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Summary
Polity Class 38

THE CLASS STARTED (IN CONTINUATION) AT: (04:59 PM):

CRIMINALIZATION OF POLITICS (05:03 PM):

  • According to the ADR, 44% of MPs in Lok Sabha have criminal records against them.
  • More than 44% of MLAs in all states have serious criminal records against them.
  • Criminalization of Politics in India due to:
  • Fragmentation of the Indian Polity.
  • The inability of political parties to win elections either based on ideology or based on their performance.
  • Failure of our legal system to ensure timely justice.
  • Failure of legislature & executive to come out with strong legislation to prevent the criminalization of politics.
  • Electoral outcomes in India are mostly influenced by emotional factors like religion, caste, region & language, etc.
  • Lack of awareness among the voters about the criminal history of the candidates.

SOLUTIONS (05:50 PM):

  • Supreme Court in the Lily Thomas Case has amended Section 8 (1)(d) of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951.
  • Wherein any person who is convicted for a period of two or more years can be automatically disqualified as a Member of Parliament or Member of the State Legislative Assembly for Six Years along with the conviction period.
  • Previously a concocted person can approach Higher Judiciary within three months to get a stay on conviction.
  • If the Higher Court gives a stay on conviction then he can retain his membership.
  • Supreme Court has removed the same provisions in the Liliy Thomas Case.
  • Supreme Court judgment did not prevent the Criminalization of Politics as can be seen in the ADR Report.
  • Way Forward:
  • Any candidate against whom an FIR has been filed can be allowed to contest the election.
  • Once elections are over Supreme Court should set up Fasttrack Courts which should look into all these cases & must come out with a judgment within a period of six months to one year.
  • If the person is convicted irrespective of the period of the conviction, he should not be allowed contest elections for the rest of his/her lifetime.
  • He also should not be allowed to take part in political activities.
  • Role Of Money Power:
  • In the elections held to Lok Sabha in 2019, all Political Parties combined spent around 60,000 Crores.
  • In the recently held elections to Karnataka Assembly, a candidate on average spent 30 Crores.
  • According to the Election Commission rules & regulations, a candidate contesting Lok Sabha can spend up to 90 Lakhs and in the case of State Assemblies, a candidate can spend 40 Lakhs.
  • There are many loopholes in electoral laws e.g. while calculating the expenditure the ECI will only take into consideration the actual amount spent by the candidate only and not by the Political Party on behalf of the candidate.
  • This loophole has been misused by the contesting candidates as on average a Lok Sabha constituency has a population of around 30lakhs.
  • Solutions: the ECI should increase the expense to a realistic level considering the increasing population.
  • It must also include the amount of money spent on the political parties in the overall expenditure of the candidate.
  • Black Money In Elections:
  • In the 2019 General Elections, all political parties combined spent 60K Crores but the amount of money they have raised through Electoral Bonds is less than 5k Crores.
  • The remaining money was unaccounted for.
  • Under Section 29 (3) of RPA. 1951 the political parties are allowed to collect donations in the form of cash up to 20 thousand rupees, known as small donations.
  • They did not have to make the names of donors public & also the source of funds this proves the involvement of black money.
  • To reduce Black Money in 2017 the government introduced the Electoral Bond schemes by making changes to the RPA, 1951.
  • Under this scheme the amount of money received by the political parties in the form of cash was reduced to two thousand only & anything above this threshold must be received through Electoral Bonds.
  • State Bank of India, is given the authority to issue the Electoral Bond. Individuals & companies can buy these bonds within a range of one thousand rupees to one crore. Then they can donate these bonds to political parties.
  • The political parties will have to encash these bonds within 15 days.
  • The names of donors will be kept secretive but this electoral bond scheme had come in for severe criticism.
  • The election commission criticized this scheme as the election commission's control over the political donations will get reduced under Section 29, RPA, 1951.
  • It is also said that foreign and shell companies can influence electoral outcomes by using the anonymity clause.
  • It can be a threat to National Security as the source of funds remains secret.
  • It can also result in corporate exerting heavy influence over the political parties through their donations.
  • It has resulted in benefiting the ruling particular party at the Center.
  • According to the ADR, more than 70% of the Electoral Bonds went to only the ruling political party.
  • Corporations are not willing to donate money to opposition political parties through this scheme because the govt will have complete information about these donations and there can be a witchhunt.

MEASURES: (06:29 PM):

  • Section 29 must be amended and political parties are not allowed to receive any amount in the form of cash.
  • Every single rupee should be received in the form of an Electoral Bond and there must be complete transparency regarding political donations.
  • The people must have the right to know about the nexus between the corporate & political parties.
  • They can make their political decision more rationally with transparency in the funding process.
  • Similarly, political parties should be allowed to spend money only through digital transactions. It will ensure transparency & accountability within the political system,
  • Simultaneous Conduct Of Elections:
  • In recent times there are many suggestions regarding the conduct of simultaneous elections.
  • NITI Aayog has submitted a report regarding the feasibility of the simultaneous conduct of elections.
  • Law Commission has also given its opinion regarding the same. 
  • TIill 1967, Elections were conducted simultaneously for both Lok Sabha & All-State Legislative Assemblies. But this cycle was broken after 1967 due to Article 356 & political instability at the State level.
  • Arguments in favor:
  • 1) It can save huge amounts of taxpayer money.
  • 2) It can ensure political stability.
  • 3) Governments (Central & State) can take the decisive policy with the long-term interest of the people in mind.
  • 4) Political parties can focus on governance.
  • 5) political populism can be reduced.
  • 6) There can be little scope for policy paralysis in administration.
  • Arguments Against:
  • As pointed out by the Law Commission:
  • It requires an amendment to at least 5 Articles in the Indian Constitution.
  • It will benefit the National Political Parties at the cost of Regional Political Parties.
  • For example, in Elections to the Lok Sabha National issues dominate whereas, in the State Elections, regional problems determine the electoral outcome.
  • With the simultaneous conduct of elections, National Parties will be in an advantageous position compared to the regional parties.
  • It can result in centralization & dominance by national parties and can go against the spirit of federalism
  • Even if simultaneous elections are held it will not guarantee political stability. On the other hand, it creates a constitutional crisis.
  • For example, if a state govt. is dismissed by using Article 356 before the expiry of its term. Should the state remain in the President's Rule for the rest of its term?
  • Between 1989 to 1999 the country witnessed 5 General Elections to the Lok Sabha. It means that simultaneously elections must be held for all state legislative assemblies also, which is not at all possible.
  • If any MP or MLA is disqualified, dies, etc, elections for the vacancy must be held within six months. With simultaneous elections, these constituencies remained MP/MLA less.
  • Solution: Simultaneous elections may not be practical for a country as vast & diverse as India due to its highly dynamic federal polity instead, elections to Lok Sabha & some state assemblies can club together.
  • Democracy is essentially about accountability & if elections are held regularly it can result in continuous accountability of political parties.
  • Changes can be made to the Model Code of Conduct to allow the Central Govt. to announce major policies even during to elections to State Legislative Assemblies.

MODEL CODE OF CONDUCT (07:05 PM):

  • The Election Commission has been given the power to conduct free & fair elections. In this regard in the 1960s Election Commission for the first time had come up with a Model Code of Conduct (MCC).
  • MCC is a set of guidelines issued by the Election Commission for Political Parties and their candidates.
  • These guidelines include election speeches, polling booth management, polling day conduct, election manifestos, processions, public meetings & so on.
  • The objective is to ensure a level playing field for all political parties as part of MCC:
  • The ruling parties are to allow major policy announcements after the declaration of Elections by the Election Commission.
  • Similarly, the administrative machinery will have to function under the direct control & guidance of the Election Commission.
  • Political Parties must conduct their election campaign in such a manner so as not to hurt the religious sentiments of the people.
  • MCC is normal & ethical and it does not have legal backing.
  • Any violation will result in Election Commission taking necessary actions against the candidate.
  • Implementation of MCC requires an impartial & unbiased election commission.
  • In recent time appointments of members to the commission has become controversial as political parties are keen to appoint their favorite & loyal bureaucrats to the Election Commission.
  • Supreme Court recently ruled that appointment to members of Election Commissions through a committee consisting of the Chief Justice, and leader of Opposition in Loka sabha to ensure impartiality in the selection process.
  • In 2013, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel & Public Grievances, Law & Justice recommended making MCC legal.
  • The Election Commission has opposed it as the entire electoral process will be over in a short period and if it is made legal it can result in a very lengthy judicial process.
  • Use of Religion & Caste To Influence The Electoral Outcomes:
  • It has been observed that political parties are using emotional issues like religion & caste to win elections.
  • Supreme Court has ruled they cannot be misused by the Political parties.
  • But this judgment is difficult to implement because of the diversity India has.
  • To win elections Political Parties must appeal to the different sections of society including different religions & castes.
  • It can not be considered a misuse of religion & caste. Instead of any legal solutions, awareness must be created among the people regarding the intentions of the political parties.
  • India has the first-past-the-post electoral system which incentivizes political parties to divide the societies in the name of these identities.
  • Civil society organizations and media can be used to create awareness among the citizens so that can vote in terms of the actual performance of political parties than these emotional factors.
  • Free Subsidies Offered By Political Parties:
  • The country is witnessing competitive populism where particular parties are making unrealistic promises in the form of free subsidies to win elections.
  • Recently, Election Commission has been invited by the political party to discuss the same but the majority of political parties have rejected the suggestions of the Elections Commission as they felt that the issue is beyond the scope of powers of the Election Commission.
  • It should be made mandatory for Political parties to explain the sources of financing these subsidies so that there can be more transparency & accountability in the political system.

COMPTROLLER AUDITOR GENERAL OF INDIA (CAG): (07:30 PM):

  • Article 148, talks about the CAG.
  • The role of CAG is as follows:
  • Audit the amount spent by govt at the Centre & State levels.
  • CAG also audits the PSUs as well.
  • After the auditing, the report is presented to the President of India.
  • And based on this report, Public Accounts Committee come out with its report.
  • Problems With CAG:
  • 1) Audit when the money is already spent & termed as a post-mortem exercise.
  • 2) Line item budgeting also affects the auditing exercise.

TOPICS OF THE NEXT CLASS: Continuation of CAG & Other bodies.