M+ a&vjc a #i, bdV~Bs g¨rs gSaA igyh ckr r¨ ;g #i;k d©u nsrk gS] dgka ls
iSlk vkrk gS v©j ny¨a ds chp esa d¨Ã fglkc gS ;k ugÈ] d¨Ã vkfMV g¨rk gS v©j iSlk dgka v©j dSls [kpZ djrs gSaA
bl ckjs esa ge d¨Ã lwpuk ekax ldrs gSa fd crk;sa fd vki iSlk dgka ls yk jgs g¨ v©j fdl&fdl rjg ls vki iSlk
ckaV jgs g¨? iSlk muds ikl [kwc vkrk gS] ysfdu ;g Òh r¨ irk yxuk pkfg, fd d©u nsrk gS
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MR NIKHIL DEY: ;gka budeVSDl ds vf/kdkjh cSBs gq, gSa v©j lwpuk ds vf/kdkj ls Òh lacaf/kr gSa] ge buls gh ’kq#
djrs gSaA le; dh vc deh gS] tokc nsuk ’kq# djrs gSaA
MR ARVIND KEJRIWAL: ,d ç'u ihNs ls vk;k Fkk fd bu pquko a ds ckn iapk;r¨a ds pquko g¨us okys gSa] ;g
çkFkZuk gS ,Mhvkj ds lkfFk; a ds lkFk] vxj ml ySoy Òh bUVjohu fd;k tk,] r¨ vPNk jgsxk- vÒh gky esa vkus ls
igys ge ckykÄkV eè; çns’k ds ljiap vk, gq, gSaA muds lkFk ckr dj jgs FksA ogka t¨ egklaÄ gS iapk;r¨a dk] ;s
mlds mikè;{k Òh gSaA buls ckr dj jgs Fks] r¨ irk yxk fd ml ySoy ij ;g Òh laÒo gS] tSlk fd fuf[ky crk jgs
Fks fd mEehnokj ds p;u ds le; ge y¨x a d¨ bUVohu djuk pkfg,A gesa t¨j Mkyuk pkfg,] r¨ fdlh ckr
jktuhfrd ny ekusaxsA ysfdu iapk;r ds pquko ,sls gSa] tgka ij ml ySoy ij Òh ;g laÒo g¨ ik,xkA eSa r¨ ;gh
dgwaxk fd ;g cgqr gh xEÒhj eqÌk gS] ftl ij ge vyx ls ppkZ dj ldrs gSa v©j j.kuhfr cukus dh t:jr gSA
,Mhvkj d¨ bl d¨ Òh vius ,tsaMk esa Mkyuk pkfg,A
MR NIKHIL DEY: eSa ,d gh ckr dguk pkgrk gwa] vkius dà lkjh gekjh baxstesaV dh ckrsa dgÈA og ’kk;n dy
x¨ikyLokehth us ckr dgh fd og ikVÆt de [kp¢Z esa ftl <ax ls djrs gSa] ftuds ikl dfeVesaV gS, cadre gS A var
esa baxsTM lhfVtu Òh ,d dkMj tSlk gh gSA ge D;k [kqn ,d ikVÆ cukdj] ,d dkMj cukdj djsaxs ;k fdlh ds lkFk
tqM+dj ,d dkMj ds :i esa dke djsaxs] ;g ,d loky t:j gSA esjs [;ky esa vkius t¨ ,d loky mBk;k fd gekjk
Mk;jSDV baxstesaV i¨fyfVdy ç¨lSl ls g¨ ik,xkA pkgs og flEcy g¨ ;k tqM+ dj g¨ ;k pkgs vyx ikVÆ cukdj dj
g¨] ;k ugÈ g¨] og ge lc y¨x¨a dk ,d loky bl lEesyu ds lkFk&lkFk pyrk jgsxkA
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RESOLUTIONS
MR TRILOCHAN SASTRY: I will now request our colleagues Dr. Jagdish Chokker, Mr. Sunil Handa
and Mr. Anil to kindly come on to the stage. We will also request Dr. L.C. Jain; we will be highly
honoured if he comes to the stage.
Well, our friends are joining. I thought, before we finish our conference, and leave this
place, we should have an action plan. There is not enough time to discuss the action plan in de-
tail. But we shall put forward some ideas which we have heard from everyone in the last two
days and also the previous day. This will be the starting point of finalizing the action plan for the
next two or three months.
nwljs ;g fd dy t¨ geus ppkZ dh Fkh] d¨M vki dUMDV] mld¨ Òh ge vke lÒk esa j[ksaxsA eSa ;g dguk
pkgrk gwa] mlesa N¨Vs&e¨Vs djSD’ku vxj djus gS] r¨ mlds fy, ge rS;kj gSaA vxys n¨&<+kà eghus esa jk’Vªh; pquko
g¨us okys gSaA lcls igys ckr fd ge vxys n¨&rhu eghus esa D;k ,D’ku Iyku cuk;saxsA cM+s&cM+s eqÌs MSe¨Øslh] iapk;rh
jkt vkfn] t¨ cgqr gh egRoiw.kZ gSa] mud¨ ’kk;n ge pquko ds ckn gh dj ik;saxsA vÒh ds pquko esa ge D;k ,D’ku
Iyku cukuk pkgrs gSa] mlds ckjs dqN lq>ko n¨&rhu fnu a ls vkius fn, gSa] muds ckjs esa eSa dguk pkgrk gwaA
lcls igyh ckr] ;g t¨ us’kuy bySD’ku okp gS] ge lc feydj lkjs jktuhfrd ny¨a d¨ fy[ksaxs v©j mlesa
gekjh dqN ekaxs g¨xÈA ge lkQ&lqFkjs v©j Ãekunkj mEehnokj a d¨ pqusaA bldk vlj t#j gqvk Fkk] eSa mldk ,d
mnkgj.k nsrk gwaA tc blh rjg dh fpV~Bh geus flrEcj esa fy[kh Fkh] r¨ mlds 10&15 fnu¨a ds ckn mldk ,d
fj;SD’ku t:j vk;kA yky—’.k vkMok.khth us viuh ladYi ;k=k esa bl ckr d¨ Ĩf"kr fd;k fd os nkxh mEehnokj a
d¨ [kM+k ugÈ djsaxsA ge vius us’kuy bySD’ku okp dh rjQ ls] vxj vki y¨x¨a dh lgefr g¨] Iyku esa igyk eqÌk gS]
mEehnokj ds [kM+s djus ds ckn mudh i¨y D;¨a [k¨ys] vÒh muds Åij ncko Mkysa v©j reke t¨ y¨x ;gka vk, gSa v©j
t¨ lkFkh ugÈ Òh vk, gSa] mudh rjQ ls v©j us’kuy bySD’ku okp dh rjQ ls lkjs jktuhfrd ny¨a d¨ ,d i= fy[ksa]
mld¨ ge çSl ds lkeus Òh j[ksaxsA turk dh ekax gS fd LoPN v©j dkfcy] Ãekunkj mEehnokj gesa [kM+s djus pkfg,A
bl ,D’ku Iyku ds ckjs esa fdlh dh vxj nwljh jk; gS] r¨ ckn esa crkb,xkA
nwljh ckr] tSu lkgc ,d ’kCn ç;¨x djrs gSa] iqjkus ikihA vÒh t¨ mEehnokj [kM+s g¨us okys gSa] muesa d¨Ã
iqjkus ikih gS v©j muds lkjs vkadM+s gekjs ikl e©twn gSaA ge vkils ,d vuqXkzg djrs gSa fd t¨ tkudkjh gekjs ikl gS]
og ge vkids lkeus j[k nsaxsA vyx&vyx jkT;¨a esa vkid¨ irk pyk fd mEehnokj a dh Ĩ"k.kk g¨ jgh gS] r¨ iqjkuh
vkadM+ a ds lkFk dEis;j djds ,d ne ,D’ku ysuk ’kq# djsa] çSl d¨ fjyht nsa v©j vius lkfFk; a d¨ crk;sa v©j
jktuhfrd ny a d¨ fy[ksa fd vki t¨ ;s mEehnokj [kM+s dj jgs gSa] buds iqjkus vkadM+s gekjs ikl gSa] v©j budh vl-
fy;r ,slh gSA geus ;g nwljk eqÌk l¨p gS] t¨ vkids lkeus j[kk gSA
113
rhljh ckr t¨ mÒj dj lkeus vk jgh Fkh v©j 30 rkjh[k d¨ d¨j Xkzqi ehÇVx esa ppkZ gqÃ] t¨ y¨x bySD’ku
okp dj jgs gSa] mudh fgQktr ds ckjs esa ge D;k l¨p jgs gSaA dà txg¨a ij ,slk gqvk fd y¨x a d¨ /kefd;ka feyÈ]
Q¨Ul Òh vk;saA blds ckjs esa ge D;k djuk pkgrs gSaA ,D’ku Iyku esa ge vkids lkeus n¨&rhu lq>ko j[kuk pkgrs gSaA
lcls igys ,d vPNk] etcwr v©j otunkj LVsV bySD’ku okp desVh vyx&vyx jkT;¨a esa cuk;sa v©j mldh N=Nk;k
esa ge y¨x dke djsaxs] r¨ t:j mldk ,d Qk;nk g¨xkA mnkgj.k ds r©j ij] xqtjkr ds n¨ lkFkh lkeus cSBs gq,]
mUg¨aus n¨&rhu bySD’ku okp fd,A ogka rhu fjVk;MZ phQ tLVslsl] QkeZj Mk;jSDVj vkQ vkÃvkÃ,e] lsokfuo`Ÿk Òkjr
ljdkj] Mhth iqfyl fjVk;lZ] bl rjg ls otunkj v©j Ãekunkj] tkus&ekus O;fDr;¨a d¨ LVsV bySD’kuokp desVh esa
j[kkA mudh N=Nk;k esa tc bySD’ku okp g¨rk gS] r¨ ,d ySoy dh i¨VSD’ku t:jr feyrh gSA vxj vkid¨ d¨Ã
/kedh feyk gS] r¨ vki rqjUr bySD’ku okp d¨ Ã&esy] QSDl] Q¨u Òst nsaA ge viuh rjQ ls mld¨ t:j bySD’ku
deh’ku v©j jktuhfrd ny a ds ofj’B usrkv¨a ds lkFk ckr t:jr mBk¸ksaxsA ehfM;k esa Òh ml ckr d¨ j[ksaxsA ge y¨x
;g dguk pkgrs gSa fd t¨ y¨x {ks=h; LFkku¨a ij dke dj jgs gSa v©j t¨ dgrs gSa fd ykbu vkQ Qk;j esa gSa] ge
muds lkFk gSaA ge ;g ugÈ dg jgs gSa fd ge ihNs gSa v©j vki tkdj Qsl&fn&cqySV~l] ge vkids lkFk gSaA ;g Òh
bySD’ku Iyku dk ,d fcUnw gSA t¨ u, jkT; tSls tEew&dk'ehj gS v©j ukFkZ ÃLV esa rFkk lkmFk esa rfeyukMq] vkUèkz
çns’k] eSa muds lkfFk; a ls vuqXkzg d:axk] lkmFk {ks= g¨us dh otg ls eSa bafXy’k esa ckr d:axkA
Please organize a meeting within the next one month; I think before February, with all
your friends and NGOs and if you could kindly give us a notice of 10-15 days in advance, we will
certainly come and help you to quick start the Election Watch, as you will be doing it for the
first time. This is the second point of the Election Watch Resolution.
vafre ckr] bUQke¢Z’ku csLM VSDu¨y¨th] dy ds l= esa vkius ns[kk fd 5&6 y¨x a ds t¨ çStsaBs’ku Fks] mUg¨aus
mEehnokj a ds MsVk d¨ dEikby fd;k gS v©j miyC/k djk;k gSA bySD’ku okp dh rjQ ls Òh ,d QSMªy fDy;Çjx
gkml Vkbi cuk;saxsA vfuy ‘’kk;n mlds ckjs esa dqN dguk pkgsxsaA mEehnokj a dh tkudkjh] o¨Vj j¨y dh tkudkjh]
vyx&vyx eqÌs t¨ vkius mBk, gSa] ge mlesa Òh vkidh enn dj ik;saA blesa ,d cgqr vge pht gSa] t¨ fiNys pquko
esa ugh gqà Fkh v©j bl ckj ds pquko esa g¨ jgh gSA xr ikap lky] tSlk fd dà y¨x dg pqds gSa] vktdy 350 fe-
fy;u] eryc 35 dj¨M+ y¨x¨a ds ikl e¨ckby Q¨u gS] gekj ns’k esa v©j buesa dkQh ;ax gSaA ,d ,l,e,l dSEisu ds
}kjk Òh] ny a v©j mEehnokj¨a dh tkudkjh Òstuk ’kq# dj nsa] mlds fy, enn ge viuh rjQ ls Òh djsaxs v©j ;g
ckr vius jkT; a esa Òh ’kq# djsaA bles ;g gS fd dà dEifu;ka gS] t¨ bl eqÌs ds lkFk dke djus ds fy, rS;kj gSaA eSa
VSDu¨ykth ds ckjs esa ;g dguk pkgrk FkkA
,d dke ge vius bySD’ku okp ls djuk pkgsxsa fd t¨ jSM vyVZ fuokZpu {ks= gSa] ge tkap djuk pkgsaxs]
gekjs ikl iwjs vkadM+s gSaA ,sls fuokZpu {ks= tgka ij [krjk gS] muds ckjs esa ehfM;k d¨] bySD’ku deh’ku d¨ v©j t¨
gekjs lkFkh t¨ mu {ks=¨a esa gSa] muls lEidZ djds] mudk gkFk etcwr djus dk Òh ,d ç;kl djsaxsA dqN eqÌs gSa] ;g
Qkbuy ,D’ku Iyku ugÈ gSA vxj vki dqN c¨yuk pkgrs gSa] r¨ crkb,xkA ckn esa crkuk pkgsa] r¨ vkids ikl gekjs
114
Ã&esy v©j Q¨u uEclZ gSaA vius lq>ko ckn esa Òh Òst ldrs gSaA dqN gkFk ihNs [kM+s g¨ jgs gSa] ysfdu mlls igys eSa
vius lkfFk;¨a ls iwNuk pkgrk gwa] D;k os blesa dqN t¨M+uk pkgrs gSaA
ge y¨x¨a d¨ ikÆVflisVjh MSe¨Øslh dh rjQ c<+uk g¨xkA We have to involve the political parties also. The
first thing is that in the Parliament or Assembly, we have only two sides – one is the ruling side
and the other is the opposition. Since the Parliamentary elections are imminent, we can per-
suade the political parties from our Association side, and the efforts should be made that they
should declare themselves in a prepoll alliance of two sides only.
Let the public choose which side should rule and which side should go to the Opposition. In any
consitutnecy, they should put up only two candidates. This will actually break away, even for
the future, the caste-based vote-bank and the Region-wise politcs. We have to move from the
divisive politics to a cohesive politics. And it will in turn build the nation stronger.
MR SUKTHANKAR: Mr. Ranade is aware that in the last Municipal Corporation elections in
Mumbai, on behalf of “Agni”, we exercised the rating of candidates on the basis of information
which they have disclosed in their respective affidavits. That was a very big colossal task be-
cause the number of candidates was over 2200. In the Parliamentary elections and perhaps in
the next following Assembly elections in the month of October, the number of candidates say,
in Greater Mumbai, if we do not attempt the whole Maharashtra, it’s not going to be large.
Therefore, the rating exercise is something which is practicable. The only problem is that the
copies of affidavits are not available in time. We must ensure that these get available online
and reach the ADR or whatever the corresponding organization or the State level committee
which you are suggesting, and they should get the copy within 24 hours. That is the first re-
quirement.
Secondly, the information which is available through the affidavits covers only 3-4
points as all of us know about their financial position, their educational qualifications, and crim-
inal record, if any. Also in some of the gaps, they may either have filled the incorrect informa-
tion or may not have filled anything at all. But we also need to have; of course, the evaluating
or assessing agency to get information from the candidate himself as what is it that he has
done, what according to him qualifies him to become an appropriate candidate. He may say
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anything. We can put it down under 3-4 headings, like social work, profession etc. On the basis
of this information, if you can think of some common methodology of doing some kind of rating
so that people become aware about the kind of candidates they will be going to vote for is
something on which we can spare a thought.
DELEGATE: esjk ,d lq>ko gSA vÒh t¨ bySD’ku ckp g¨rk gS] og pquko ds n©jku g¨rk gSA vÒh t¨ y¨dlÒk ds
pquko vk jgk gS] mlesa yxÒx 50 çfr’kr bl y¨dlÒk ds lklan] mud¨ n¨ckjk fVdV fn;k tk,xkA muesa dqN y¨x
,sls g axs] ftuds fØfeuy fjdkMZ gSa] Òz’Vkpkj esa dgÈ&u&dgÈ idM+s x, gSaA mUg aus dà xSj dkuwuh O;ogkj Òh fd, gSaA
,sls y¨x a dh tkudkjh ny ds vk/kkj ij] ny ds Òhrj v©j jkT;¨a ds vk/kkj ij] muds ckjs esa tkudkjh igys ls
ehfM;k d¨ nsa] r¨ ,d cgqr cM+k dke g¨ tk,xkA blds vykok vki lc tkurs gSa] ikVÆ esa dà mEehnokj ,sls g¨rs gSa]
t¨ vafre le; rd Òh ny ds }kjk fuf'pr ugÈ g¨rs gSa v©j ykLV feuV esa Qkbuykbt g¨rs gSaA ,d dk fVdV
dkVdj nwljs d¨ fn;k tkrk gSA ;g Òh ,ukmUl djuk pkfg, fd ny us vafre {k.k esa mEehnokj dh Ĩ"k.kk D; a dh
gSA
DELEGATE: Can we try and get the political parties to make sure that their manifestos are an-
nounced and that they will do a reporting mechanism, like the other gentleman also suggested
on a going quarterly or a half yearly or on an annual basis about what they have promised and
what they are doing, rather than just the way it had happened five year back.
MR TRILOCHAN SASTRY: vkt dh usg: lSUVj ls bUlVªD’ku gesa ;g gS fd ges ,d ctdj ikap feuV ij ;gka
ls ckgj fudy tkuk gSA vÒh Fk¨M+s le; ds fy, vki vius ç'u j¨d ysaA yap ds le; v©j ’kke d¨ ge n¨ckjk dj
ldrs gSaA
eSa ,d ckr dguk pkgwaxk] cgqr vPNs lq>ko vk, gSa v©j vkxs Òh lq>ko feyrs jgsaxsA We will be more
grateful, if people will suggest that they would volunteer to do this rather than only sugges-
tions. It would grately empower us. It would be really helpful, if people could come up with
some sort of support. There are a number of small groups; and it is difficult to deal with all the
wonderful suggestions, which are coming up from the floor. Practically it is not possible for us
to do everything.
So far as the suggestions are concerned, I think we will go for a discussion again. While
as far as the Code of Conduct is concerned, we have read it out twice, but I thought we have
formally passed it as well. That is, we do not support, or oppose, any candidate or any political
116
party in particular. The reason is the credibility that we have gained in the past ten years is pre-
cisely because of our political neutrality. Otherwise we will always have been branded as pro
this party and anti that party. So, that is the reason why we are doing this. It is not that we do
not like those people who support political parties openly. But at this platform, we are saying
that as far as this Election Watch is concerned, we shall not campaign for or against any candi-
date or any political party. Thank you.
t¨ ge ikjnÆ’krk jktuhfrd ny¨a v©j mEehnokj a ls ls ekax dj jgs gSa] ogh ikjnÆ’krk ge vius Åij Òh
ykxw djrs gSaA We hold ourselves accountable and transparent in the same form. I am very happy
that there has been unanimity in these two Codes of Conduct. We will also be forwarding this
to the media.
Regarding the three Resolutions, I have to give a little background and there is bound to
be some discussions over it. We can do it later also. We have thought that we will take those
Resolutions, which we can actually start attacking right away and start lobbying with the politi-
cal parties and the Election Commission. There are several other suggestions that we can take
up, but this is really in the shadow of the coming General election that is why we have kept it
short and sweet. So I thought I will mention that on the front. So, one is that the Conference
resolves unanimously that for upholding the highest traditions of probity and morality in public
life, any person against whom charges have been framed by a Court of Law, serious offences
like murder or attempt to murder etc. should not be allowed to contest the elections.
There should be introduced a comprehensive bill to regulate political parties. In fact, for the
suggestions that have been coming from the floor for the past two days, a comprehensive bill
will take care of all that. A bill has already been circulated as drafted by the Law Commission. It
is available in the public domain. It is with the government as well. One of the resolutions we
are asking for is that like other leading democracies in the world, there is an urgency to bring
the comprehensive bill to regulate the political parties.
Let us close now. Regarding the action plan, I think, there will be many more sugges-
tions. We shall take them up after lunch. Let us continue this discussion after lunch.
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SHARING EXPERIENCES FROM THE STATES -I
MR AJIT RANADE: bl 17osa l= esa vkidk Lokxr gSA ge y¨x bl l= d¨ bl N¨Vs ls foMh;¨ DyhÇix ds lkFkA
eSa gekjs fe= vfuy th ls fuosnu d:axk fd os ohfM;¨ fDyÇix ’kq# djsaA ¸kg Fkk iIiw vfÒ;ku] t¨ fnYyh ds lhÃv¨
us pyk;k FkkA ;g lÒk ’kq# djus ls igys ,d&n¨ ckr dguk pkgrk gwaA gekjs jktLFkku bySD’ku okp ds dqN
vkx¢ZukbtlZ gSa] ,eds--- Ldwy Qkj MSe¨Øslh] ,lvkj vfÒ;ku v©j t¨’k & ;s lc y¨x ,d ;wFk dUoS’ku j[k jgs gSaA
nwljh dUoSa’ku t¨ j¨y vkQ MSe¨Øslh ij ÒhyokM+k] jktLFkku esa 21&22 Qjojh d¨ gSaA vki lc y¨x vkefU=r gSaA ;g
lSdUM dUoSa’ku vku j¨y vkQ ;wFk bu MSe¨Øslh] ,eds,l,p] Ldwy Qkj MSe¨Øslh v©j vfÒ;ku] t¨’k v©j ckdh dÃ
y¨x feydj dj jgs gSaA lqcg le; dh deh ds dkj.k] ,d dk;ZØe Fkk] j¨y vkQ flfoy l¨lk;Vht] mld¨ n¨ Òkx a
esa foÒkftr dj fn;k Fkk- rhu y¨x lqcg vk, Fks v©j n¨ Lihdj vc vk;saxsA bl dk;ZØe dh vè;{krk ds fy, eSa
ehuk{kh Òjrth d¨ vkeaf=r dj jgk gwa] t¨ cSaxywj ls gSaA lkFk gh Jh ihoh bUæs’ku] t¨ fd QkeZj vkÃvkÃVh] eækl ds
funs’kd gSa v©j Jh gjh’k oh,u] t¨ flfod cSaxywj ls vk, gSaA
DR MEENAKSHI BHARAT: A very good afternoon to everyone. It had been a nice enlightening
morning and we now look forward to go to our next session today. We have two wonderful
speakers with us. I request Prof. Indiresan to start first.
PROF INDIRESAN: Friends, we have had a one and a half day of very interesting discussions. We
have had a lot of things which went wrong but not so much that we can not do anything about
it. I would like to talk, as an engineer, what at least we can try to do. We cannot expect a hun-
dred percent success; but at least, we can try to do something. Quite a lot of activities in the
past one and a half day have been able to increase the public awareness regarding the issues
involved. It is very important, but at the same time we do know that when ADR went to the
Supreme Court, there was not much public awareness related to the issues of criminality and
other factors among the public. So, it is important to make them aware of these things. Ulti-
mately it is the government which has to act. Unfortunately it is very difficult to get the gov-
ernment to act on its own. It looks as if, we have to get a direction from the Supreme Court
which may or may not be possible. But that seems to be the best solution as far as we are con-
cerned.
There have been discussions about the rule 49-O. There you can indicate which candi-
date you do not wish to vote for. Unfortunately, as a Communication Engineer, I will tell you
that this is not a very good system. Not for the reason that Mr. Quaraishi mentioned in the
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morning but for other reasons. If you have ‘n’ candidates, you require ‘n’ votes, because you
have to give your opinion on each and every candidate. Only then, you will have at least ‘n’ mi-
nus one more because the nth candidate case is already known. Unfortunately, we do not pro-
vide with this facility. Therefore, supposing, if you like two or three candidates, you can only
vote for one of them. So, the result is that the election system produces information which is
incomplete, as far as each voter is concerned. Ideally speaking, what we need is a system in
which you allow ‘n’ candidates to contest. Then, in that case, you should be allowed to vote for
every one of the ‘n’ candidates, whether you like him or you do not. Then, you have got a sys-
tem which is complete and then, you will find that there are enormous changes that occur in
the electoral system. What happens now is, if you have got a vote bank of about 25%, and you
collect a few other friends, and you have won because all those who have voted against you,
their votes are set equal to zero. This is the present system. So most of the candidates who get
elected get less than 50% of votes. Very few candidates get more than 50% of votes. On the
other hand, suppose if you vote for each and every one of them and you can vote for two per-
sons, or for three persons, once the candidates know about them, they cannot have a vote
bank. If you say, you will vote only for ‘Yadav,’ every non-Yadav will be voting against you.
Therefore, ‘Yadavs’ are not a majority, virtually in any constituency; same thing is true whether
it is ‘Lingayats’ or ‘Vokkaligas’ in Karnataka. Whether it is the ‘Reddy’ or ‘Khammas’ in Andhra
Pradesh; you cannot get a majority or successful voting because so many people will be voting
against you. Therefore, the candidate will be more interested in collecting as many people as
possible, changing their manifestoes, changing their polices in such a manner so as to please as
many people as possible. I would suggest ultimately what we should ask for is, not just rule
49-O as an extra option on the voting machine, which can be done very easily, but also the
freedom to vote for as many candidates as we like. That will make an enormous amount of dif-
ference. I do know it will happen. So, you cannot have a vote bank politics when you have the
freedom to vote for every candidate who is allowed to contest. This is what we should try for. I
don’t know whether we can easily convince people to do it but this is what I would like to sug-
gest.
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The next point is about corruption. The rule is, even if you are convicted, so long as you
have filed an appeal within 3 months, you can still contest for a seat in the Parliament. Last
time, when the present government was seeking a vote of confidence, I was told that 5 candi-
dates had come from the Tihar Jail to vote in the Parliament. We can sense a self interest here.
There is a rule by which a person who has got self interest cannot vote, or participate in any
debates in the Parliament. Now I think, somebody should go to the court and tell them that
there are many issues of self interest on which the Parliamentarians and the Legislators go and
vote. There should be a check and perhaps the court can be the best source to do so. When
they say that a convicted criminal can still be a member of parliament and a member of legisla-
tive assembly so long as he has filed an appeal and that is never heard for years together. This is
self-interest. This is a matter to be settled by the court and not by the Legislature. This may or
may not be correct but this is what we should try to do.
Third one is about the administration and policy. I remember at the time of Indepen-
dence, administration was taken care of by the administrators and policy was given by the poli-
ticians. For the first time I was told that, Pratap Singh Kairon, the Chief Minister of Punjab called
his officers and said: “Don’t tell me about policy and administration. I will decide who the Tha-
nedar will be. You can do whatever with the policy. I will take care of the administration.” I re-
member the story of Mr. H.N. Ray, ICS officer, the Finance Secretary who was asked by Mr. T.T.
Krishnamachari, the Finance Minister to show some Income-tax file. Mr. Ray said, “You cannot
see it. What, I am a Minister; I should see the file?” Mr. Ray said, “No, Sir. It is only because
you are a Minister that you cannot see the file”. Then, Mr. Krishnamachari asked about the
source of information? Mr. Ray replied that as he had asked for specific information, he could
call for the file but he couldn’t see it. He told him that Mr. TTK was an overbearing person and
he wouldn’t like it if he went to Mrs. Gandhi and got the rules changed. Now of course, they
can see any file. Just imagine, you can have a criminal becoming the Home Minister. If that is
so, a police officer will never write anything on the file, because you never know, when the
Home Minister or his ‘Chela’ may call for the file. You will know everything that is written about
him. So, you do find that we have a peculiar problem with the way the Ministers are handling
the administration. They are not supposed to handle the administration. They are supposed to
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work only on the policy. For example, we have got the selection and the transfer of officers.
This is not a policy matter at all. This is an administrative matter which was never supposed to
be done by the politicians, but by the administrators. But unfortunately now if you talk to any
Secretary, he would apologise and say that he couldn’t do that thing as the local chap would get
it changed. This is the situation we are facing at present. I think, we have to change this. We
have to make a case for this so that the administration could be left to the administrator and
the politicians handle the policy only. Unless you do this, no amount of electoral reforms will be
able to improve the governance. The governance is bad because the wrong kinds of people are
doing the administration and nobody is really working towards the correct policy making. This is
the kind of thing I would like to say. I think we should fight for this. We must build up a pressure
and run a movement for this and then see to it that the politicians confine themselves to policy
making only.
Last point is about the whip. You can issue a whip and the MLA or the MP cannot go
against it as he will fear that he might lose the membership of the Legislature. I think we should
follow the American system where there is no whip. On a very important issue, they do follow
the party policy. Otherwise each candidate, each Senator, and each Congressman is free to fol-
low what he or she thinks is best. Then, a Member of the Parliament can represent his consti-
tuency. Now he is not representing the constituency at all; he is representing the party’s
bosses. I think this is not correct. We should have a system in which, let us say, at least in 90%
of the cases, the legislators are free to vote in any manner they like, then you will never see the
kind of problem that you see happening. The leaders who are so powerful now will not be as
powerful and they will have to listen to people, much better than what they are doing now.
The last point I would like to make is that it is only in India that you find the candidates
are selected by the High Command. You come to Delhi and you see that the whole place is full
of people of all sorts of odd characters, seeking Assembly candidature or the Parliament seat.
This does not happen anywhere else. In United States, they have got a formal Primary System.
In UK, it is the local party which selects the candidates. This does not happen in our country.
This is something that we have to ask for. It is not a question of a mere local democracy. It is
actually the local party apparatus which should select the candidates. The High Command has a
121
complete right to choose the members. Once a person is admitted as a member, that member
should be free to canvass and get himself selected as the candidate. Once that is done, the
power of the High Command will then become much less and the political system will change
its character very drastically indeed.
These are some of the things we should try for. I hope that we would be able to suc-
ceed. As it has been pointed, it is not something that would happen overnight. It takes time. I
would plead to try and get one vote for every candidate who is allowed to contest. Secondly,
you do have a system in which administration is handled by the administrators. Transfer, ap-
pointment, promotions etc., are to be taken care of by the administrators and not by the politi-
cians. At least these two things are very important. I do hope you will be able to discuss this.
MR H.N. HARISH: I belong to a small group called “DAKSH”. For the past 3 years now we have
either worked with ADR or sometimes on our own as well. What we are focusing is on the is-
sues that occur after elections. I know there are a lot of issues regarding who gets elected,
whether criminal candidates are coming or not and ADR has done a lot of work on it. So, the
first thing we said is, how do you make the elected representatives accountable? The imme-
diate answer was that their accountability can be checked in their tenure and if not found suit-
able, they can be voted out in the next elections. If they are able to convince people and have
done a good job, they will continue to hold their position. Then we started discussing about the
measures which need to be taken in order to take performance out of the MLAs or MPs. This is
what we are basically focusing upon. When we talk about the evaluating performance, first you
need to see, what the job is, and what an MLA is supposed to do. I think, earlier in this day, Mr.
Arvind Kejriwal and Ms. Madhu Kishwar were saying something about the things they should be
doing and things which they should not be doing. I won’t spend too much time on that. But
broadly, there are three things which an MLA or an MP does. I will stick to the MLA and then we
can extrapolate to the MP.
There are three things. One is that he sits in the Legislature, passes the Bills, asks ques-
tions, sits in the House committees, and makes sure that the Government is performing well. To
evaluate somebody on that data, i.e, what he does in the House is fairly easy. We need to get
122
the attendance record, check what questions have they asked, and what amount of time has he
spent while passing the Bill. Today morning somebody said, the SEZ Bill was passed without
even people knowing about it. Just take Karnataka for instance. Over a period of 4 years, be-
tween 2004-08 150 odd bills were passed in the Legislative Assembly and the Council. A grand
total of 43 hours were spent on discussing those Bills. I am sure that the situation is the same
across all the States and in the Parliament. Getting data from the House and disseminating it in
the public is fairly easy. Nobody is going to ask questions on that. But the point is, when we
spoke to an MLA or an MP, they have lost faith in the House themselves. They question what
would they do in the House; who would listen to their speech and things like that. He would
much rather go to the Departments, canvass funding for his constituency, and try to get con-
tracts for his friends, henchmen, etc. We thought that we can leave the House for the time be-
ing. It is a fairly easily available data and I think some people are already doing it. For instance,
Rajasthan people are doing it. We are doing something similar in Karnataka about that.
Second thing is that he is supposed to represent the constituency, and convey their
message or concern in the House and other forum which are available to him. How do you de-
termine that? Does an MLA know why he is being elected or what the people want him to do? I
think, some MLAs know what are the issues but a very few people come in this percentage.
How do we evaluate that a person is representing his constituency properly or not? How do we
do that? One way of looking at it is, through the development data, i.e, whether a constituency
has developed well or not. The most constant refrain that you get from the MLAs is that they
were in the Opposition for five years and the Government did not institute any programme
within that period, and then they had focused only on the ruling party constituencies. I told him
that it was fine as at least they have represented the views in the House and asked them how
did they do that? We thought; let us do a survey on people every year in each constituency. We
tried this in Karnataka. Once we interviewed 10,000 people across the 224 constituencies in
Karnataka and asked two simple things i.e, why do they vote for a particular candidate? We
asked them to list out the preferences and gave them 10 issues, and asked them to add to
those issues. We gave them a rating of 1 to 5. The issue could be anything from better roads,
jobs, education, to better health facilities etc. Then, we asked them to rate how a particular
123
gentleman or lady had performed over those issues in the last 4 years or one year? Our inten-
tion was to do, once every year, so that there is constant evaluation of a person’s work. That
data came before the elections and it got a bit lost in the Assembly elections. The results that
came out from the survey were quite dismal. Just to give an average rating, we asked them to
rate on a scale of 1 to 5. Across the 180 constituencies, it came out to be 1.85 out of 5. For the
five most important issues, it was 2.2 rating. What we have found is that there was a huge gap
between the expectation of the people and the actual performance of our representatives.
Again, people would say, it is a well known fact and they have not learnt anything new from this
survey. Like the caste issue, in Karnataka, we have a big debate about the Rural-Urban divide.
The urban guys want infrastructure; whereas the rural guys don’t want. The idea behind this
was that it not only gives people an indication of what the issues are in their constituencies, but
also gives them some specific issues on which, they can question their MLAs or MPs and also
gives the MPs, a sort of indication of what people think about them in the midway or once a
year, during their 5 years tenure. There are two ways of looking at it. If you are an optimist, at
least you will be able to change the nature of the political debate; which caste you belong, etc.
If you are a cynical person, and take the data every year, and publish the ranking from 1 to 224,
the point is that nobody would like to be the last. If you publish the ranking of 540 MPs all
across India, I think, nobody would like to take the last rank. If you look at it cynically, there is a
way where to go forward in terms of doing this kind of survey.
The third part is that a lot of these MLAs instead of fulfilling their role as the Legislators
also get involved in the executive decision making. For example, the Legislator or MLA sits on
various committees at the district level, the Committee on Health, education, etc. They have a
lot of inputs on deciding the focus area in each district, say, health, education or infrastructure.
Some times, they are actually conveners of these committees. Sometimes, the committees do
not meet for the entire 5 year tenure. There may be a lot of funds sitting in the district but it is
not put to use. That is the other level of evaluation we are trying to do, and in what the people
are helping as well.
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The fourth level of evaluation we are trying to do is, to produce a sort of expert analysis
on different areas each year, to see how the Ministers are performing in their particular minis-
tries. That is what we have been trying to do and we have found the results quite encouraging.
The MLAs whom we spoke to in Karnataka are quite keen in doing things. We are happy to
share the methodology and all that that we used and the variation of it, with anybody who is
interested in doing the similar studies or part of it in other parts of the country. I think, you can
contact us through ADR. Mr. Trilochan Sastri is our Editor. Anybody who is interested in struc-
turing this, we would be more than happy. Thank you.
DR MEENAKSHI BHARAT: We have had two takes. We had Prof. Indiresan who told us what we
can try to do. What we can try do is to ask for reforms. Who are those who will take these rec-
ommendations forward and make it into the rule? It is the politicians. We everyone in this room
have their PAN cards. We don’t have criminal records. I think we need to become politicians;
we need to get out of our comfort zone and move into the area where we fight elections and
get into the ministry and make the rules. We are all fighting for the reforms. But let us become
the rule makers. If we are honest, committed and if we have already got converted to doing
good things for the country, we would be the ones who would be able to bring about a change.
That is one thing.
Second, what Harish said, is very true. We used to have teachers giving assessments to
students, ranking them from A to E. Now students are assessing their teachers. Likewise we
need to start assessing our MLAs and hold them responsible for their actions. Like Jana Graha
said, don’t move from A to E. Remain at E, i.e, Elect and Engage. The more we demand from our
politicians, the more we will get. I think, we will take all these messages forward but we need to
be the ones who will be able to make those rules. Some of us need to think of plunging into the
deep water, that is politics and I hope some among us will take up this challenge and go into
the political field. I know it is difficult. But there is no use in living in the comfort zone; we need
to get out of our comforts and make a change. Thank you very much, Sir.
MR ANIL BAIRWAL: Thank you, Dr. Meenakshi and the other panelists.
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SHARING EXPERIENCES FROM THE STATES - II
MR ANIL BAIRWAL: gekjk vxyk l= gS] ,sls jkT; ftud¨ vÒh rd fjçtSaV djus dk e©dk ugÈ feyk gS] os jkT;
vc vk;saxs] t¨ iqjkuh bySD’ku okp mUg aus dh gSA os mlds vuqÒo a d¨ ge y¨x¨a ds lkFk ckVsaxsA lkFk dqN jkT; ,sls
Òh gSa] tgka usVodZ vÒh ’kq# g¨ jgk gS] os jkT; Òh vk;saxs v©j vius fopkj v©j IykUl j[ksaxsA bl l= ds fy, eSa Jh
vftr jkuk Ms th vè;{krk djus ds fy, vkeaf=r dj jgk gwaA
MR AJIT RANADE: eSa dqN vU; lkfFk; a d¨ Òh LVst ij vkeaf=r dj jgk gwaArfeyukMq ls Jh jaxjktu] Nkj[k.M ls
Jh lq/khj] dukZVd ls Jh Jh/kj] f=iqjk ls fo'osUnq] vle ls vkfjQ] oSLVcaxky ls jfDre] vkUèkz çns’k ls Jh ek/kok]
iatko ls tlfdjr] fgekpy ls jes’kth] esÄky; ls esÝhuth] tEew&dk'ehj ls Jh eqt¶Qj ÒV~V] egkjk’Vª ls
’kjndqekjth v©j e;qjhth] mM+hlk ls Jh jatuA ;g lS’ku ,d ÄUVs ds fy, pysxkA
The Session is all about sharing of experiences from different States in the next one
hour. In this Session we will also discuss the action plan. It is a combined session of both. It is
also about the strategy we will adopt in the next Lok Sabha elections. We will chalk out an ac-
tion plan. I would request the panelists that we also have to accomodate some time for Ques-
tion & Answers round. I would request them to be very brief and perhaps point out some new
or unique things which have not possibly come out in the discussion.
MR RANJAN MOHANTY, ORISSA: Let me just congratulate the ADR to take up this movement of,
National Election Watch network. In the beginning, it started with a few groups I think, 7-8.
Now it has spread its network throughout the country. I will just take 2 minutes to elaborate on
what has happened and I have got some suggestions as well. In the year 2002, we had con-
ducted a survey. Even if we ask questions, how many people know the Constitution, I am very
sorry to say but not many people know that there is one important document called the Consti-
tution of India.
Actually in that situation, we have to decide how to go ahead. About 80 NGOs in Orissa
along with the media people, from 2002 came together and decided to have a network called
‘Janadhikar Abhidan’. Then, we came in contact with the ADR and started the election watch
since the last elections. There were many experiences, from the voters list like deciding the
booth; they are all part of the whole country. When we started the Orissa Election Watch, we
had one retired Justice, two former DG of Police, and the former Chief Secretary of Orissa.
126
Many people were involved, who helped us a lot to do a very good election watch during the
last elections. We also had 30 lead election watches during the last General Elections. After
these elections, we had the Panchayat Elections. I would like to focus on that thing. We are re-
ally not focusing on the Panchayat, Urban body and the Local-body elections. Whatever we talk
regarding the reforms, without talking about the elections at the grass-root level, it will lead to
nowhere. Even after the General elections, we need to think about it. Another problem in the
Panachyat elections that I would like to mention is regarding the women reservations. In one
district, the collector announced that there was no reservation for women, so women cannot
contest in the General constituency. He said that the seats were reserved for the general caste
and only male candidates could contest, and no female candidates were allowed. What I want
to tell is that there are many codes of conduct and guidelines which are reaching even the bu-
reaucracy. This is what we need to focus on when we discuss these things with the Election
Commission. We also had a study as to what happened to the violence against women in the
Panchayat elections. It is again the male dominance, both in the political party and in the
House. We tried to monitor two or three murder cases and also the harassment during the
elections.
Another thing is that it is very difficult to get affidavits from the candidates in the Pan-
chayat elections. It is more difficult than the General elections. Even if we try to monitor the
Urban-body elections, it is basically a media campaign. In the present context, everything has
become a commodity. The political parties have taken voters as a commodity. So, the major
role that we have to play after elections is how to create responsive voters. When we talk of
the political reforms, it is not only restricted to bringing transparency in the political parties, but
if we really try for the political reforms, we need to work on both sides; at the policy level for
political parties, laws, legislations required, their implementation and again the responsive vot-
ers.
MR AJIT RANADE: I would like to mention that in some States we have watched the Panchayat
elections also. They include Orissa and Jharkhand.
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MR SHARAD: ‘AGNI’ has been running the Election Watch programme for almost 7-8 years
now. I would prefer to go what we are doing presently, instead of what we did all along. All of
you are aware of 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai. That brought in a lot of people on road with
anger. That anger is the thing which is making a person responsible. This is the time, when we
felt that Agni should take up something. We also felt that we needed a change, just as Obama’s
election. His election was also basically for a change. We initially started using the Obama strat-
egy for a change. Once 26/11 attacks came in, we combined these attcks with the change. Now
to make the change, we are explaining to the angry people that the only way is to ensure that
you go and vote. That is the only place where politicians or political parties recognize citizens.
We have used 26/11 attacks and prepared a hand out. They pulled the trigger and you press the
button. This is the slogan we are pushing forward. To ensure that they press the button, first
and foremost is that they need to see whether they are registered as a voter or not. Due to the
delimitation of various constituencies, in transferring voters roll from the old to the new, there
have been a lot of errors. We have been trying to publicise that the voters should go and check
the voters roll.
Then, secondly as the Chief Election Commissioner mentioned yesterday, a lot of youth,
18-25 years who are eligible to vote, are not registered. To carry forward that, in Mumbai,
along with the CEO, we have gone into the programme of the College New Voters’ drive.
In almost 80 colleges, the CEO has sent the letters asking the Principals to facilitate ‘Agni’ and
our co-working NGOs to have registration drive among the new cases. In this case, we have
gone one step forward for the colleges. After explaining to the students about the forms and
the modus operandi of how to fill the form; what to do about it is briefed. We collect the forms
in bulk. Here again, the CEO has authorized us to collect the forms and made an exception. We
hand them over to the Collector’s office; in some of the cases, the Collector himself sent a per-
son to the college on a deputed day and collected the forms directly. This way, the college drive
is going on presently. From this drive, we expect nearly 25,000 to 30,000 additional young vot-
ers in this election.
128
The other drive we have been doing is the locality drive. Once again the locality drive is
more because of the delimitation. The delimited voter’s rolls have become too complicated and
some are even missing. As yesterday only the Bangalore group mentioned, as to how the rolls
are done, this is where we have gone into the localities and tried to make the local groups
aware and see that all their names are included.
The third step where we are going forward is the Corporate Sector. There again we
have been addressing the HRD group where people who are not registered are asked to come
on a particular date and asked to fill the form. There we cannot collect the form directly. We
guide them as to where they have to submit the forms. We have taken up these three areas to
ensure that people come and register and vote. Now the volunteers we have got in the process
are going to be used again during the election. In other words, they would literally ensure that
the voting happens. We are not concerned with whom they vote for; we are more concerned
with increasing the voting pattern basically among the middle class because this is the group
which is not voting. In Mumbai, the average voting pattern is 42-43 %. We have seen in Kash-
mir, in spite of boycott, and threat, there was 62% voting. This is where we want to ensure that
Mumbai does not remain behind and that the voting percentage increases.
The other question is, if we are to vote, then whom to vote for. We do not recommend
any candidate. At the same time, we are approaching all the political parties. The political par-
ties are aware that we have been going from college to corporate sector to the localities, in or-
der to build up the number. We are asking all the eligible voters to be the vote bank and re-
define the voting pattern. After all, we cannot substitute the political parties in the Electoral
politics. We are novice so far as that is concerned. We will be successful in what we are trying
to do once we have the number. In the Municipal elections, you will be surprised to know that
there were quite a number of young and educated candidates for the BMC elections. This time
in the Parliament elections also, being smaller compared to the Municipal elections, we are
hopeful that they will promote the good candidates.
After the elections also, we intend to follow up the same thing. As ADR has already said, we
need to compare the previous and the current elections. Again this time like the BMC elec-
129
tions, along with ADR, we are planning to grade the various candidates, purely based on the
affidavits that they have filed. We do not know whether the sworn-affidavits are true or false,
but all the same; it is the sworn-affidavits, based on that we are grading.
MS MAYFREEN, MEGHALAYA: As far as our small state is concerned, we believe that socially
and customarily, each state is different. When it comes to the political reforms, it is all the
same. We believe we want to bring about the political reforms. While conducting the Megha-
laya Election Watch 2008, it was found that there were a lot of candidates who have either not
disclosed or don’t have their PAN cards. Meghalaya is a tribal state and we do not need to file
income-tax. This is very compulsory in terms of transparency. But after the results of the Meg-
halaya Election Watch, we have found some very disturbing results. We have seven Congress
candidates who scored the highest in the State. After one month of the publication of results in
the newspapers and electronic media a letter was sent by one candidate in Meghalaya that we
had committed a mistake. We talked to her through E-mail and telephone. It did not work out.
So, we decided to re-calculate her assets. We admitted the mistake on our part of some 100 or
200 rupees. This showed that even if we make mistake, we admit that we had made the mis-
take, as much as they should also learn how to admit mistakes, which they commit for five
years. This is what we wanted to learn from the Meghalaya Election watch. We must learn
from our mistakes and try to make changes. We studied the manifestoes of different political
parties which are sitting in the Meghalaya Legislature. These manifestoes of different political
parties are very rosy. One of it said about the Women empowerment. We were so tired of
hearing that word. Actually, it is not the Women empowerment when the women are being
puppeted in the Assembly. This is something which we don’t want. They should be made the
leaders. We want the women leaders and not women puppet.
The next step forward is to try to encourage women from the rural areas, as long as they
contribute to the societal change. Next is that since we are directly working with the young
people at the college level, there is a peer pressure, each and every time, they appear and ad-
mit that they would vote and change the society. These are the steps that our group is going to
take forward. I am sure that we are going to have your support.
130
Jh jes’k] fgekpy% Jh jes’k] fgekpy% Jh jes’k] fgekpy% Jh jes’k] fgekpy% eSa fgekpy ls vk;k gwa v©j t¨j ls c¨yus dh vknr gSA eq>s vkils n¨ ckrsa dguh gSA igys D;k
dke fd;k v©j vxyk ,D’ku Iyku D;k gSA eSa fdlh Qke¢ZfyVh esa ugÈ tkuk pkgrk gwaA uoEcj] 2007 esa Jh f=y¨pu
’kkL=h v©j ,d lkFkh f’keyk esa feyus ds fy, vk,A fnlEcj esa fgekpy esa pquko g¨us FksA esjh vknr ;g gS fd eSa
viuk Òk"k.k ‘’ksj ls ’kq: djrk gwaA og ‘’ksj eSa vkidh utj dj jgk gwa &
gkFk a ls rjk’ks esjs iRFkj ds lue]gkFk a ls rjk’ks esjs iRFkj ds lue]gkFk a ls rjk’ks esjs iRFkj ds lue]gkFk a ls rjk’ks esjs iRFkj ds lue]
vkt esjs gh cqr[kkus esa [kqnk cusa cSBsa gSaAvkt esjs gh cqr[kkus esa [kqnk cusa cSBsa gSaAvkt esjs gh cqr[kkus esa [kqnk cusa cSBsa gSaAvkt esjs gh cqr[kkus esa [kqnk cusa cSBsa gSaA
eSa ;gka d¨Ã eq’kk;jk djus ugÈ vk;k gwaA bldh fjySosal gSa] bl fo"k; lsA nwljk d¨Vs’ku gS] Lokeh foosdkuUn tc
lSaVÝSflld¨a esa x,A muls iwNk x;k &What is the strength of your nation? mUg¨aus tokc fn;k & fdlh ns’k dh
‘’kfDr ml ns’k ds N¨Vs vknfe;¨a ds cM+s fopkj a ij fuÒZj djrh gS] u fd cM+s vknfe; a ds N¨Vs fopkj¨a ijA rhljh
ckr] t¨ fou¨ck Òkos us dgk gS & igys ;g ns’k LorU= xkao dk LorU= ns’k Fkk] mlds ckn LorU= xkao dk xqyke ns’k
g¨ x;k v©j vkt LorU= ns’k] xkao xqyke d¨ g¨ x;kA
eSa vius fo"k; ls ÒVd ugÈ jgk gwa v©j u gh esa fdlh O;fDr dh Mkbd¨V¨eh esa my> jgk gwaA esjh viuh ;g
jk; gS] ftruk eSa dy ls ysdj lqu jgk gwa] tc rd vki o¨Vj ,tqds’ku ugÈ djrs] rc rd bldh d¨Ã egŸkk ugÈ gSA
jktuhfrK a ls c¨yus dk d¨Ã fjySosal ugÈ gSA C;qj¨ØsV~l Òh dqN ugh gS] eSa Òh mldk ,d fgLlk jg pqdk gwaA tc ckrsa
g¨ pqdh g¨rh gS] r¨ dgrs gSa fd ;g cgqr vPNs gSaA d¨Ã dgrk gS fd jsoSy vPNs gSa v©j eSa [kqn ,d jSosy jgk gwaA lh/kh
ckr gS fd pquko gq, v©j nwljh ckr ;g fd ge D;k djus tk jgs gSaA fgekpy çns’k esa pkj lalnh; fuokZpu {ks= gSaA
buesa ,d {ks= eaMh gSa] t¨ iwjs Òkjr esa lcls cM+h gSA bl {ks= esa Vªkbcy ftyk gS] ftldh tula[;k n¨ O;fDr çfr
Lds;j fdy¨ehVj gSA fgekpy dk lcls c<+k {ks= mlesa doj g¨rk gSA geus bySD’ku okp esa lÒh jktuhfrd ny a d¨
fy[kk v©j mud¨ cqyk;kA ehÇVx dh] ysfdu os dqN ugÈ djrs gSaA C;qj¨ØsV~l fgekpy çns’k esa cgqr vPNs gSa v©j ckr
cM+h vPNh djrs gSa] ij dke fcydqy ugÈ djrs gSaA vc t¨ u;k LVSVSftd fcUnw gS] og gS bySD’ku d¨ e¨fcykbt djus
dkA o¨Vj ,tqds’ku geus iapk;rh jkt dh gSA esjs fopkj ls o¨Vj ,tqds’ku gh ,d ,slk jkLrk t¨ pquko a d¨ lgh fn’kk
ns ldrk gSA ;g esjk fopkj gS v©j eSa fdlh vU; ds fopkj a esa my>uk ugÈ pkgrk gwaA fgekpy esa bySD’ku okp gSA
eq>s ,d ckr fØfeuykbts’ku ds ckjs esa n¨ ckrsa dguh gSA gekjs ;gka :Çyx ikVÆ gS] og nwljh ikVÆ ds f[kykQ dsl
cukrh gS v©j eMZj dk d¨Ã dsl ugÈ g¨rk gSA ihlQqy LVsV gSA gekjs ;gka o¨Vj vkbMsafVfQds’ku dh d¨Ã leL;k ugÈ
gS] lc ,d nwljs d¨ tkurs gSaA
rhljh ckr] t¨ pquko ls lacaf/kr gSA ogka pquko ds n©jku vyx fdLe dh fjfxxa g¨rh gSA ogka ftl ikVÆ dk
mEehnokj rkdroj g¨rk gS] og r¨ e¨fcykbt ugÈ dj ldrk] ysfdu ckdh o¨Vj t¨ jg tkrs gSa] mudh LVSÇEix g¨rh
gSA eq>s flQZ bruk gh dguk gSA eSa bl ’ksj ds lkFk viuh ckr lekIr djrk gwa &
esgjcku g¨dj] tc pkg¨ cqyk yhft, gesaesgjcku g¨dj] tc pkg¨ cqyk yhft, gesaesgjcku g¨dj] tc pkg¨ cqyk yhft, gesaesgjcku g¨dj] tc pkg¨ cqyk yhft, gesa
ge d¨Ã xqtjk oDr ugÈ] t¨ fQj u vk ldsaAge d¨Ã xqtjk oDr ugÈ] t¨ fQj u vk ldsaAge d¨Ã xqtjk oDr ugÈ] t¨ fQj u vk ldsaAge d¨Ã xqtjk oDr ugÈ] t¨ fQj u vk ldsaA
131
MS MAYURI KADAM, MAHARASHTRA: lcls igys eSa /kU;okn nsrh gwa fd bl lEesyu d¨ eqEcà esa fd;k
x;kA eSa blds fy, Òh vki lc dh vkÒkjh gwa fd vki lc fcuk Mjs gq,] eqEcà vk,A eg¨n;] gels iwNk x;k fd geus
D;k fd;kA geus ftruk fd;k gS] mlls ch,elh esa gypy ep xà gSA gekjk vxyk fe’ku gS] 2009 ds pqukoA blesa
gekjh d¨f’k’k gS fd Òkjr ns’k d¨ vPNs gkFk a esa l©isaA ;g gekjk fe’ku gS v©j ge lc feydj bl fn’kk esa dke djsax-
sA ge y¨x¨a dk jktuhfrK¨a ls d¨Ã ysuk&nsuk ugÈ gSA eSa dgrh gwa] ge d¨Ã Òk"k.k djus ds fy, ugÈ vk, gSaA ge lc
y¨x dke djus ds fy, vk, gSaA Òk"k.k r¨ d¨Ã Òh ns ldrk gS] mlesa fdlh dk dqN ugÈ tkrk gSA ySDVj nwaxh] vki
rkyh ctk;saxs] eq>s vPNk yxsxkA ckn esa vki y¨x dgsa fd Òk"k.k nsus ds fy, vkrh gS] tkrh gSA
,d ckr r¨ ;g gS fd ge y¨x¨a d¨ dke djuk gSA ernkrk gekjh rjQ vk’k; ls ns[krs gSa fd ge y¨x dqN
r¨ djrs gSaA gekjk drZO; gS fd geus t¨ fo'okl iSnk fd;k gS] mld¨ dk;e j[kuk gekjk dke gSA fe’ku 2009 esa
lalnh; pquko v©j jkT; ds pquko gSaA y¨dlÒk ds fy, r¨ ns’k d¨ vPNs gkFk a esa l©aius dh ckr gS v©j t¨ fØfeuy gS]
mudk inkZQk’k djus ds fy, gekjk bySD’ku okp Fk¨M+k etcwr g¨uk pkfg,A bruh etcwr g¨uh pkfg, fd jk’Vªh; i{k
d¨ ns[ks v©j vPNs mEehnokj a d¨ ysaA ;g dke viuk gS] flQZ c¨yus dk ugh gSa] ernkrkv¨a }kjk er nsus dk gSA viuk
dke gS] y¨x a ds lkeus fdl çdkj dk mEehnokj gS] mld¨ ykuk pkfg,A gesa ehfM;k dh Òh T;knk t:jr g¨xhA ;g
dke ge lc feydj] ,dtwV g¨dj djsaxsA ns’k esa LorU=rk gesa feyh gS] rkfd ge ,dtwV g¨dj dke djsaA ckn esa
vxj vyx g¨ x,] r¨ fQj ls xqykeh g¨ xÃA tSlk vÒh lj us c¨yuk Fkk] LorU=rk oSlh g¨ xÃA y¨d lÒk esa
u©toku y¨x vk jgs gSa] ;g vPNh ckr gSA u©toku y¨x¨a esa vxj ikjnÆ’krk g¨xh] r¨ T;knk vPN g¨ tk,xkA viuk
dke lQy g¨ tk,xkA esjh r¨ [kqn dh ;g ea’kk gSA ckdh dk eq>s irk ugÈ gS] d¨Ã D;k dg dj iyV tk,] eq>s irk
ugÈ gSA gekjh ea’kk ;gh gS fd 2009 esa ,Mhvkj dk uke g¨ tk,A bUg¨aus vPNh ljdkj gesa nh v©j ;g dke ge y¨x a
ds ç;kl a ls g¨uk pkfg,A /kU;okn
MR MADHAV RAO, ANDHRA PRADESH : Unlike the other details that have been talking about so
far, I will talk about us. Now we have talked about the rule of law. We talk of democracy. We
are supposed to be a Republic democracy. But the Constitution or the laws do not talk about
the civil society, or the ‘AGNI’ or about ADR. Why the hell all of you are sitting here and con-
ducting the meeting? Now the Constitution talks about the Judiciary, the Legislature and the
Executive. They are supposed to govern the country, according to the rule of law. There is no
mention of the civil society anywhere in any law or in the Constitution. Again who the hell are
we sitting here and talking about this country. Now if you ask this hard question, then you have
to look at the fine print of the Constitution. The Preamble says, “We, the people of India give
this Constitution to ourselves”. Now the legitimacy for the government comes from the social
contract that is, we have voted the government to the power. When we vote the government
to power and it is failing, it is not just the executive which is failing. There is the Civil Service,
132
which is neither civil nor doing service. Now the judiciary is doing a great job but is it all that
honest. We all know about the politicians. When the three organs of the state fail, somebody
else has to come to the rescue. We have the famous saying, “Sambavami Yuge, Yuge”. When-
ever something goes wrong in the world, the God gives himself takes birth in some shape or
other and in my view that has happened through the ADR, because everything is failing. The
civil society has to come to restore to itself the legitimacy of the governance. If a politician, the
Civil Service and the judiciary is doing its job, we don’t have to waste our time here. The Profes-
sor will be teaching and lawyers will be practicing in the court. Why are you giving up job? One
of the doctors I found is spending her time on the electoral roll. So, the civil society and civil
service and the governance are inversely related, to the extent that if the Civil Service and the
governance fail, the responsibility of the civil society increases. Now my guruji, Jain Saheb has
been talking about what Gandhiji dreamt for this country. The organs of government would
have been performing that job probably but it is not happening. So, we have to take back that
power. As I said, there is what is called the Social Contract. Hobbes and Locke used to say, “The
basis of power is the consent of the people”. That consent has to come through your votes. We
take the vote and we give you the boot. So, we should say that this should not continue. We
have to challenge it. How do we challenge? As the State Election Commissioner, I happened to
work in Andhra Pradesh. A few months after I have joined the office, I was to hold the elections
and the Chief Minister and the Cabinet said, “We will not hold the elections. Please postpone
the elections.” I told them that I had no power over the constitution and had to hold the elec-
tions. They asked me to postpone it. So, I had to go to the High Court and told them that I had
no power to postpone the elections; Government was not notifying the reservations. Without
reservations, I could not hold the elections. So, I asked them to direct the government to notify
the reservations. I could have kept quiet as my colleague in the neighbouring State did. But I
went to the court and the court said, the government shall notify the reservations. I talked this
over to my neighbour. He said a very interesting statement. I asked him why did he not go to
the Court and force the State Government to notify the elections. He, while replying put a ques-
tion forward whether he was the only custodian of democracy in the State and asked what has
happened to the rest of the people. Why should only he go to the court? “If the people are in-
133
terested, if the political parties are interested in holding the elections, let them go to the
court.” Now in our own State, there were no elections for the Municipal Corporation of Hyde-
rabad in the last two years. Somebody was asking for the steps to be taken regarding this. The
person charged with the responsibility to hold the elections must be dragged to the court. But
who will do this? The responsibility of this lies with the Civil Society. That is where we have
people like Prof. Shastry, Prof. Handa, Prof. Chokkar and Mr. Ranade. They have started this
movement and it has caught on in the whole country. The Civil Society is “Sambavami Yuge,
Yuge concept”. We have to take up the arms and then see that the Judiciary and the Executive
and the Political organs do their jobs.
I am not letting out a secret to say that while the judiciary is doing a great job to en-
courage the civil society, we have our own reservations about their own House being not in or-
der. Now I have been associated with the selection of judges in various capacities. I am sorry to
say that the kind of honesty that is choking this room is not there. They have failed us in some
respect. They have succeeded or they have encouraged us in our efforts. So, we have to chal-
lenge every organ of the State. Then only our country, democracy will be safe, and safer will be
our lives. I am raising the fundamental issues and not the individual issues because I have seen
for 38 years that we have failed to perform a legitimate duty cast upon us. The Minister swears
by the Constitution saying that he will uphold it but from the next day onwards, he fails to do
that; he violates the Constitution and make things for himself. We have to challenge it. We
mean the civil society here. I think what business do you people have to sit here. You have
every business and every need and urgency to see that the people are sort of made to do their
job. They are expected to do their jobs, and are paid for doing their jobs but they have failed.
This is where all of us have a rationale. Thank you.
MR RAKTIM MUKHOPADHYAY, WEST BENGAL: Friends, the last elections in West Bengal were
held a little more than two years back in 2006. At that time, some group was working on behalf
of the Election Watch and ADR might not be sufficient as per the need. The problem starts with
the voters list. This time also, that has already started. The first voters list was prepared with
the help of the State Government organization, IT organization. That was full of mistakes. Then,
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we had a lot of meetings with the NGOs and the colleges, schools and other Civil Society
people. A lot of protests were made. Ultimately that list was totally cancelled by the State Elec-
tion Commission. A new organization was given the responsibility of preparing the new list. Still
there were problems and there were complaints and counter complaints.
Another problem is of the booth capturing. All the parties, whoever is strong in that
area, particularly in the rural areas, after 4, it is a regular practice of capturing the booth with
their musclemen, giving votes in the AVM machines. Sometimes, it is cast 125, 130, and 150%.
In the last election, it was the ratio that came in the newspapers. Another problem is the silent
threat. Again the political party whosoever is strong in a particular area, tend to threaten the
voters a week before the elections to vote for them. The need is mass awareness. Unless there
is a proper awareness, nothing can be done. In some of the areas in West Bengal, mass aware-
ness is there. For Panchayat elections, this type of situations in some areas, did not take place.
The plan is the State Election Watch, should re-organise immediately. There is no time to wait.
Immediately by the 15th
of March we will try to reorganize fully, involving eminent people,
NGOs and intellectuals, including schools and colleges. I stress upon the NGOs from the rural
districts. Just start some impact of the programme, at least using the video clippings shown in
Delhi, so that, if not fully, we can do something in the next coming Lok Sabha elections.
MR SRIDHAR, KARNATAKA: The Karnataka Election Watch this year had a very interesting
change in the tone and activity. Probably for the first time, it saw the kind of display of money
power that comes into play. This time, it was not just a regular liquor lobby; we had a real es-
tate lobby, the mining lobby coming into play. That was one of the huge things that changed
the Karnataka elections this year. Just to give an indication of the extent of which the impact
has been, we did analysis of the candidate and we found that the assets of each candidate pro-
vided a huge differentiator here. For the candidates who had assets of more than 20 crores, the
likelihood of his winning was 50%. This dropped drastically if his assets were less than 50 lakhs.
We found it less than 6.5% of the candidates who won in this category. This is a clear threat to
the kind of political system that we have.
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Moving on further, we have been seeing the kind of statement leaders have been mak-
ing on the women representation. Karnataka has less than 5% of representation of women
candidates. Today we have less than 3 women MLAs in the Assembly. We had about 145 candi-
dates with criminal charges and what is disturbing is, 20% of them had the murder and attempt
to murder cases against them. This is again a huge disturbing trend.
One of the things this time was to reach out to the media in the local language and we
also had press conference in the Northern Karnataka. It is far from Bangalore and we have
found that holding a conference at Hubli had a very good reception from the local press. They
carried the story in much more detail and depth and that helped us to reach more people.
Those were the points I would like to stress from the Karnataka Election Watch.
MR RANGARAJAN, TAMIL NADU: I am from Tamil Nadu, RIM, which is a network of organiza-
tions. In a way, it is a logical continuation of what Sridhar has said. RIM, organizationally we are
a part of the Election Watch process, but the State that I am representing, Tamil Nadu, we are
totally new to the Electoral reforms process. We have some experience; some idea has to how
it is being done. It is my first experience to be here. I have come to have a first hand experience.
This is very helpful.
Coming to the Tamil Nadu Election watch, as all of you know, Tamil Nadu is a politically
sensitive State. I don’t have to really talk much about it, but at the same time, the Chief Election
Commissioner has mentioned about Thirumangalam By-elections, which has reached new
heights. What kind of role can really make the elections totally different? Considering those
kinds of factors, we have a lot to be done as civil society, as NGOs, and as groups. I would like to
quote EVR Periyar who was a Social reformer with whose inspiration; the whole Dravidian
movement had come. He who said that if the elected representatives are scoundrels, it means,
the voters are fools. In the sense, what I am trying to say is that we have to really bring that
sensitization. It is very unfortunate that with such a kind of Social Reformer and Dravidian
movement, we can see what kind of feudal system, dole-based system we have in Tamil Nadu.
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From ADR we have moved into the Election Watch. From single organization, we have to
move into Tamil Nadu Election Watch collectively, which is a tremendous task. We would like to
be a part of it, but we would like to build on with more institutions. Our basic strength is net-
working. RIM is a network of organizations. It is currently involved in these activities. The Plan-
ning Commission in its 12th
Five Year Plan had already formulated policy for the voluntary sec-
tor. Based on that State, there are State level consultations to really develop the policy for vo-
luntary sector. RIM has been given the task of formulating policy for Tamil Nadu. In this
process, it will be a networking of about 300 to 400 grass-root NGOs and it will be an ideal op-
portunity for the RIM to take the concept of Election Watch with all the institutions with whom
we are networking. Dr.Trilochan has introduced us to Dr. Sudarshan of IIT, Dr. Krishna, Madhav.
We are interested in the process; probably we will consult all of them and try to build a group
and see how we can progress.
Those were an eye opener for me. We try to have the State level consultations and try
to invite Dr. Trilochan or somebody from the National Election Watch and try to bring the nuc-
leus group to really pick up things and move on. We would like to proceed from zero here to
upwards. I hope to have your continued support for the cause of achieving better civil society
and monitoring in the State of Tamil Nadu.
MR BISWENDU, TRIPURA: I just want to narrate what we did in the 2008 Feburary elections,
when we first came to the network. It was our first experience. Our problem was getting the
copies of affidavits. We got them only 3 days before the elections. So, our Election Watch re-
port had not had much impact, except a few stories in the newspapers, or the local TV journals.
This time, when I go back, my plan is to do a strong watch group with the eminent citizens, se-
nior citizens and some NGOs from the district. Our political situation is something different
from the rest of the country. We are left ruled state; corruption in that sense is not that much.
Our Opposition is very weak and media is very strong. That is why, this cash, dole, distribution
of liquor is not there. No criminal charges with any candidate have so far been detected. There
is no candidate with criminal charges in our State. Our main focus is to educate the voters so
that the turn out should be more. We have the record of the State Election Commission that
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Tripura had recorded 87% votes in the last elections. It is a record in the country. But we want
to take it to 100%. This is our main target in the next Lok Sabha elections.
MR TASADUK ARIFUL HUSSAIN, ASSAM: It is very unfortunate that I did not know about ADR or
the Election watch, before Anil spoke to me and invited me for this programme. I am happy to
be here. On our own, we did some work in Assam. I would like to share what we did in the last
Panchayat elections. At that time, we launched a campaign called “Desh Qulila Nalane, watch”.
That was the initiative. We tried to do some cycle rally in the village to raise awareness of the
voters. Secondly, we did some college campaign where we tried to motivate college students
and told them: “You are a part of All Assam Students Union also, claiming foreigners are there
in Assam.” Let us go to the villages and reform the voters list. If you reform the voters list, and
allow no foreigner to be there in the voters list, then foreigners cannot stay in this country. We
have done that and trained the students, how the voters list is prepared and how it is prepared.
We have organized some workshop. We divided the entire electoral process into four divisions.
One is the voter’s list; how it is prepared, what are the nitty gritties involved in it. Second is the
polling, nomination and candidature; what is the procedure of nomination and filing of candida-
ture. This is what we have trained in.
Third is, the polling and the counting; the system involved in the polling and counting
and declaration of result. What is the procedure of counting and how the declaration is made?
We have divided it into four stages. We have trained the community members, how to look into
it objectively.
Then, what is the outcome and couple of outputs. One is that, we have got threatening
from the political parties for doing this. Some political party leaders came to our organization
workers and threatened them; how come you are doing these political activities, we will cancel
your registration, etc. We faced this kind of threatening comments. One of our field activists
house was also ransacked by some of the political workers of the area. These are the kinds of
challenges we have and these are the small interventions we did. We also did some media
workshop.
138
We have three or more concerns before us. First, in Assam, our home constituency,
there is a surrendered ULFA who is an MLA now. While doing campaigning for the MLA, now as
an MLA also, he always keeps arms with him. No case could be filed against him. Though, some
cases were filed earlier, they do not allow anything to happen. There is so much of muscle
power. He is an independent candidate and that is why, he has a lot of political power. All the
political parties, whichever in power always want to buy him, and always try to maintain good
relations with him. That is one concern.
Then there are two foreigners who have come into the light for contesting elections in
Assam. One is the MLA candidate, who is a Bangladeshi. He married an Assamese daughter and
filed the nomination. His nomination was accepted but he lost in the elections. Otherwise we
would have one Bangladeshi MLA. One friend of mine, caught hold of a journalist’s passport
and the High Court had given the judgment that it is possible only in Assam. Another person
who is now a sitting MP, Mr. M.K. Subba, there are lot of claims that he is from Nepal; he has
criminal background in Nepal. He is a sitting MP in the country. Even though, he has committed
few murders. The fourth thing is that a lot of people, my friends from outside say, “You are a
very happy person that the Prime Minster is from Assam”. I don’t know whether I should be
happy or not. Everybody knows that his constituency is from Assam. But nobody except him
knows that he is not from Assam. Therefore I don’t think I should be happy.
MR AJIT RANADE: vkius n¨ ckrsa vge dgh gS] ftu ij ge lÒh d¨ è;ku nsuk pkfg,A ,d r¨ /kedh dh ckr gSA
ge tc bySD’ku okp dk dke djrs gSa] r¨ /kefd;ka vk;saxhA ekewy /kedh g¨rh gS] vkxj ykl dh /kedh vkrh gS] v©j
Òh /kefd;ka vkrh gSa] Q¨u ls vkrh gSA us’kuy bySD’ku okp dk t¨ l= gS] og gekjh fgQktr ds fy, gSaA tSlkfd
geus igys l= esa ckr dh FkhA nwljh ckr dgh xÃ] ,sls Òh mEehnokj gSa] ftuds f[kykQ d¨Ã eqdÌek ugÈ gSA mudk
d¨Ã fØfeuy fjdkMZ ugÈ gSA ysfdu y¨x a d¨ ekywe gS fd mudk D;k fjdkMZ gSA ;s psysatst gSa] t¨ gesa è;ku j[kus
g axsA vxys oDrk Jh lq/khj iky th jkaph ls gSaA ;s cgqr lkjs dke djrs gSaA ;s dE;qfuVk fofM;¨ Òh pykrs gSaA ehfM;k
esa Òh gSA
Jh lq/khj ikyJh lq/khj ikyJh lq/khj ikyJh lq/khj iky, JHARKHAND% % % % eg¨n;] eSa fcuk fdlh v©ipkfjdrk ds viuh ckr dgwaxkA fo/kku lÒk v©j y¨dlÒk
ds pquko ds n©jku t¨ vuqÒo gSa] eq>s yxrk gS muds ckjs esa eq>s c¨yus dh t:jr ugÈ gSA gekjs ;gka tujy pquko
2004 esa gq, v©j fo/kku lÒk pquko 2005 esa gq,A eSa T;knk vuqÒo vkils ‘’ks;j d:axk] t¨ vcZu ckMh pquko esa y¨x¨a
dk t¨ bUVjoSa’ku jgk] mlds ckjs esaA mlls igys eSa crk nsuk pkgrk gwa fd n¨ fnu a ls gekjk ;g t¨ lEesyu py jgk
139
gS v©j eSa ml jkT; ls gwa] t¨ jktuhfrd ç;¨x’kkyk dh Òwfe vki dg ldrs gSaA fnu ds ckr dgh xÃ] eq[;ea=h y¨x
ugÈ pqurs gSa] ç/kkuea=h y¨x ugÈ pqurs gSaA lhfeyj ckr gekjs f’kcwl©juth] ,Dl ,eih us dgh] reke pquko gkjus ds
ckn mUg aus dgk fd turk r¨ eq[;ea=h ged¨ ugÈ cukà gS] ;wih, us ged¨ eq[;ea=h cuk;k gSA ;wih, tc gesa dgsxh
dh bLrhQk n¨] r¨ ge bLrhQk nsaxs- ugÈ r¨ ugÈ djsaxsA vYVhesVyh] mUg¨aus bLrhQk ns fn;kA
nwljh ckr] f=y¨puth ftl ckr dh v¨j b’kkjk dj jgs Fks] chtuSl v©j dki¨ZjsV gkmlsl ckmUMªh Økal dj
jgh gSA fiNys pkj lky esa gekjs ;gka ikap ljdkjsa cnyh gSa A ljdkjsa cnyh gSa] r¨ chtuSl v©j dki ZjsV gkmlsl ds
dgus ls cnyh gSaA vkt >kj[k.M esa fLFkfr ;g gS fd vxjvki 30 dj¨M+ #i;k ysdj tkrs gSa] r¨ ftldh pkgsaxs mldh
ljdkj r¨ fxjk gh ysaxs] cuus dh d¨Ã xkjUVh ugh gS] ysfdu ljdkjsa fxj tk¸ksaxhA ;g n¨ phtsa ge y¨x vuqÒo dj jgs
gSaA rhljk t¨ ldkjkRed i{k gSa] gekjs ;gk fØfeuy cSdXkzkmUM ds cgqr de y¨x gSaA oSls ,e,y gS] ysfdu funZyh;
y¨x jkt gSa] >kj[k.M esaA ;s funZyh; y¨x os gSa] t¨ ,d le; turk ds lkFk laÄ"kZ esa jgs] rkfd cqfu;knh lqfo/kk; a ds
fy, yM+rs jgsaA vkt os lkjs ds lkjs ea=h gSa] ladV gekjk ;g gS fd lkQ lqFkjk vkneh dE;qfuVht ds lkFk tqM+k jgk]
lŸkk ds lkFk fpidus ds ckn fnDdr ;g gS fd vc og mlh dSVsxjh es gS] ftl dSVsxjh d¨ ge ,yhfeusV djuk pkgrs
gSaA
24osa la’k¨/ku ds vky¨i esa pquko esa Òkx ysuk FkkA geus >kj[k.M bySD’ku okp] >kj[k.M leUo; lfefr] t¨ igys ge
y¨x¨a dk ,uthv¨t dh ,d laLFkk Fkh] mlds lkFk fey dj iwjs vcZu pquko ds n©jku O;kid Lrj ij v©j [kkl r©j ls
ehfM¸kk d¨ ge y¨x a us dkQh vPNs <ax ls bLrseky fd;k] bl iwjs çpkj ds dke esaA ge y¨x¨a us o¨Vj jftLVªsu] fMfy-
feVs’ku] fjto¢Z’ku bu lkjh pht a ij dke fd;k v©j gesa pquko vk;¨x dk Òh iwjk lg;¨x feykA ge ‘’kqØxqtkj gS]
ek/kojkoth dk ftud¨ ge y¨ax¨a us cqyk;k Òh Fkk] pquko ds n©jku ge y¨x a us dEiSu fd,] ysfdu dà ckj ilZuyh
>kj[k.M ds iapk;rh pquko esa ugÈ djk lds gSaA ysfdu vcZu ds pquko eà eghus esa g¨ x, gSaA ek/kojkoth ls ge y¨x¨a
d¨ tkudkjh gkfly gqÃ] ftud¨ geus bLrseky fd;kA ;g dke djrs gq,] pquko ls Bhd 15 fnu igys 55 t¨ okMZ gS]
jkaph uxjfuxe ds] ogka gesa tkx#drk jFk pyk;k- utj VSyhfotu ftlls eSa Òh tqM+k gqvk gwa] ,d U;wt pSuy gS] og
v©j bySD’ku okp feydj iwjs 55 okMZ esa ge y¨x a us dSEisu pyk;k] tgka geus xkus ds vk/kkj ij çpkj fd;kA tSlk
fd vki y¨x vÒh ns[k jgs Fks] fd iIiw o¨V nsA bl rjg ds dSEisu ge y¨x a us pyk, fd vki vPNs mEehnokj a d¨ er
nsaA vkids vf/kdkj D;k gSa] ysfdu gekjk T;knk Q¨dl mu ij Fkk] t¨ ekÆtuykbt dE;qfuVht gSaA ;k efgykv a ds
fy, t¨ vkjf{kr lhV gS] ogka geus dke fd;kA ,d r¨ ogka efgyk;sa T;knk la[;k esa o¨V nsus ds fy, vk;saA nfyr v©j
vkfnoklh y¨x a d¨ j¨dk ugÈ tkuk pkfg,A ;g dke ge y¨x¨a us fd;kA fQj ge y¨x a us utj VSyhfotu v©j jkT;
pquko vk;¨x ds lkFk fey dj 12 fnu geus Vki&’k¨ fd;kA gesa blesa vPNh fjlikal feyh] D;¨afd j¨t 100&150 dky
ges’kk vkrs Fks] ml iwjs ,d ÄUVs ds dk;ZØe ds n©jkuA ftlesa viuh&viuh leL;kv a d¨ ysdj ckr g¨rh gS- tSls fdlh
dk fMfefyVs’ku dh leL;k gS] fdlh dk o¨Vj jftLVªsu dk ekeyk gSA bld¨ dà Lrj ij ge y¨x a us gy djus dh
d¨f’k’k dhA
blds lkFk çpkj ds t¨ reke ekè;e Fks v©j vÒh tSlk fd vftr th crk jgs Fks] t¨ fnDdrsa vk jgh FkÈ] vius vle
esa jktuhfrd ny¨a dhA ge y¨x¨a us jkT; pquko vk;¨x v©j ftyk ç’kklu ds lkFk r; fd;k Fkk fd iwjs pquko dk ge
ykbo VSyhdkLV djsaxsA eq>s yxrk gS] ;g igyh ckj gqvk gS fd fdlh pSuy d¨] ckdh reke pSuy us’kuy v©j jhtuy
140
pSuy d¨ N¨M+dj] utj pSuy d¨ btktr nh xà fd vki ykbo VSyhdkLV dhft,A ’kk;n mud¨ Òh irk ugÈ Fkk fd
bl ykbu VSyhdkLV dk D;k ifj.kke fudyus okyk gS ;k g¨us d¨ gSA ml ykbo VSyhdkLV dk urhtk ;g gqvk fd
i¨y&fjÇxx dh lkjh phtsa ykbu çpkfjr g¨us yxh v©j ykLV fLFkfr bruh vfu;fU=r g¨ xà fd y¨x a dk cgqr T;knk
ç¨VSLV gqvk] jktuhfrd ny¨a dk ç¨VSLV gqvk] var esa ç’kklu esa bUVjQs;j fd;kA mlus gekjk iwjk bfDoiesaV r¨M+kA
mlus gekjk <+kà yk[k dk dSejk r¨M+ fn;kA geus bld¨ Òh cgqr vPNs rjhds ls fy;k v©j jkaph iwjs rhu fnu cUn
jgkA jktuhfrd ny a us bl ÄVuk ds foj¨/k esa jkaph d¨ cUn djk;kA ml n©jku geusa vius LVwfM;¨ esa ykbo dk;ZØe
fd;k] tgka Q¨u ij y¨x viuh çfrfØ;k;sa nsrs jgsaA 2500 ls T;knk y¨x a us Q¨u ij bl ÄVuk dh fuUnk dhA ge
y¨x¨a us bl ÄVuk d¨ bl <ax ls le>k;k] gekjs fy, og lhvkjih okyk bykdk ugÈ gS] esjs fy, yxrk gS fd ;g <+kÃ
yk[k dk uqdlku 25 yk[k dh ifCyflVh ds cjkcj FkkA ckn esa fQj geus bl iwjs çdj.k d¨] gekjs dSejs d¨ r¨M+r gq,]
bl ÄVuk dk ohfM; a rS;kj fd;k Fkk] mld¨ geus ,d p©d ij g¨ÆMax yxk;k Fkk] ogka fn[kk;kA [kcj nh fd ge
bld¨ gj dher ij >syus ds fy, rS;kj gSaA ;g gekjs fy, O;kid çpkj dk ekè;e jgk v©j fLFkfr ,slh g¨ xà dh]
var esa eq[;ea=h d¨ gLr{ksi djuk iM+kA ge vkÒkjh gSa] eqD;ea=h th ds mUg aus iwjk dEiSals’ku] t¨ dSejk r¨M+ fn;k x;k
Fkk] t¨ gekjs ykbo bfDoiesaV VwVs] og gtkZuk fn;kA eq>s yxrk gS fd vxj lgh fn’kk es dne mBk;k tk,] r¨ lgh
dke g¨ ldrs gSaA ge y¨x a us ernku ds fnu utj VSyhfotu ij gSYiykbu ’kq# fd;k Fkk fd dgÈ ls d¨Ã Òh Q¨u
djsa] ge y¨x mld¨ ,l,lih d¨ ikl djsaxsA jkT; pquko y¨x¨a us ge y¨x¨a d¨ vf/k—r fd;k Fkk fd dgh ls Òh d¨Ã
xM+cM+h dh lwpuk feys] vki gesa lwfpr dhft,A ;g ,d vPNk vuqÒo jgk] ckdh phtsa ;kfu ,MolZ pht a d¨ ge Qsoj-
soy esa dSls ;wt dj ysa] og T;knk vPNkA /kU;okn
MR JASKIRAT SINGH, PUNJAB: ,d tSlh gh dgkuh gS] blfy, eSa T;knk foLrkj ls ugÈ crkuk pkgrk gwaA ,d
Quh ÄVuk gS] lc y¨x l¨ jgs gSa] eSa ogh vki y¨x¨a d¨ crkuk pkgrk gwaA ge y¨x igyh ckj bySD’ku okp dj jgs Fks]
gesa T;knk irk Òh ugÈ Fkk fd gesa D;k djuk gS] geus ’kq# fd;kA djrs&djrs o¨V g¨ xà v©j çSl dkUÝSal dk le;
vk x;kA og Òh g¨ xÃA vxys fnu ge d¨ bfUM;u ,DlçSl ds fji¨VZj dk Q¨u vk;k fd vkius r¨ ged¨ xyr
tkudkjh nh gSA geus Nki fn;k gS v©j vdkyh ny ds y¨x gekjs ihNs yx x, gSaA muds ,d cM+s yhMj dh r¨ gesa
/kedh vkà gSA ge Òh Mj x,] irk ugÈ ;g D;k g¨ x;kA vkxs irk ugÈ D;k g¨xkA eSaus iwNk & D;k gqvk gS? dgus
yxs fd vkius fØfeuy dslst dh fMVsYl nh Fkh] mlesa fy[kk Fkk fd ,d ds rhu dslst gSaA geus rhu Nki fn,] mudk
Q¨u vk;k fd mudk ,d gh dsl gSA mUg¨aus ged¨ fMVsYl nh gSa v©j os fcydqy lgh gSaA os r¨ d¨VZ esa pys tk;saxsA
t¨ yhMj Fks] os muds odhy FksA eSaus fQj fji¨VZ [k¨y dj ns[kh v©j geus t¨ fji¨VZ cukà Fkh] mlesa fy[kk Fkk] &
Cases under 3 IPC Sections. geus dgk & ,d Òh g¨ ldrk gS] geus r¨ dsoy ;g ns[kk Fkk fd vkÃihlh lSD’ku
esa fdrus dslst gSa] mlesa ,d Òh g¨ ldrk gS v©j 6 Òh g¨ ldrs gSaA mlesa fy[kk ;gh Fkk & Cases under 3 IPC
Sections. fQj dgus yxs fd vki viuh txg Bhd g¨] pfy,] ns[krs gSa fd gesa vc D;k djuk gSA mlds ckn eSaus
vxys fnu Q¨u fd;k] ;g tkuus ds fy, fd D;k gqvk gSA dgus yxh fd lc g¨ x;kA eSaus dgk & ,sls dSls lc g¨
x;kA fQj mudk Q¨u vk;k Fkk] eSus dgk fn;k fd gekjh xyrh gS] ge dy DySfjfQds’ku Nki nsrs gSa fd ,d gh dsl
Fkk] xyrh ls rhu Ni x;k FkkA dgus yxs fd eSa dqN ugÈ d:axk] eq>s ekQ dj¨A mud¨ yxk fd leL;k Fkh v©j
vius vki dqN gy g¨ x;kA
141
eq> ls igys fgekpy çns’k ds lkFkh cgqr ’ksj¨&’kk;jh djds x, gSaA eq>s Òh yxk] eSa Òh lqukuk pkgrk gwaA
[kqn gh d¨ dj cqyUn bruk][kqn gh d¨ dj cqyUn bruk][kqn gh d¨ dj cqyUn bruk][kqn gh d¨ dj cqyUn bruk]
fd gj rdnhj ls igysfd gj rdnhj ls igysfd gj rdnhj ls igysfd gj rdnhj ls igys
[kqnk cUns ls [kqn iwNs][kqnk cUns ls [kqn iwNs][kqnk cUns ls [kqn iwNs][kqnk cUns ls [kqn iwNs]
crk rsjh jtk D;k gSAcrk rsjh jtk D;k gSAcrk rsjh jtk D;k gSAcrk rsjh jtk D;k gSA
[kqnk gh Fkd x;k] r¨ ljdkj D;k pht gS] ljdkj Òh ugÈ iwNsxh fd D;k ltk gSA /kU;okn A
MR AJIT RANADE: ¸ks bl rjg ds dke djrs gSaA gekjs bySD’ku okp dk t¨ y¨x¨ cuk gS] og bUgÈ us cuok;k gSA
os ,d l¨¶Vos;j ç¨Qs’kuy Òh gSaA mUg aus MsVk ,UVªh ,fQMsfoV ls lacaf/kr bySD’ku okp ls lacaf/kr mldk l¨¶Vos;j
cuk;k gSA ;s cgqvk;keh O;fDr gSaA vkid¨ irk gS] tEew&dk'ehj esa vÒh pquko gq, FksA Jh eqt¶Qj ÒV~V vkid¨
tkudkjh nsaxsA
Jh eqt¶Qj ÒV~VJh eqt¶Qj ÒV~VJh eqt¶Qj ÒV~VJh eqt¶Qj ÒV~V, JAMMU & KASHMIR: eSa ,Mhvkj dk cgqr gh ’kqØxqtkj gwa fd mUg aus ;gka eq>s ,d e©dk
fn;k fd ge vkids lkeus tEew&dk'ehj ds t¨ gkykr gSa] mu ij Fk¨M+h lh j¨’kuh MkysaA
tgka rd bySD’ku okp dk rkYyqd gS] ge buds lEidZ esa ugÈ Fks] ckn esa gekjh onkZ esa f=y¨pu th ls
eqykdkr gqÃA mUg aus dgk fd vki gekjs dk;ZØe a esa vkb,A tgka rd tEew&dk'ehj dk rkYyqd gS] vkid¨ irk gS fd
ogka 62 çfr’kr ernku gqvk gSA dgÈ&dgÈ ij r¨ 75 ls 77 çfr’kr rd ernku gqvk gSA tgka rd fØfeuykbts’ku
vkQ i¨fyVDl dk elyk gS] tEew&dk'ehj ds ckjs esa eSa Fk¨M+h lh j¨’kuh MkywaxkA vkid¨ ekywe g¨xk] dqN lky igys
,d cgqr cM+k lSDl LdSaMy gqvk FkkA mlesa ogka :Çyx ikVÆ ds rhu ea=h bUokYo FksA dqN vU; fo/kk;d Òh FksA mldh
tkap gekjs ns’k dh t¨ lcls cM+h ,tsalh gS] lhchvkÃ] mlus tkap ‘’kq# dhA irk ugÈ D;k jktuhfrd ncko Fks] D;k Fks]
;wih, dh jkT; ljdkj gS] irk ugÈ ml dsl dh Qkby dh D;k lwjrsgky gqÃ] og dsl dh Qkby cUn g¨ xà gSA
lhchvkà us dsl Qkby fd, v©j C;kukr vk,] eSa ml Qkby esa Fk¨M+k lk i<+uk pkgrk gwa] og Qkby bl oDr esjs ikl
gSA t¨ fofDVe yM+dh gS] mlus gkà d¨MZ es C;ku fn;k gS &
“Sometime in the end of the year 2004, Sabeena, kingpin, told me that she could get a
job for me with the help of a powerful Minister, whom she knows very well. She asked me to
bring my certificates. Accordingly, I went to Sabeena at Tulsi Bagh, the house of Hakeem Mohd.
Yasin and discussed about the job and handed over my certificates. He assured me, and took
me to the adjacent room. Thereafter the Minister had sexual intercourse with me. He said that
he would let me know later on about the job and he did not give any money to me. The Minis-
ter had given me his residential number. Subsequently I spoke to him about the job but he did
not give me any job and finally started evading me. This is one statement.”
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There is also a second incident. “I know, another Mr. Sahni, of Jammu who was the Sports Mi-
nister. One day he telephoned me and asked me to visit his residence. I questioned him from
where had he got my telephone number. He revealed that he had got it from a fellow minister.
He also told me that he would be helpful and asked me to come to his residence. I could not go
to his place that night. I went to see him at his residence the following morning. I also took the
particulars of one of my relatives for his appointment, as Anganwadi worker at the district Bad-
gam. I gave the particulars to him. He promised me that he would get the job; he was in a hurry
to go to Jammu. He assured me that he would return after a week and that I should see him
then. He also disclosed that he had his residence at Gandhinagar, Jammu and gave me his
Jammu telephone number as well. After one week, he telephoned me and said that he was
coming to Srinagar and also has brought an appointment order for my relative. Thereafter he
again spoke to me at Srinagar and said that he would be coming to Srinagar with his family and
asked me to come along with food. Accordingly, I prepared food, meat packed and fish and
took it to the John Bakery shop near the Dal Gate where his driver in white Ambassador was
waiting for me. As per the minister’s instructions I sat in his vehicle and he took me to his resi-
dence. There I had to wait till 8 p.m. for the minister to come. Thereafter the driver offered me
a cold drink. After that the minister came and took me to a room on the first floor, where he
forcibly raped me and tore my clothes. He did not give any appointment order or money but
promised to marry me. He also threatened me not to disclose the incident to anybody. He is a
strong man and can get me punished for the disclosure. My tiffin carrier and hot case is still
with him and it is a year old incident, but I can still identify all the places.”
blds ckotwn Òh vki ns[k ldrs gSa] ogka ij ,sls cnek’k a d¨ fVdV fn;k v©j os thr dj vk, gSaA ge D;k dj ldrs
gSa bl flyflys esa? ogka ij jktuhfr esa ,sls y¨x gSa v©j ikVÆ us v©j mudh gkÃdekUM us ,sls y¨x¨a d¨ fVdV fn;k
v©j os fQj thr dj vk, gSaA vki bl lwjrsgky esa D;k dj ldrs gSa] xjhc vkneh cspkjk dgka tk;sA ge y¨x ,d
flfoy l¨lk;Vh ds y¨x Òkjr ljdkj ij Fk¨M+k ncko MkysaA ,slk ugh gS fd ogka 62 çfr’kr i¨Çyx gqà gS v©j y¨x
[kq’k gSaA ,slh ckr ugÈ gSA y¨x¨a us vxj ernku fd;k gS] r¨ fodkl ds fy, fd;k gSA ikuh v©j fctyh ds fy, fn;k
gSA vxj gesa ml 62 çfr’kr ernku d¨ dSl djuk ugÈ vk;k] r¨ vkxs gkykr v©j T;knk [kjkc g¨ ldrs gSaA bl oDr
t¨ eq[; eqÌk gS] og gS lSDl LdSaMy] ftldh Qkby cUn dj nh xà gS] mld¨ u, fljs ls [k¨yk tk,] ml ij
iwjh&iwjh dk;Zokgh dh tk, v©j t¨ y¨x mlesa bUokYo gS] mud¨ nafMr fd;k tk,A rc tkdj Òkjr ljdkj dh ikfyl
esa y¨x¨a d¨ fo'okl iSnk g¨ ldrk gSA oSls r¨ fo'okl [kRe g¨ x;k gS v©j ogka 60 gtkj y¨x dLVht ls xk;c g¨
143
x, gSa] fiNys 10&20&30 lky¨a esa A D;k bldh Òh Qkby [k¨yh tk,] D;¨afd ;s n¨u a gh ckrsa cgqr egRoiw.kZ gSaA esjs
fopkj ls vxj bu n¨u¨a ij dke fd;k tk,] r¨ dk'ehj ds gkykr lq/kkj ldr gSa A eSa ,Mhvkj ds y¨x¨a ls çkFkZuk
djrk gwa] vkxs gekjs y¨d lÒk ds pquko vkus okys gSa] mlds fy, ge muds lkFk dke djus ds fy, rS;kj gSa] ge
lg;¨x djsaxs] ge ogk bySD’ku okp djsaxsA eSa buls ;gh çkFkZuk djrk gwaA /kU;okn
Jh lÃn c’kkjJh lÃn c’kkjJh lÃn c’kkjJh lÃn c’kkj , JAMMU & KASHMIR: lkfFk; a] eSa dsoy dqN gh fcUnq v©j t¨M+uk pkgrk gwaA Mk- eqt¶Qj lkgc
igys gh lc dqN crk pqds gSaA dk'ehj v©j eqEcÃ] egkjk’Vª] ;s n¨u¨a jkT;¨a dh nwjh cgqr gS] exj ,d uSDlSl Mosyi g¨
jgk gS] t¨ gekjs dk'ehj dh i¨fyVh esa çÒko Mky jgk gSA og ;g gS fd ogka d¨ jktuhfrK v©j ;gka ds dki ZjsV
gkmlSl esa ,d jkcrk c<+ jgk gSA og jkcrk ilZuy ySoy rd g¨rk] r¨ Bhd FkkA eSa vkid¨ ,d mnkgj.k nsuk pkgrk
gwaA ogka ds cM+s jktuhfrK gSa] eSa mudk uke ugÈ ysuk pkgrk gwa] t¨ Òkjr ljdkj esa ea=h gSa] og vius ,fQMsfoV ij
dqN l© #i, muds ,lSV~l gSa ;kfu 200&400&500 #i, cSad cSysal gSaA exj t¨ ,toÆVlesaV ehfM;k d¨ nsrs gSa] eSa
mld¨ tkurk gwa] og iSlk dgka ls x;k] D;¨afd eSa y¨dy tuZfyLV gwa] mlesa yk[k¨a&dj¨M+ a #i;k [kpZ fd;kA
That is for the first time in Jammu and Kashmir that we have witnessed the campaigning elec-
tronic as well as media. og iSlk dgka ls vkrk gS] we all know that. We do not have any corporate
houses in Jammu and Kashmir. og iSlk d©u nsrk gSA vxj vki ;g dgsaxs fd ;s t¨ dki ZjsV gkmlSl gSa]
mudk cM+h QSfefyt ds lkFk fjys’kUl gSa] jktuhfrd QSfefyt ds lkFk] og gesa ogka irk pyrk gS fd iSlk eqEcà ls
vkrk gS] fnYyh ls vkrk gSA
blh rjg ls eSa ,d v©j mnkgj.k vkid¨ nsuk pkgrk gwaA ,;jykbUl ds eky;k lkgc] os jkT; lÒk ds fy,
ogka ls fVdV dh n©M+ esa FksA gkykafd mUg¨aus ,d v©j vkQj nh FkhA iSlk r¨ os gh likalj djrs gSaA We must
ponder over these issues euh ikoj t¨ ge dy ls lqu jgs gSaA nwljh ckr ;g fd euh gh lkjs dke ugÈ djrhA
Two examples emerged during the recent elections, which were successfully held and we ap-
preciate the CEC’s contribution in that. esjs n¨ fe= gSa] t¨ pquko thrsA ,d {ks= gS] yaxsV] t¨ ukFkZ dk'ehj esa
vkrk gS] mudk uke bathfu;j j’khn gSA He was a Junior Engineer. cgqr xjhc cUnk gSA blds ikl nwljk iguus
ds fy, Vªkmtj ugÈ FkkA ftu fnu og thrk] mlds Äj esa psat djus djus ds fy, ugÈ FkkA y¨x¨a us lg;¨x fd;k
v©j cM+h ckr mles ;g gS fd n¨ fcx xUl d¨ mlus gjk;kA t¨ ekus tkrs gSa fd ogka ls cM+s jktuhfrK gSaA n¨u a fcx
xUl ds ihNs ikÆV;ka FkÈ v©j ,d dh r¨ ykblSla dSUly Òh dj nh xÃA blh çdkj ,d nwljk mEehnokj gS] mlus Òh
pquko thrk] fcuk euh v©j ikoj ds] t¨ ge vke r©j ij pquko¨a esa ç;¨x esa ykrs gSaA mlus Òh n¨ jktuhfrK a d¨
gjk;kA cgqr cM+s jktuhfrK gS v©j pkj&ikap ea=h jg pqds gSaA ;g Òh ,d O;oLFkk gqà gS] vÒh gky ds pquko a esaA
tgka rd rkYyqd 22 çfr’kr ernku dk ç'u gS] tEew ftys esa] ftld¨ ge bXu©j ugÈ dj ldrs gSaA We
believe that Kashmir has always committed blunders by not addressing the core issues; what
we call the core issues, tcfd ogka vktknh v©j ikfdLrku dh Òh leL;k gSA ge pkgrs gSa fd ernkrk xyr u
144
le>sa fLFkfr d¨ v©j T;knk ls T;knk y¨x ernku djsaA eSa ml fglkc ls vkid¨ ;g ugÈ dg jgk gwa fd ogka dh t¨
eq[; leL;k;sa gSa] mud¨ tc rd ugÈ l¨Yo fd;k tk,xk] y¨x¨a d¨ cgqr vk’kk;sa gSa] uà t¨ ljdkj vkà gSA us’kuy
dkUÝsal] ftudh vkt ogka ljdkj gS] phQ fefuLVj v¨ej vCnqYyk us dgk Fkk fd og d¨,fy’ku ugÈ cuk;saxs] nqljh
fdlh ikVÆ ds lkFk] t¨ VsUVsM mEehnokj a d¨ lg;¨x djsaxhA exj gesa irk gS] gekjk ogka ,tqds’ku foÒkx gS] t¨
,tqds’ku ds fy, ulZ djrs gSa] ml ij ncko cuk;k x;k bLrhQk nsus ds fy,] D; afd mlds f[kyki djI’ku pkts±t Fks
fd mlus 45 gtkj #i, fy,] mldh okbQ d¨ VªkalQj djkus ds fy,] fy,A ,d nwljs ,e,y,] xqyke e¨gEen gehj]
t¨ fd lSDl LdSMy esa Fks] ftuds ckjs esa vÒh vkids lkeus ftØ fd;k x;kA ftud¨ vjSLV fd;k x;k v©j 6&7 eghus
dh tsy gqÃA os fQj pquko esa thr x, gSaA mld¨ Òh dkaXkzsl us fVdV fn;kA rhljk gS] 33 yk[k xuh cSXl ekeys esa] os
dUT;qej ,Qs;lZ ds fefuLVj FksA os Òh vÒh fefuLVj gSaA eSa vkid¨ ;s lkjh phtsa crkuk pkgrk FkkA vkid¨ cgqr
/kU;okn A
MR AJIT RANADE: vc ge ç'u&mŸkj ds fy, vkid¨ vkeaf=r djrs gSa] ysfdu ,d çkFkZuk gS fd Fk¨M+s ‘’kCn¨a esa
ckr dgsa v©j dsoy ç'u ds :i esa ç'u djsaA
MR MADHAV RAO: Affidavit is a public property. It is a good idea. I wish if I would have had the
suggestion, I would have done it. Any good thing that comes out of an initiative can be consi-
dered. For Andhra Pradesh Civil Society ‘Priya’ and ‘Lok Satta’ have done good works, because it
is borne out of their raw field experience. Suppose I find a fellow with criminal charges. We can
say that we have a right to know. The CEO may either do it, or not do it. But we can do it as a
Civil Society. If the CEO has not done it, we as a civil society can put this information because it
is public information. When I go there for vote and I find that a particular fellow has a criminal
record, it will help us a lot to vote fairly.
DELEGATE: ‘Agni’ for 2004 elections did a tabular statement. This can be circulated to the
people at large for their information. But we cannot display it in the election booth area be-
cause the law does not permit anything to be displayed within 100 meters of area. It is a legal
bar.
DELEGATE: eSa isufyLV ls iwNuk pkgrk gwa fd ge y¨x¨a us ,dkmUVsfcfyVh dh cgqr ckr dh gSA vÒh t¨ dkuwu dh
O;oLFkk gS] mlds vUnj D;k ge rhu rjg dh ,dkUVsfcfyVh ,U';¨j dj ldrs gSaA fo/kk;d] t¨ igys Fkk] mldh D;k
ijQkes±l jgh gS] tSlk fd fdlh us dgk Fkk] ,eih ;k ,e,y,] D;k&D;k mlus fd;k] mldh vVsaMsal] mldh ijQkes±l]
mlus dSls o¨V fd;k ;k ugh fd;kA ,eihySM ds rgr t¨ mud¨ QUM feyrs gSa] og ml QUM dk ikap lky ds n©jku
D;k v©j dSls [kpZ djsxk] v©j thrus ds ckn D;k ge mlls DokVZfjyh ;k gkQÃvjyh fji¨VZ ys ldrs gSa
145
As an MP or MLA what are the things he did? How was his performance? No. 2, Can we do it in
the existing system? For MP LAD and MLA LAD, they get funds. Can we ask them to clear in ad-
vance, every candidate, how he will utilize the fund in the next 5 years. Whoever gets elected,
can we ask him how he will utilize the fund?
MR. RANJAN: We have already done a study on the MP LAD fund. Even monitoring of the Legis-
lator, one group which is associated with this work was basically the Child-Right Alliance. They
make out the Children Manifesto and get the signature. If you are going to be elected, you
should commit in the public that you would do perform all those actions. In the last Orissa elec-
tion also, we prepared a People’s Manifesto. We called all the candidates and asked them to
commit for it and they did as we said. But all of us know what actually happens after that. We
need to monitor it.
MR RAKTIM MUKHOPADHYAY: The process has already been started in West Bengal also, par-
ticularly for the MP LAD funds. There was information which appeared in the Bengali newspa-
pers also, showing how much funds were spent and where. After that, a lot of controversy is
coming about some MPs and all that.
MR. SRIDHAR PABBISETTY, KARNATAKA: It is a pretty activity to see how much your MLA has
done. We know an NGO called the Child Right Trust; they look at proceedings in the Assembly.
They looked at how much child oriented are the members and responses that have been con-
tributed by the members. They bring out the Child Friendly MLA award which is given to the
outstanding contributors for the cause. It is definitely a very good idea. But it takes a little
more effort
DELEGATE: esjk loky dk'ehj ls lacaf/kr gSA vkius lgh dgk] ftu y¨x a ij lSDl LdSaMy ds pkt¢Zt yxs v©j t¨
y¨x tsy esa jgdj vk,] blesa ;g Òh ugÈ dj ldrs fd turk d¨ ekywe ugÈ FkkA fQj Òh os n¨ckjk pqudj vk,A esjk
loky ;g gS fd D;k ge eku ysa fd muds fuokZpu {ks= dh turk ds fy, ;g d¨Ã cgqr cM+k loky ugÈ gS? tc vki
ge y¨x a ls v©j ,Mhvkj ds y¨x¨a ls dgrs fd Òkjr ljdkj ls dgk tk, fd ,sls y¨x a d¨ fVdV u fn;k tk,A
loky ;g gS] D;k Òkjr ljdkj ;k ;wih, ds ps;jilZu dk ;k ç/kkuea=h dk ;gh tokc g¨xk fd tc turk dh vnkyr
ls ;s y¨x thr jgs gSa] r¨ ge mUgsa d©u j¨dus okys g¨rs gSaA fQj ;gh g¨xk dk fnYyh ls gLr{ksi g¨rk gSA N¨Vk&e¨Vk
pkjk ĨVkyk djds d¨Ã thr vk,] og fQj Òh le> esa vkrk gSA ysfdu bruk cM+k t¨ lSDl LdSaMy gqvk] bruk coky
146
epk] mlesa gesa D;k djuk pkfg, v©j ’kk;n blesa us’kuy dkUÝsal v©j dkaXkzsl ds y¨x gSaA blds ckotwn Òh mudh gh
feyhtqyh ljdkj gSA
MR MUZAFFAR BHATT: muesa us’kuy dkaUÝsal dk d¨Ã mEehnokj ugÈ Fkk] dsoy dkaXkzsl ds y¨x FksA lhchvkÃ
}kjk tkap g¨ jgh gS v©j vÒh pktZ’khV nkf[ky gqà gSA mUg¨aus iwjk g’kvi fd;k gqvk gSA ;g eSa vkid¨ Ãekunkjh ls
crk jgk gwaA eSa vkid¨ crkuk pkgrk gwa fd lhchvkà uku&ikÆVtu gSA vÒh t¨ pktZ’khV Qkby gqà gS] mlesa Çdxfiu
d¨ idM+k gqvk gSA dg jgs gSa fd ;s etcwj Fks] os fodfVe ugh Fks v©j u gh lSDl jSdsV esa bUokYo FksA blfy, mud¨
fodfVe dgk tkuk pkfg,A t¨ mlesa yMfd;ka Fkh] os foÇyxyh bUokYo FkhA lhchvkà dg jgh gS fd mud¨ fodfVe
VªhV fd;k tk,A
eSa vkids nwljs ç'u ij vk jgk gwaA turk us mud¨ pquk gSA ;g xyr gSA nsf[k,] muds fy, Mw v©j MkÃ
tSlh fLFkfr FkhA vxj os ugÈ thrrs r¨ mudk jktuhfrd thou lekIr g¨ tkrk v©j fQj os n¨ckjk dÒh ugÈ vk ldrs
FksA muesa r¨ ,d ;ax jktuhfrK Fkk] mld¨ r¨ fQj Äj ij gh jguk iM+rk ;k [ksrhckM+h djuh FkhA og fjp&Qsfeyh
d¨ fcy ax djrk gSA og ;wih, ps;jilZu ds cgqr djhch gSaA mudh QSfeyh ds pkj a rjQ og cUnk jgrk gSA mlus
vesBh esa Òh cgqr dke fd;k gSA mld¨ fQj eSuMsV fn;k x;kA çns’k desVh us mld¨ n¨ckjk e©dk fn;kA ogka iSlk ;wt
gqvk gS] cgqr T;knk iSlk ;wt gqvk gSA rc tkdj og thrk gSA ,slk ugh gS fd ;g d¨Ã elyk dk'ehj ds y¨x¨a ds
lkeus ugÈ gSA euhikoj cgqr ;wt gqvk gS] blfy, og thr x;kA
tgka rd nwljs O;fDr dk loky gS] og fiNyh ckj 30 gtkj o¨V ds vUrj ij thrkA bl lky og cgqr gh
de er¨a ls thrk gSA mlus cgqr caxÇyx dh gS] eSa [kqn mldk vkÃfoVuSl gwaA mlus i¨Çyx cwr jkr¨&jkr ,slh&,slh
txg¨ ij f’k¶V djk,A bl ckr d¨ c¨yk Òh x;k] lhÃlh v©j ftyk ç’kklu ds lkeus dh ;g g¨ jgk gSA eq>s Q¨u
vk, fd i¨Çyx cwFk ogÈ ys fy;k gSA ogka y¨x a d¨ o¨V Mkyus ugh fn;k x;k] xqaMkxnÆ [kqys :i ls gqà gSA mlds lkFk
xueSu g¨rs gSaA ;s phtsa gS] v©j y¨x¨a us muds f[kykQ o¨V Mkyk FkkA dqN txg a ij cgqr /kka/kfy;ka gqà gSaA
MR AJIT RANADE: geus n¨ fnu rd ppkZ dh gS] ysfdu vÒh rd fdlh us jkbV&Vw&fjdky dk eqÌk fdlh us ugÈ
mBk;k gSA ;g g¨uk pkfg, ;k ugÈ g¨uk pkfg,
MR. VENKATESWAR RAO: I am from Andhra Pradesh, working as an RTI activist. I thank ADR for
enligtening me for the last two days of so much information. Can anybody share the expe-
riences, regarding the usage of RTI, or at least how we can use it under the RTI.
DELEGATE: eSa ,d lq>ko nsuk pkgrk gwaA pquko ds n©jku ,thvkj ds lkFkh t¨ bySD’ku okp dk dke djrs gSa] eq>s
yxrk gS fd ;g ,d jktuhfrd dke gSA dsoy ,slk ugh gS fd mEehnokj dSlk gS] ;g fujUrj dke gSA gesa dsoy pqu-
ko ds le; gh ;g dke djus dh ckr gSA vxj iwjs ikap lky y¨x a ds chp esa tkdj jktuhfrd psruk cuk;saxs] r¨
mldk ifj.kke cgqr vPNk fudysxkA vxj ge y¨x a ls dgrs gSa fd ‘’kjkc fiykus okys d¨ o¨V u nsa] t¨ vkid¨ iSlk
ckaV jgk gS] mld¨ vki o¨V u nsa] vxj mldh c¨ry ;k iSlk okfil QSadk tk,xk] r¨ mld¨ vdy vk,xh fd eq>s
147
dke djuk iM+sxk v©j eq> vc c¨ry ;k iSls ds vk/kkj ij o¨V ugÈ fey ldrk gSA ;g jktuhfrd dke bl rjg ls
Òh djuk iM+sxkA iUæg fnu¨a esa os y¨x Òh ,sls gh fpYykrs gSaA nwljs y¨x ;g Òh dgrs gSa fd ,uthv¨ dk dke gh ;gh
gSA gekjs dke dh :ijs[kk Òh mlh rjg ls g¨uh pkfg,A
DELEGATE: vgenkckn] xqtjkr esa tc fiNyh ckj dki Zjs’ku ds pquko gq,] gekjs lh,e ds pqukoh {ks= esa gS] ml
{ks= esa tc muds ikVÆ ds yhMj ds tUefnu dh jSyh fudyrh gS] º;qt jSyh g¨rh gS] ogka ds cLrh gS] t¨ fdlh ,d
ç¨tSDV ds fy, gVk jgs gSa] ml cLrh esa muds f[kykQ /kjuk fd;k] d¨VZ esa x,A gj ckj r¨ dkQh y¨x ml jSyh esa
‘’kkfey g¨rs Fks] ysfdu bl nQk ml jSyh esa fdlh us Òh Òkx ugÈ fy;k] tSls fd jSyh esa dqN gqvk gh ugÈA mlds
ckn tc Cykd ds pquko vk,] r¨ ml oDr iSlk v©j nk: dh ckr le> esa vkà fd vc ,sls ugÈ g¨xkA vxj ogka ls
gkj x,] r¨ cgqr gh ‘’kseQqy ckr g¨ tk,xhA vafre {k.k¨a esa mUg¨aus xkfM+;¨a dh O;oLFkk djds] fjyhft;l ;k=k;sa
djokÃaA cgusa xÃa v©j cqtqxZ y¨x x,] ml {ks= dk d¨Ã ugh x;k v©j fQj c¨xl o¨ÇVx g¨ x;kA pquko ds dkMZ
[kjhns x,A t¨ y¨x ;k=k ds fy, x,] muds fy, vkuk&tkuk Ýh FkkA mud¨ flQZ o¨Vj dkMZ j[k dj tkuk FkkA tc
;g ckr fudyrs&fudyrs vkÃ] r¨ dkQh le; fudy tkrk gSA dgus dh ckr gS] gj ckj u, fopkj fudy dj vkrs
gSaA
MR. TASADUK ARIFUL HUSSAIN: I would like to thank my friend at the back who has raised the
issue of creating continuous awareness and educating the general people. How we can do is
this is by strengthening the Panchayat and it can be done by ensuring the devolution. The devo-
lution of power is not happening in the country. In Assam we have done the activity mapping.
But nothing has been done. The strengthening of the Panchayat system is one of the methods
of doing it.
DELEGATE: lkfFk;¨a] ;gka t¨ bjknk gSA ge pkgrs gSa fd vPNs y¨x y¨drU= esa vk;sa v©j vPNs fo/kk;d cusaA gekjs
ns’k esa lkQ&lqFkjs fdjnkj ds y¨x vk;saA ;g bnkjk t¨ cuk gqvk gS] ml ij okp djsaxsA bySD’ku deh’ku vkQ bafM;k
dk;ns ls uke Òh Bhd rjg ls ugÈ fy[k ldrk gS] geus muds f[kykQ D;k fd;k] eSa mlds f[kykQ ugÈ gwaA vki
tkdj nsf[k,] fdlh dk uke lgh ugÈ fy[kk x;k gSA ;g lcls cqfu;knh loky gSA vkidk csl vxj [kjkc gS] r¨ vki
dqN ugÈ dj ldrs gSaA
nwljh ckr] tSlk fd tEew&dk'ehj ds çoDrk us dgk] pquko esa /kka/kfy;ka gqÃA D;k gekjh Òkjr ljdkj ;k
pquko vk;¨x bl ckr ds fy, ‘’kkgnr ns ldrh gS] pquko esa Mkyus okys o¨V esa phÇVx ugÈ g¨xhA fe’kujht [kjhnh
tkrh gS] iSls ls [kjhnh tkrh gSA ,d MkDVj] bathfu;j pquko esa Òkx ugÈ ysuk pkgrk gS] ,slk D; a g¨rk gS? D; afd ;s
xqaMs y¨x pquko yM+uk pkgrs gS] iSls ;k rkdr dh cn©yr] /kedkus dh cn©yr pquko yM+rs gSaA tSlk fd vÒh dgk
x;k] pquko çpkj esa dj¨M+ #i;k [kpZ fd;k] pquko vk;¨x d¨ D;k gd ugÈ gS fd og ;g ns[ks fd ;g iSlk dgka ls
vk jgk gS v©j [kpZ g¨ jgk gSA vkid¨ irk g¨xk] ,d dkxt Nikus es fdruk iSlk yxrk gSA eSa pquko esa Òkx fy;k gS
v©j eq>s bldk rtqckZ gSA eSaus 1995 esa pquko yM+k] flQZ fLFkfr d¨ le>us ds fy,A bles D;k pht g¨rh gSA vki v©j
148
ge lc tkurs gSa fd ,d vkneh pquko esa 25 yk[k [kpZ djds Òh ugÈ vk ldrkA ;g esjk nkok gSA fQj Òh gekjk pqu-
ko vk;¨x vka[k cUn djds rek’kk;h cuk gqvk gSA bldk D;k eryc gS? loky ;g gS fd bl djI’ku d¨ j¨dus ds
fy, gekjh laLFkk ds ikl D;k mik; gS?
nwljh ckr] ,d vkneh pquko çpkj esa bruk iSlk [kpZ djrk gS] blds fy, esjk lq>ko gS fd pquko vk;¨x
ftrus mEehnokj [kM+s g¨rs gSa] muds fy, ,d dkxt rS;kj djs v©j mlesa lÒh ds fy, tkudkjh nh tk,A ,slk d¨Ã
çko/kku ysdj vk,] esjh ,slk çkFkZuk gS] rkfd xjhc vkneh Òh lkFk es feydj pquko çpkj djsaA pquko çpkj dk [kpkZ
dSlk de g¨ ldrk gS] bl ckjs esa crk;sa?
MR AJIT RANADE: blls igys fd ;s viuh ckr dgsa] eSa budk ifjp; nsuk pkgwaxkA ;s vktknh ds vkUn¨yu ls tqM+s
gq, gSaA bUg aus xka/kh th ds lkFk dke fd;k gSA t;çdk’kth ds lkFk uofuekZ.k ewoesaV esa dke fd;k gSA flfoy
l¨lk;Vh ds vyx&vyx vkUn¨yu esa dke fd, gSaA dÒh ljdkj esa ugÈ jgsA y{ehpUn tSu th d¨ cgqr lkjs ,okMZ
feys gSa] ftuds ckjs esa eq>s tkudkjh ugÈ gSA eSa mudk ftØ ugÈ d:axkA ;s [kknh foyst bUMLVªh ds ps;jeSu jg pqds
gSaA IykÇux deh’ku esa jg pqds gSaA ,d ckj lkmFk vÝhdk es ns’k ds nwr cudj jgs] tc uSylu eaMsykth ogka FksA
budh iwjh tkudkjh nsus ds fy, fdrkc fy[kuh iM+sxhA eSa buls fuosnu djrk gwa fd os vius fopkj lÒk ds lkeus j[ksaA
Jh y{ehpUn tSu%Jh y{ehpUn tSu%Jh y{ehpUn tSu%Jh y{ehpUn tSu% lkfFk; a] viuk ns’k —f"k ç/kku ns’k gSA ml fglkc ls dg ldrs gSa] fiNys n¨ fnu¨a esa Qly
vPNh gqà gSA tgka rd eqlhcr¨a dk loky gS] eqlhcrsa bruh gqÃa fd vklku g¨ xÃA mlls Äcjkus dh t:jr ugÈ gSA
vxj ewlhcr u g¨] r¨ vkid¨ Äj fÒtok fn;k tk,A vki r¨ [kqn eSnku esa mrj jgs gSaA vki ns’k dh vktknh d¨
dk;e j[kus ds fy, ladV ns[k jgs gSa] Òkjr ekrk dk nq[k ns[krs gSa] r¨ fQj Äj esa pSu ls cSBs ugÈ jg ldrs gSaA fiNys
n¨ fnu a esa ,d ckr lkQ g¨ xÃ] ;g t¨ laxBu cuk] iwjs ns’k us mld¨ tkukA vÒh r¨ bldh bcrnk gS] ;g ugÈ dg
ldrs gSa fd vkxs&vkxs nsf[k,] g¨xk D;k] vkxs&vkxs vki nsf[k,] vki djsaxs D;kA ;g ,d U;©rk gS] pqu©rh gS] ,d çsj.kk
gS fd gesa dqN djuk gSA ysfdu ckj&ckj ,d ckr dgh tkrh gS fd Òkjr ljdkj d¨ dg fn;k tk,] pquko vk;¨x d¨
dg fn;k tk,] og gekjh cqfu;kn d¨ dkVrk gSA os r¨ cspkjs gSa] t¨ dj jgs gSa] gekjh vka[k a ds lkeus gSA gekjs dgus
dh bUrtkj esa ugÈ gSA ysfdu vc rd loky ;g Fkk fd ge y¨x [kke¨’k jgsA dgk x;k fd iSlk o¨V ds fy, caV jgk
gS] ysfdu og iSlk ukFkZ Cykd ;k lkmFk Cykd esa ugÈ caV jgkA ogka caVrk gS] og ,d vyx pht gSA ’kjkc caV jgh gS]
d©u ih jgk gS? ftl ns’k dh bekjr ds ge ekfyd gSa] vxj ge gh fcdus ds fy, rS;kj g¨ tk;sa] r¨ D;k g¨ ldrk
gSA fQj ,Mhvkj dk t¨ cM+k lUns’k gS] mud¨ eSa vfM;y c¨yrk gwa] yxs jgs] yxu ls gh dke g¨rk gSA blesa ls dqN
fudy tk,xk] r¨ dy ge ifjorZu dj nsaxs] lkjh eqlhcrsa t¨ dy ls vkà gS] os [kRe g¨ tk;saxh] dy lEesyu g¨us ds
cknA vÒh r¨ ftruh ’kfDr t¨ feyh gS] eSa ikap lEesyu¨a esa vk pqdk gwa] ysfdu bl nQk eq>s bl lEesyu esa tku
feyh] ;gka esÄky; Òh gS] f=iqjk Òh gS] vkt vle Òh gS] dk'ehj r¨ igys vk pqdk gSA ge vc ;g ugÈ dg ldrs gSa
fd ;g N¨Vh txg gS] mld¨ N¨fM,A ,d gh gkFk esa cM+h v©j N¨Vh maxyh g¨rh gS] lkjs ns’k d¨ bdV~Bk ysdj v©j
mlls t¨ ’kfDr iSnk g¨rh gS] ml ’kfDr dh rkdr ij gh ge y¨x vkxs tk ldrs gSaA eSa ;g ugÈ pkgrk fd ;gka ls
d¨Ã ,slk çLrko ikl g¨ fd ge dsUæh; ljdkj ;g djsA tSlk fd bUg¨aus dgk] dk'ehj esa pquko gq, gSa] ysfdu dsUæh;
ljdkj d¨ ;g dg fn;k tk, fd vki bl xyrQgeh esa u jgsaA ;s lUns’k ;gka ls ugÈ tk ldrs gSaA ;g lUns’k tk
149
ldrk gS] vxj ,slk gqvk] cwFk cny fn, x,] r¨ turk d¨ tkx:d djuk pkfg,A D;k ogka turk ugÈ Fkh] tc ;g
lc dqN g¨ jgk FkkA ,slk D;k fo'okl gS fd ;g n¨ckjk ugÈ g¨xkA vxj ,slk g¨rk gS] r¨ ge budh ckr eku ysxsa fd
,slk gqvkA mld¨ j¨dus dk rjhdk] mlh flLVe ls] pquko vk;¨x djs] bruk iSlk [kpZ g¨ jgk gS] os vkadyu djds cSBs
gq, gSaA pquko vk;¨x djs] pquko vk;¨x us crk;k v©j felky nh] [kkl dj mUg aus vius gh çns’k rkfeyukMq dh felky
nh fd fdl rjg ls ;g g¨ jgk gSA ysfdu mudk lUns’k ;g Fkk fd tc rd turk blesa lkFk esa ugÈ mBsxh] rc rd
blesa #dkoV ugÈ vk ldrh gSA ;g lUns’k gesa ysdj tkuk gSA
,d Òkà us vPNk loky fd;k fd os xkao esa jgs v©j ns[kk fd Òkjr dk lafo/kku gS] y¨x a d¨ ekywe gh ugÈ
gSA usylu eUMsyk us fd;k] tc mudk lafo/kku cuk] ogka lkr fefy;u ifjokj gSa] r¨ lkr fefy;u lafo/kku dh çfr;k
fçUV dh xÃa] vkB ;k u© Òk"kkv a esa] ysfdu geus vius lafo/kku esa fy[k fn;k & We, the people of India - r¨ og
lafo/kku turk d¨ ugÈ fn[kk;k tk,xk] yk;lZ ns[krs gSa] tc ‘kiFk yh tkrh gS] r¨ t¨ O;fDr gkFk j[krk gS] og ns[krk
gSA cfYd og t¨ gkFk j[krk gS] og r¨ ns[krk gh ugÈ gSA ysfdu mUg¨aus dgk fd gj Äj d¨] gj ifjokj d¨ v©j tc
mldk Mªk¶V cuk igys] r¨ ftrus lnL; Fks] ml lafo/kku lÒk ds] lcd¨ dgk fd vki vius&vius {ks= esa tkb,] y¨x a
d¨ ;g MªkQV lqukv¨] t¨ Òh dkuwu cusa ml oDr] y¨x a d¨ lqukv¨] muds deSUV~l ysdj vkv¨A mlds ckn mld¨
Qkbuy djsaxsA tkudkjh mldh cqfu;kn ls gh yh xÃA ysfdu cqfu;kn ds ckn r¨ lafo/kku ,d iDdk MkD;qesaV g¨rk
gSA eSa mld¨ ysdj vk;k gwaA mlesa dà Qhpj gSa] t¨ vius fy, cgqr dke ds gSaA ogka vxj fdlh fo/kku lÒk esa] o¨V
vki u¨&dkfUQMsal vkrh gS] fdlh phQ fefuLVj ds f[kykQ] r¨ ;gka ;g loky g¨rk gS fd ;g v©j og g¨ x;kA tSlS
mŸkj çns’k esa gqvk Fkk] Lihdj us dqN ikÆVtuf’ki fn[kk;hA ogka ,d fo/kku lÒk esa o¨V vkQ u¨&dkfUQMsal dk çLrko
vk;k] eSa ogka Fkk] Fk¨M+h nsj ds ckn Lihij viuh dqlÆ ls mBs] uhps x,] gkFk t¨M+dj fdlh d¨ fjlho dj jgs FksA eSaus
dgk & Lihdj ,lSEcyh esa r¨ vkuk gh ugÈ gS] phQ tfLVl vk, gq, FksA vxj fo/kku lÒk esa u¨&dkfUQMsal e¨’ku
vkrk gS] u r¨ Lihdj ;k d¨Ã vU; phQ tfLVl vkQ fn dkULVhpw’kuy d¨VZ djsaxs v©j Lihdj mud¨ ueLdkj djds
uhps cSBsaxsA ,d cgqr N¨Vk lk çko/kku gS] exj mlus vius esa fdruh tku gSA ;g ugÈ fd ge flQZ viuk gh lafo/kku
ns[ksa] ysfdu ,sls de ls de t¨ loky gS] ,sls vPNs mnkgj.k a d¨ u ysaA gesa vkxs ds fy, d¨Ã ,tsUMk cukuk pkfg,A
;g r¨ vÒh dh leL;k gSA bl ckr ls ge lÒh [kq’k gS fd jkbV&Vw&bUQkjes’ku dk çko/kku gqvk gSA blls gesa ,d
,slh pkch fey xà gS] jkbV&Vw&bUQkjes’ku cgqr t:jh gS v©j ftl oDr ;g vk;k gkyr cgqr [kjkc FkhA ysfdu
vxys n¨ lky¨a esa gesa bldk iwjk bLrseky djuk gSA blds lkFk gh ,d uà ewoesaV ‘’kq# dh tk,] fd
jkbV&Vw&bUQkjee’ku ugÈ MÓqVh&Vw&ç¨okbV&bUQkjes’ku g¨uk pkfg,A
vki bUQkjes’ku ,Iykà dj nsrsA ,d eghus ds ckn tokc feysxk ;k ugÈ feysxkA r¨ lhVhtu vkQ bafM;k dk t¨
jkbV&Vw&bUQkjes’ku dk csfld ijit Fkk] og ;g Fkk fd vki ifCyd ljosaV gSa] MSe¨ØsVyh gesa bySDV djds Òstk gS]
gekjh lsok djus ds fy, v©j vki gekjs ls lsok djkrs gSaA ;g ugÈ g¨ ldrk gSA og ckr ekuh xà v©j
jkbV&Vw&bUQkjes’ku ds r©j ij og vk x;kA og ,d cgqr t:jh pht gS] mldh fgQktr djuh gS v©j mldk
bLrseky djuk gSA vxj ,slk djrs gSa] r¨ ge cgqr vkxs tk ldrs gSaA vkt t¨ ;s reke loky mB jgs gSa] jkbV r¨
gekjk gS] ysfdu MÓqVh fdldh gSA d¨Ã ;g ugÈ dg ldrk gS fd MÓqVh ugh djrs gSa] r¨ ml eghus dh ru[okg ugÈ
150
feysxhA oSls bruh nwj vÒh tkus dh t:jr ugÈ gSA ysfdu ,d ‘’k¨’kk ’kq# dj nsa] vÒh mud¨ ;g u yxs fd ge r¨
jkbV&Vw&bUQkjes’ku ls Äcjk jgs gSaA vc mUg aus MÓqVh dj nh] ysfdu dqN u dqN vkxs dh ckr gSA
blls cM+k loky ;g gS fd ,d uSdll cu x;k gS] iqfyl v©j bySD’ku dh e’khuA ;gÈ eqEcà dh ckr gS]
1946 esa e¨jkjth Òkà g¨e fefuLVj FksA tc ç¨ohtu ljdkj cuÈ] r¨ ,lsEcyht ds Òh pquko gq, FksA os fnYyh vk, Fks]
xka/kh th ls feyus ds fy,A ogka [kcj vkà fd dE;quy jk;V~l g¨ x, gSaA --- og xka/kh th ls feyus ds fy, x,A dgus
yxs fd ckiw eSa okfil tk jgk gwa] dE;quy jk¸kV~l g¨ x, gSaA ckiw us dgk &’Go back in the middle of the con-
flagration – I am giving you the exact words - go back in the middle of the conflagration. If ne-
cessary, perish in the flames, but do not call the police’. Now the police is our own, but the
place of the police and the place of the politician is different. The politician is to provide the go-
vernance without the aid of the police, if it is democratic governance. But at the last I have to
say that in Bombay when Morarji Bhai came back, he went as the Home Minister. He pushed
the buzzer. Its sound was very high. mUg¨us vkÃth vkQ iqfyl d¨ cqyk;kA mld¨ dgk fd tkv¨] QySe d¨
iSfj’k dj¨A [kqn ugÈ x,A mlds ckn ls ;g çFkk cu xÃA dqN y¨x a d¨ r¨ flD;¨fjVh dk [krjk gS] ,sls gkykr esa]
ge eku ldrs gSaA CySd dSV~l d¨ OgkbV ,yhQsUV~l d¨ ç¨VSDV djuk iM+ jgk gSA vxj vkid¨ bruk [krjk gS] r¨ vke
turk dh ckr D;k gSA ge vke turk ls xys ugÈ fey jgs gSaA geus tokgjyky usg:th d¨ ns[kk] tc dE;quy
jk¸kV~l g¨ x,A gtkj a&yk[k a yk’ksa r¨ geus mBkà gSaA ysfdu og dgrk Fkk fd gesa [kkdh ugÈ pkfg,A dgÈ [kcj vkrh
Fkh fd Vhch gkfLiVy es leL;k gS] dkj esa cSBs Mªkboj ds lkFk x,] ogka dwn x,A yhMj i¨fyVdy og] ftld¨ viuh
tku dk [krjk u g¨A ftlus igys viuh tku cpkuh gS] ;k vius cPp¨a d¨ cpkuk gS] lcd¨ Mjkdj j[kk gS] r¨ og
fdlds xys feysxkA ftruh viuh vkcknh gS] 120 dj¨M+ esa de ls de 60 dj¨M+ ls r¨ xys feyuk pkfg,A de ls de
60 vkefn;¨a ls r¨ xys feyuk pkfg,A vc r¨ os mudh ijNkÃa ds ikl Òh ugÈ tkrsA blesa cqjkà cqySV dh ugÈ gS]
det¨jh gekjs lekt dh gSA gesa ç¨VSLV djuk gS] Mj fudkyuk gSA bruk r¨ g¨uk pkfg, fd ,slk u g¨A ge igys
iqfyl LVs’ku ij tkdj ;g ugÈ dgrs fd vkidh d¨Ã t:jr ugh gS] vkid¨ d¨Ã rdyhQ u g¨] ge r¨ ç¨VSLV dj
jgs gSa] ge ys tk;saxs] ge ns[ksaxs] fdlh d¨ rdyhQ ugÈ g¨xh jkLrs esa] d¨Ã naxk Qlkn ugÈ g¨xk] dqN ugÈ g¨xh]
ftlesa iqfyl dh t:jr iM+sA ge ,d Vªkyh lkFk esa ys tk jgs gSa lkFk esa] pk; dhA vxj d¨Ã iqfyl okys vk,] r¨
pk; ihft,xkA blls T;knk dke vkids fy, dqN ugÈ gSA tc rd ge iqfyl d¨ ckgj ugÈ djrs] vius j¨t ds dke
esa] fQj ge dgrs gSa fd iqfyl vkà ugÈ] Vkbe ij ugÈ vkÃ] fQj vkdj mUg¨aus dqN ugÈ fd;kA dqN dke r¨ ge
pkgrs gSa fd iqfyl djs v©j dqN dke jktuhfrK djsa] r¨ ge D;k djsaxsA l© dj¨M+ dh vkcknh] r¨ D;k ge xaxk th ds
fdukjs ugkus ds fy, cSBs gSaA gekjh MÓqVh gS fd ge vius d¨ ,sls dUMDV djsa] d¨Ã ç¨VSLV ewoesaV g¨] ;g ,yku dj nsa
fd gesa iqfyl d¨ rdyhQ ugÈ nsuh gSA r¨ iqfyl vius vki fdukjs g¨ tk,xhA iqfyl ds t¨ ,l,pv¨ oxSjg vf/kdkjh
gSa] muds vius&vius {ks= esa caVokb,A dukZVd esa ,d Ldwy ds cPp a us ,slk fd;kA os lo¢Z dj jgs Fks fd cPp a d¨ D;k
rdyhQ gS] iapk;r¨a ds ikl x,A mUg¨aus iqfyl ds ckjs esa cgqr f’kdk;rsa lquÈA dgus yxs fd vady vki D;k dke
djrs gSaA dgus fd eSa iqfyl gwa] eSa ;s dke djrk gwaA cPps us dgk & fQj y¨x vkils D;¨a brus f[kykQ gSa] vki r¨
151
cgqr vPNk dke djrs gSa] vki gekjs Ldwy esa vkb,] ge vkid¨ pk; fiyk;saxsA iqfyl us iwNk & vkidk cFkZ&Ms dc gS?
cPps l¨pus yxs fd iqfyl v©j cFkZ&Ms] gekjk cFkZ&Ms d©u iwNrk gSA ifjokj ds lkFk vk,A mud¨ vkalw vk, x,A cPp a
us ,d cgqr vPNk lUns’k fn;kA ge f’kdk;r djrs gSa v©j iqfyl ls Mjrs Òh gSa] ,d rjQ g¨dj pys tkrs gSaA ysfdu
t¨ y¨x muds lkFk fey x, gSa] y¨x muls viuk dke djok jgs gSaA mud¨ tqnk dSls fd;k tk,A vkid¨ ekywe gS]
d¨Ã 35&40 dj¨M+ lky dk ctV gS] iqfyl dk v©j og c<+rk tk jgk gSA mlds eqdkcys esa nsf[k,] ctV esa fdruk
[kpkZ tkrk gS v©j lkykuk bUØhesaV fdruk g¨rk gSA iqfyl dk r¨ lcls igys g¨ tkrk gS] D;¨afd turk dgrh gS fd
gekjs ;gka >xM+k gqvk] ysfdu iqfyl ugÈ vkÃA tc iqfyl dh bruh T;knk fMekUM gSa] r¨ ljdkj dk QtZ g¨ tkrk gS
fd vkidh fMekUM iwjh djsA vPNs bd¨u¨feLV Òh gS] tgka fMekUM djrs gSa] r¨ lIykà Òh djrs gSaA r¨ ;g flQZ xka/kh
th ds dgus dh ckr ugÈ Fkh] ,d nwjans’kh dh ckr FkhA ml oDr vkcknh 32 dj¨M+ ds djhc Fkh] ysfdu vc r¨ 100
dj¨M+h dh vkcknh gSA iqfyl ls dÒh Mjsa ugÈA fczVsu esa vÒh ,d fdrkc ifCy’k gqà gS & Role of Police in a De-
mocracy. os [kqn Òh bl ckr ls Äcjk jgs gSa fd iqfyl cgqr T;knk vk jgh gSA gesa ;g ns[kuk gS fd fdl :V ls vk
jgh gS] dSls vk jgh gSA mlds dSls de fd;k tk,A
pquko ds flyflys esa cgqr t:jh gS] ml oDr iqfyl dk cgqr bUrtke g¨rk gSA tSls dk'ehj dk pquko gS]
lkr ;k N% fnu es pquko fd, x,A vxj bruh T;knk iSjkfefyVjh Q¨lZ d¨ djrs gSa] mldh ‘’kSM¨ esa pquko djrs gSa]
r¨ og pquko D;k gq,A bldk tokc os ugÈ ns ldrs] bl fcjknjh d¨ nsuk gSA gesa nsuk gSA rhljk eqÌk ;gka dy ls mB
jgk gSA og eqÌk gS] ernkrkv a dkA o¨VlZ fyLV iwjh ugÈ gSA ejs gq, y¨x¨a ds uke gSa] ftUnk ds uke ugh gSA ;s dc
rd ge lqurs jgsaxsA ge ;g dgsa fd o¨VlZ fyLV d¨ e’khujh iwjk dj ns] oSls r¨ bld¨ o¨Vj dguk gh xyr gS] og
o¨Vj blfy, cuk d og ns’k dk ekfyd gSA vktknh ds ckn Dohu d¨ ;gka ls fonk dj fn;k x;kA og pyh xÃA
mlds ckn t:jr iM+h fd ge [kqn viuk bUrtke djsaA ge lc dqN dSls] ekfyd r¨ cjkcj ds gSaA pkgs ekfyd xkao
dk g¨ ;k ‘’kgj dk g¨ ;k csj¨txkj g¨ ;k edkunkj g¨A t¨ Òh g¨] t¨ fgUnqLrkuh gS] og bl ns’k dk ekfyd gSA
mld¨ lafo/kku ds vuqlkj 18 lky dh t¨ mez gS] mld¨ ernku dk vf[r;kj g¨A ernku dk vf[r;kj blfy, gS fd
og lqusxk fd d©u gekjs fy, jkt pyk;saxsA ikap lky ds ckn mud¨ gkFk t¨M+dj ;k dku idM+ dj mBk fn;k
tk,xkA ;g çtkrU= dk eryc gSA ysfdu vxj o¨VlZ fyLV gh Bhd ugÈ gS] r¨ ftrus Òh vius ;s laxBu cus gSa]
bySD’ku okp r¨ ckn esa vkrh gS] mlls igys bySDV¨jy fyLV okp v©j vc r¨ ge okp djus ds fy, dsoy ugÈ gS]
,slk ugh gS fd nwjchu ls ns[k jgs gSaA vÒh ,d cgqr vPNh felky ns jgs Fks fd fo|kÆFk; a d¨ e¨fcykbt fd;k x;kA
mlls cM+h d¨Ã ’kfDr ugÈ gSA gj txg t¨ viuh lfefr;ka gSa] fo|kÆFk; a d¨ fyLV ns nsa] t¨ Äj&Äj tkdj ns[ks]
tukXkzg djk;saA ;s mldh cqfu;kn gS] bldk vk/kkj gS] bld¨ gesa ns[kuk gSA
rhljk loky mEehnokj a ds ,fQMsfoV dk gSA ns[krs gSa] ysfdu okp gesa igys ls ’kq# djuh gSA tc u¨feus’ku
’kq# g¨rk gSA rc cktkj esa vk tkrk gS fd d©u&d©u uke lkeus vk jgs gSaA QSlyk g¨us ls igys gh] ge vxj
tkudkjh ogÈ ij y¨x a ls bdV~Bh dj ysa] ;s Òh uke py jgk gS] mld¨ fn;k tk,A tSlk fd dgk x;k] ,Mhvkj dh
otg ls dqN çfr’kr esa deh vkà gSA ysfdu ;g r¨ og tgj gS] vxj ge ,d çfr’kr Òh fudky ysaA 22 çfr’kr ls
10 çfr’kr g¨ x;k] exj e©r dk [krjk mlds lkFk yxk gqvk gSA mlls igys t¨ lcls cM+h cqfu;kn gS] reke
MSe¨ØsfVd ÝseodZ d¨ pykus ds fy, jktuhfrd ny bEiSjsfVo gSaA mlds fcuk xkM+h ugh py ldrh gS] jktuhfrd ny
152
g¨us pkfg,A ftruh vPNh g¨axh] mruk vPNk dke pysxkA ysfdu ,d xkM+h ,d jkLrs ij pyh xà gS] ;g ugh dg
ldrs gSa fd fcxM+ xà gS] gekjh ftEesnkjh gS] Òkjr ds Òfo’; ds fy, ftEesnkjh gS] fd mud¨ jkLrs ij yk;saA I;kj ls
;k le>kdj] ysfdu igys t¨ mudk lafo/kku gS] ikVÆ dk viuk] muls ;gh vk’kk v©j rOod¨ j[ksa fd vki vius la-
fo/kku ds vuqlkj pfy,A gekjh jk; ls er pfy,] vkids vkfQl vf/kdkj gj n¨ lky esa bySDV g¨axsA bySD’ku
deh’ku us eq>s igys crk;k Fkk fd 21 lky ls Åij g¨ x,] ny¨a us vius pquko ugÈ djk, gSaA muds ikl ;g ckr
dSls igqaph] pquko vk;¨x gj ny d¨ pquko fpºu XkzkUV djrk gS] fjdkXukbTM i¨fyfVdy ikVÆ ] mlds ckn flEcy
feyrk gSA ml flEcy ds fcuk ikVÆ ds mEehnokj ugÈ cu ldrs gSaA ikVÆ vFk¨fjVh ySVj nsrh gS] flEcy ’kSM¨ ugÈ gS]
lClVsal gS]mlds fcuk xkM+h ugÈ pyrh gSA tc flEcy ds fy, ,Iykà djrs gSa] r¨ vius ny dk lafo/kku is’k djrs gSaA
pquko vk;¨x us ,d ySVj fy[kk] vki crk;sa] vki ny ds pquko vkids lafo/kku ds fglkc ls vafre dc gq,? dsljhth
dkaXkzsl ds vè;{k gqvk djrs Fks] [kQk g¨ x,A pquko vk;¨x d©u g¨rk gS] gels ;g tokc ysus ds fy,A mUg¨aus fl)kFkZ
‘’kadj js th] ekus gq, odhy Fks] caxky esa phQ fefuLVj Fks] mUg¨aus mud¨ cqyk;kA muls dgk fd nsf[k,] pquko vk;¨x
us D;k fd;kA blds Åij LVs&vkMZj ys y¨A fl)kFkZ ‘’kadj js us jkr d¨ LVMh fd;k v©j dgus yxs fd vkidh ckr
lgh gSA ;g ckr buds vf[r;kj esa ugÈ vkrh gSA ysfdu vxj vki d¨VZ ds lkeus tk;saxs] r¨ d¨VZ dgsxk fd bldk r¨
d¨Ã jkbV ugÈ gS] ysfdu vkids lafo/kku esa fy[kk gS] r¨ vkidh r¨ MÓqVh gSA mlus ;g ugÈ dgk gS fd vkius ;g dke
ugÈ fd;k gS] r¨ eSa vkid¨ ltk nwaxkA mlus iwNk gS] vkius fd;k ;k ugÈ fd;k gSA ’kjkQr dk loky gSA blesa
vPNkà ;gh gS fd tokc ns fn;k tk,A bl loky d¨ ugÈ mBk;k tk,A mlds ckn ikVÆ us fQj og loky ugÈ
mBk;kA ysfdu mlds tokc esa fjVuZ Òjh v©j t¨ vc Òh Òj jgs gSaA og r¨ Òxoku gh ekfyd gSA ysfdu ekfyd g¨uk
pkfg,] vkid¨] Òxoku ds Åij ugÈA pquko vk;¨x ls dguk pkfg,] t¨ ny vius lafo/kku dk dEiky;sal djrs gSa]
mldh dkih flQZ bySD’ku okp ugÈ djsxh] ge Òh djsaxsA og dkiht feyrh gS ;k ugÈ feyrh gSa] ysfdu bl {ks= esa
t¨ 3&4&5 cM+s ny gSa] vkids bySD’ku okp esa ,d&,d Xkzqi g¨uk pkfg,] muls lEidZ djus ds fy,A muls rhu eghus
feysa] v©j iwNsa fd vkidk ;g lafo/kku Fkk] mlds fglkc ls dqN gqvk v©j vkids u, vkfQl fc;jSlZ d©u gSaA ’kq: esa
iRFkjckth djus dh t:jr ugÈ gS] flQZ gkFk t¨M+ dj iwNus dh t:jr gSA vxj geus Åij ls ’kq# ugÈ fd;k] r¨ ge
Åij ls ftruh Òh fjQkElZ dj jgs gSa] os ikVÆt mldh otg ls [kRe dj nsaxhA esjh vkils xqtkfj’k gS] vkids lkFk] fd
vxj fdlh pht d¨ çk;¨fjVh nsuh gS] ;gka ls tkus ds ckn] r¨ bySD’ku okp ds vykok] i¨fyfVdy ikVÆt ge bld¨
okp ugÈ dg ldrs gSaA ---- bl dke d¨ gSYi ls ’kq# fd;k tk,A vki r¨ gSYi dj jgs gSaA ge vkidh nqdku ugÈ [kÈp
jgs gSaA ysfdu mud¨ pSu dh uÈn ls ugÈ l¨us ns ldrs gSaA vxj vkius mud¨ ;g loky ugÈ fd;k fd vki ,d ikVÆ
gSa] v©j vki pkgrs gSa fd turk vkid¨ o¨V ns] vkxs vf[r;kj ns] v©j vki gesa ;g crk;sa Òh ugÈ fd vki d©u gS] ;gka
vkid¨ vkus ds fy, d¨Ã igpku fn[kkuh iM+rh gS] o¨V nsus ds fy, tkrs gSa] r¨ viuh vkbMsafVfV fn[kkuh iM+rh gSA
tSlk dy dg jgs Fks] pquko dh ckr ’kq# g¨ xÃ] fnYyh ds vUnj gtkj a mEehnkj cSBs jgsA igqap] gkÃdeku rd igqap
g¨uh pkfg,A vki fdld¨ tkurs g¨A turk dh igpku dk loky ugÈ gS] igqap dk loky gSA
eSaus dkQh le; ys fy;kA vkid¨ cgqr /kU;oknA ysfdu vki y¨x t¨ bl dke ds fy, mrjs gSaA vktknh dh
yM+kà ds ckn] eq>s ;g laxBu v©j dke] eq>s ,slk yxrk gS fd ;s cqfu;knh dke gSA tc tÇy;kaokyk ckx ’kq# gqvk Fkk]
r¨ fdls mEehn Fkh fd vaXkzst ,d fnu pys tk;saxsA r¨ ogh ftruh eqlhcrsa] vkt vki ns[k jgs gSa] ;s le> y¨ fd os
tfy;kaokyk ckx dh rjg gSaA og Òh ,d fnu tk;saxh] vaXkzst Òh ,d fnu tk,xk] vki ekfyd cusaxs v©j vki ekfyd
153
cu pqds gSa] ysfdu vkid¨ vc ekfyd g¨us ds fglkc ls og QtZ vnk djuk gS] mld¨ dfj, v©j Òkjr ekrk dk
vk’khokZn vkids lkFk gSA
MR AJIT RANADE: I just wanted to make a statement. We are here to support everybody. Please
continue to give us suggestions and advise. Along with that please give us some hope that what
we are going to do and whatever help you want from us, we are with you. I would also like to
state that if we all work together we will certainly achieve something, even in the coming elec-
tions. And whatever support we can give from our side, we are ready to do so.
vc bl lEesyu ds lekiu dk le; vk x;k gS A n¨ feuV dk dke gS] esjh IyStsaV MÓqVh gS v©j nwljs ge bl
lEesyu dk lekiu jk’Vªh; xhr ls djsaxsA iSufyLV ls eSa çkFkZuk d:axk fd os ;gÈ jgsaA vki lgh dg jgs gSa fd fe=¨a
esa D;k ’kqfØ;k vnk djuk] ysfdu ,d v©ipkfjdrk gSA bruh cM+k lEesyu vklkuh ls ugÈ g¨rk gS] cgqr dke g¨rk gS
v©j blesa cgqr y¨x a us lg;¨x fd;kA First of all, I would like to give thanks to the Chief Election
Commissioner, Shri Gopalswamy, Shri Quaraishi and others. They came here and attended the
conference. I would also like to give thanks to the CEO’s of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi
and Maharastra. I also thank the Management of the Nehru Centre, who helped us in providing
this venue to organize this conference. eSa Fk¨M+s y¨x¨a ds uke ywxka] vxj fdlh dk uke jg tk,] r¨ eq>s {kek
djuk] uohu] tkosn] fodkl] —’.kk] jrus’k] nhi] vuq’kdk] LokehukFku] x¨dqy] bUg aus cgqr lkjk dke fd;k gSA [kkl
/kU;okn la;¨fxrk] vkf’ke] e;qjh] ikaMqjax dkBkjs] dqUnu v©j eu¨t] fniqj ÒkÃ] eaxs’k] jkts’k] rhjFk] pk:y v©j fou;]
bUg aus gesa ,d cgqr vPNh dgkuh crkÃA
I also thank all the Panelists who have come from various states during the two day conference,
and participated wonderfully in it. lcls egRoiw.kZ ckr] vki lÒh ikÆVflisaV~l us cgqr lg;¨x fn;k v©j ehfM;k
ds lnL;& vki lÒh d¨ /kU;oknA vc ge bl lÒk dk lekiu jk’Vªh; xhr ls djrs gSaA
154
BACKGROUND ON ADR AND NATIONAL ELECTION WATCH
Early 1999: 11 IIM-Ahmedabad professors get together to form Association for Democratic Re-
forms to work on electoral reforms.
August 1999: ADR files PIL in Delhi High Court seeking disclosure of pending criminal cases
by candidates contesting elections to parliament and state assemblies.
November 02, 2000: Delhi High Court upholds above PIL.
December 2000: Government of India appeals to Supreme Court against the judgment of Delhi
High Court.
May 02, 2002: Supreme Court rejects the appeal and upholds the High Court judgment.
June 28, 2002: Election Commission issues orders to implement the Supreme Court judgment.
July 08, 2002: All party meeting decides to amend Representation of People Act to pre-
vent/dilute the Supreme Court’s orders.
August 22, 2002: Cabinet sends Ordinance for amending the Representation of People Act, to
President for signature.
August 23, 2002: President returns the Ordinance.
August 24, 2002: Cabinet sends the Ordinance to the President a second time, the President
signs, in keeping with the convention.
October 2002: PILs filed in Supreme Court, including one by ADR, challenging the constitution-
al validity of the amendment to the Representation of People Act, done by above Ordinance.
March 13, 2003: Supreme Court declares above amendment of the Representation of People Act
as “illegal, null and void” and restores its May 02, 2002 judgment.
March 27, 2003: Election Commission issues orders implementing the Supreme Court judgment.
2002-till date: First ADR, and now National Election Watch, conduct Election Watches in all
Parliament and State Assembly elections, collecting copies of affidavits filed by candidates, and
collating and summarizing the information given by candidate under oath.
Data for over 50,000 candidates, self-declared by the candidates themselves under the Su-
preme Court order, is now available.
2007: Files RTI applications before Election Commission and the Tax authorities seeking infor-
mation whether Political Parties file their contribution reports as per Sec 29(A) of RPA (Repre-
sentation of Peoples’ Act) 1951 to get tax benefits under Sec 13A of Income Tax Act, 1961
155
21 Jun 2007: EC response contains details on 21 parties’s contribution report. Many parties are
listed for not submitting the reports ever. Tax Authorites refuse to divulge the information
2008: CIC on 2nd appeal allows tax returns of political parties to be made public and directs the
authorities to furnish copies of the IT returns of the parties to public
2008: Scrutiny of copies of the return revelas that all the parties have availed benefit under Sec
13 A of the Income Tax Act, even those who have not filed their statutorily mandated contribu-
tion reports before Election Commission.
2008: Files a PIL in Supreme Court to issue order to conduct an inquiry to examine all defaulting
parties whom have been given benefit of section 13A of Income Tax Act and to take appropriate
action against the defaulting political parties to recover the income tax due from them from the
date of default till date
Nov, 14 2008: Supreme Court sets the PIL aside saying that the time is not appropriate to take up
the PIL.
Jan 2009: Discussion with network partners to strategize on next steps.
156
SOME EMINENT PERSONS WHO ARE OR HAVE BEEN INVOLVED WITH THIS INITIATIVE
1. Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah, former Chief Justice of India
2. Justice Jeevan Reddy, former Supreme Court Judge and Chairman of the Law Commission
3. Justice B.J. Divan, former Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court
4. (Late) Justice P.D. Desai, former Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court
5. Justice T.U. Mehta, former Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court
6. Mr. V. T. Shah, former DG Police, Gujarat
7. Mr. Julio Rebeiro, former DG Police, Maharashtra
8.Adml Ram Tahiliani, former Head of the Indian Navy, and President of Transparency Internati
onal
9. Mr. J.M. Lyngdoh, former Chief Election Commissioner of India
10. Mr. T.S. Krishnamurthy, former Chief Election Commissioner of India
11. Mr. C G Somiah, Former Comptroller and Auditor General of India
12. Justice Shiva Shankar Bhatt, former Justice of the Karnataka High Court
13. Mr. L.C. Jain, Former Planning Commission; Former High Commissioner to South Africa
14. Mr. T R Satish Chandran, Former Chief Secretary; Karnataka, Former Governor Goa
15. Dr. Samuel Paul, former Director of IIM Ahmedabad
16. Dr. Narayan Sheth, former Director of IIM Ahmedabad
17. Mr. Ramachandra Guha, eminent Historian and columnist
18. Mr. P.S. Appu, IAS, former Secretary to the Government of India
19. Mr. P.V. Shenoi, IAS, former Secretary to the Government of India
20. Mr. K C Sivaramakrishnan,, former Secretary to the Government of India
21. Mr. I.C. Dwivedi, former DG Police, Uttar Pradesh
22. Justice Sachidanand Awasthi, former Judge of the MP High Court
23. Mr. B.G. Deshmukh, foremer Cabinet Secretary, Government of India
24. Justice Chandrashekhar Dharmadhikari, former Justice of the Mumbai High Court
25. Mr. D.M. Sukhtankar, Former Chief Secretary; Maharashtra
26. Lt. Gen. Y.D. Sahasrabuddhe, Former Director General Army Setvice Corps
27. General (Retd) Shankar Roychowdhury, Former General, Indian Army
157
ALL INDIA ELECTION WATCH CONTACT & RESOURCE LIST
ELECTION WATCH COORDINATORS
National Coordinator
Mr. Anil Bairwal
011- 65901524; +91- 9999310100
North Zone Coordinator
Mr. Jaskirat Singh
91- 9316084953
Andhra Pradesh Election Watch
Mr. Ajay Gandhi
+91- 9963077444
www.apelectionwatch.org
Ms. Sowmya Kidambi
+919490469329
Mr. Rakesh Reddy Dubbudu
+91- 9885419012
Arunachal Pradesh Election
Watch
Mr. Dushan
+91- 9862569134
Assam Election Watch
Mr. Tasaduk Ariful Hussain
+91- 9435054775
Bihar Election Watch Mr. Anjesh Kumar
+91- 9334397067,
+91- 9431251351
Chhattisgarh Election Watch
Mr. Gautam Bandyopadhyay
+91- 9826171304
Mr. Uma Prakash Ojha
+91- 9425210113
Goa Election Watch Mr. Ajit Ranade
+91- 9702215312
158
Gujarat Election Watch
Prof. Jagdeep Chhokar
+91- 9999620944
Ms. Pankati
+91- 9909006791,
079-26821553
Anand Bhai
+91- 9227480021
Haryana Election Watch
Mr. Jaskirat Singh
+91- 9316084953
Himachal Pradesh Election Watch
Mr. J.R Ramoul
+91- 9418023307/ 9418618400
Mr. P. R Ramesh
+91-9816002341
Jammu & Kashmir Election Watch
Dr Muzaffar Bhatt
+91-9419562190
Jharkhand Election Watch Mr. Sudhir Pal
+91- 9431107277
Karnataka Election Watch
Mr. Trilochan Sastry
+91- 9448353285
Mr. Sridhar Pabbisetty
+91- 9448353285
Ms. Sindhu Naik
+91-9900191517
Kerala Election Watch
Mr. Satish Babu
+91- 9447027274; +91 471
2314060/ 4016781
www.electionwatchkerala.org
159
Madhya Pradesh Election Watch
Mr. Rakesh Ranjan
+91- 9826326708
Maharashtra Election Watch
Mr. Ajit Ranade
+91- 9820215312
Mr Nitin Valame
+91- 9821086201
Manipur Election Watch
Mr. Sumorjit
+91-9436294734/ 9862496991
Meghalaya Election Watch
Ms. Mayfreen Ryntathiang
+91- 9862106870
Mizoram Election Watch
Mr. Vanlalruata Pachuau
+91- 9863373928
Nagaland Election Watch
Ms. Hekani Jakhalu
+91- 9436077394
Orissa Election Watch
Mr. Ranjan Mohanty
+91- 9437013723
Punjab Election Watch
Mr.Jaskirat Singh
+91- 9316084953
Rajasthan Election Watch
Mr. Nikhil Dey
+91- 9414001480
Mr. Kamal Tank
+91- 9214641706
Tamil Nadu Election Watch
Prof Sudarsan
044-2257426; +91-9444782884
160
Mr. Kris Dev
+91- 9340852132
Tripura Election Watch
Mr. Biswendu
+91-9436125214
Uttar Pradesh Election Watch Dr Lenin
+91- 9935599333;
Mr. Sanjay Rai
+91-9415121462
Mr. Sanjay Singh Parmarth
+91-9415114151
Mr. Mahesh Anand
+91-9415233694
Mr. Snehvir Pundir
+91-9837250111
Uttaranchal Election Watch
Mr. Ravi
0135-2773849 ;+91-9411135976
West Bengal Election Watch Dr. Deepika Kedia
+91-9831239520;
Mr Raktim Mukhopadhyay
+91-9831243234
