Demonism and Distract politics in India

Polarising inharmony / Dissonance Democracy

arendra Modi's opponents, in cahoots with a partisan media, during the last decade have achieved
great success in distorting the persona of the real Modi before Indians. This trend seems to be finally
reversing.

This week, I had the privilege of releasing Madhu Kishwar's book, Modi, Muslims and Media.
Kishwar has done great service by revealing to the public several facts that had been concealed from
them deliberately, in a conspiracy between Modi's political opponents who fear him, but control the
mechanisms of government, and sections of the media dedicated to divisive communal forces,
blessed by certain external powers that seek to ensure that India remains the sick man of Asia
forever. We have witnessed this conspiracy during British rule, and we are witnessing it today.
The facts relate to the Godhra incident and its unfortunate aftermath, and the man, Narendra Modi,
his political background before he became Chief Minister, his performance as Chief Minister, and his
actual interventions after the unfortunate Godhra train burning and the riots that followed.

These facts have been concealed from Indians by the media machinery of the Congress and its so
called "secular", but actually communal allies, and snuffed out by influential sections of the public
media who for reasons that became partners of the UPA in the demonisation of Modi. I have
repeatedly stated in my articles during the last few years that one of the greatest successes of the
UPA government has been its Goebbelsian demonisation of Modi. It lasted for a while, but it is clear
that retribution is around the corner, and some of his greatest hired detractors, like Teesta Setalvad,
are getting their just deserts. A large section of the public, especially the Muslim community have
also realised that they have been taken for a ride by the Congress, which kept shoving false
information down their throats, while they themselves were plundering the country, all the while
perpetuating a schism between the Muslims and the majority community, to suit their political ends.

Let the people know what really happened at Godhra. The carnage on the Sabarmati Express, which
was carrying karsevaks from Ayodhya to Ahmedabad, took place on 27 February 2002 at 8.30 a.m.,
as it moved about 500 yards from Godhra station and was stopped at a signal, through repeated
chain pulling by the conspirators. A crowd of around 2,000 Muslims started stoning the train
mercilessly and setting fire to the coaches, having prepared the previous night with petroleum and
acid bombs. Compartment doors were locked from outside, and the karsevaks were trapped in the
fire and smoke. 59 persons, including women and children, in four coaches, were gruesomely burnt
alive.
The false defence put up by the criminals, aided and abetted by the Congress, when it came to power,
was that it was an accidental fire, caused by a stove or an electrical short circuit. An intelligent fire,
certainly, singling out only the karsevaks and their families. Do Indians know who defended the
accused in the Godhra train burning incident? It was the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee, and
the Congress proxy NGO Jan Sangharsh Manch. The criminal conspiracy between Godhra train
attackers and the Congress, and their complete lack of sympathy for the Godhra victims, needs no
further explanation. Does their being Hindu have something to do with it?

Kishwar informs us of the troubled history of Godhra, and its long history of communal riots from
1925 till 1992, post Independence, all under the Congress government. The worst riots in post
partition India happened in 1969 in Ahmedabad where 5,000 Muslims were killed with the Congress
in power under Chief Minister Hitendrabhai Desai. Does anyone ask about what action was taken
against the perpetrators, what charge sheets were filed? In 1985, under Congress Chief Minister
Madhavji Solanki, again there was a major communal riot preceded by smaller ones, with curfew
lasting over 200 days. 1987 and 1990 again saw communal riots in Gujarat, under Congress Chief
Ministers Amar Singh Chowdhery and Chimanbhai Patel. Let the people judge for themselves who
the real Maut ka Saudagar is.

Kishwar extensively quotes Zafar Sareshwala, a respected Gujarati Muslim entrepreneur, who
started by wanting to take Modi to the International Court of Justice, and ended up by becoming his
friend, after he met him in London in August 2003, and was astonished by his sincerity, his
openness, and his good intentions for the Muslim community.

The people of India have never been informed regarding the circumstances under which Modi
became Chief Minister of Gujarat. It was because of too much infighting within the Gujarat BJP; to
revitalise the party, Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee decided to send Modi as the CM. Modi, who was
then the general secretary of the BJP working from Delhi, had never fought an election before, had
never handled administration or governance, and had not visited Gujarat for the last six years. It was
on 7 October 2001 that he became CM. A complete novice, his first great challenge was handling the
rehabilitation of the devastating Kutch earthquake of 26 January 2001, to which he announced he
was according highest priority. Modi threw all his energy into this, visiting almost every village,
including those inhabited only by Muslims, mourning and wiping the tears of the bereaved. He swore
that he would convert the disaster into an opportunity, a word that he kept. Through dedicated and
honest rehabilitation, villages such as Chobari and Trambe were resurrected, there came
modernisation and economic resurgence, urban reconstruction and tourism, and Gujarat became a
global role model for disaster management.

Modi's earliest statements after becoming Chief Minister are that of a statesman. They reveal his
sagacity, patriotism and secularism, and not a trace of communalism is evident in them. He speaks of
the common cause of Gujaratis, the power of oneness, combating corruption, farmers' concerns,
border and maritime security, poverty reduction, rural uplift. His slogan was Sabka Saath, Sab ka
Vikaas, and he used his leadership and the entire governance structures to translate this into action.
Gujarat had 11 universities in 2001. Today, there are 44, including a Sanskrit university.

What the Congress and its communal allies (who derive their political sustenance only by keeping
Hindu Muslim division alive for ever) cannot stomach is that Modi has kept Gujarat riot free for the
last 12 years, something that never happened from 1925 for 75 years, the worst and with the most
bloody riots happening under the Congress rule.

But even before that, the Congress felt severely jolted. They panicked at what Kishwar calls
"whirlwind Muslim support" for Modi for his first election from Rajkot in February 2002. 28 Muslim
organisations declared support for him, prominent Muslim leaders and Muslim women campaigned
for him and in booths where there was more than 70% Muslim population he surged ahead. His
subsequent election victories, despite BJP dissidents joining hands with Congress, confirm without
doubt that Modi's government is completely inclusive, and Gujarat Muslims have not succumbed to
Congress lies and hate campaign.

The Congress had to sever the friendship between Muslims and the liberal face of the BJP, and it was
willing to play with fire to engineer the same, including hobnobbing with the ISI, or participate in the
riots, for which there is evidence from none other than Maulana Madni, of Jamiat Ulema e Hind.

There is also enough evidence, corroborated by K.P.S. Gill, that Modi took every necessary step to
ensure taking control of the situation — indefinite curfew, shoot at sight orders, putting the entire
70,000 police force on public duty, deployment of rapid action force and CISF, request to the Centre
for 10 companies of CRPF. Army assistance was requested on the first day. Both the Nanavati
Commission and the Supreme Court monitored SIT have found nothing against Modi, and have
rubbished the canards spread by his enemies.

I appeal to the Muslims of India not to become victims of the hate propaganda and falsehoods that
are being tenaciously and relentlessly pursued by the Congress against Modi. Please understand that
the Congress aims to permanently convert you as the "other", so that you will always be on the
fringes, and will always have to depend upon them for support. I suggest that you enquire from your
brothers in Gujarat, and find out for yourself regarding whatever Modi has done for the prosperity of
the Muslim community. Give him a drop of affection and trust and judge for yourself the goodwill he
has for your community.

I have had access to most of the vital papers pertaining to the Godhra episode, and I can give a moral
guarantee that I have not seen a single action or statement from Modi that suggests any
communalism or divisiveness or hatred for the Muslims that the Congress has accused him of. And
such a statement from me would carry some credibility, as one thing even my worst detractors
cannot accuse me of is communalism. Many people may not be aware that my dear daughter Rani
adopted from an orphanage a small Muslim boy of 6 months, and brought him up. My grandson uses
my name, Ali Jethmalani, and even though he wanted to become Hindu, we counselled him to come
of age and then choose. I need not say anymore.

Azam khan

It is said that to win a general election, securing the state of Uttar Pradesh is a
must. With over 180 million people, the existence of deep rooted social divisions
based on caste, creed and religion, UP has been the playground for politicians to
incite and agitate groups to practice vote-bank politics of the worst kind.

The 2014 Lok Sabha elections are no different, and over the past few days, the
fight for supremacy in Uttar Pradesh has been taken a few notches up, as
expected. Analysts have said ‘fear’ is going to be the pivotal reason on how the
state’s Muslim minorities vote, as many clerics and elders ask people to vote
against the BJP which is looking to reverse India’s secular traits.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) is taking these sentiments in its strides. One of the
party’s main leaders, Azam Khan, has somehow even managed to add a
communal twist to the Kargil war of 1999, which took place far away from the
hinterland of UP amidst the peaks of the Himalayas in Kashmir. Khan has said
“Muslim soldiers” were the reason behind India’s victory in the conflict. He also
added that it was the Muslim faujis who raised the battlecry of God before
conquering the peaks of Kargil.

Khan’s comments come days after the BJP’s Amit Shah was caught asking a
gathering to vote for ‘revenge’ in the upcoming polls. Shah also called SP leader
Mulayam Singh ‘Mullah Mulayam’ and said the current, democratically elected SP
government in UP will fall once Modi becomes prime minister.

Both the Shahs and the Khans “working” within UP to gain more political mileage
by pitching communities against each other have now managed to bring in the
soldier in this pool of muck, a shrewd and unthoughtful political policy aimed at
scare-mongering mostly poor people into giving votes to communal forces on the
back of empty scare-tactics.

While Shah and Khan were busy adding new colours to their communal agendas,
a few hundred kilometres from the political ground-zero of Uttar Pradesh in the
state of Bihar, three jawans of the CRPF in Aurangabad district lost their lives
while trying to defuse an explosive device with their bare hands. The device,
believed to have been planted by Maoists, exploded, gravely injuring all three,
who then found themselves in a region without adequate medical or evacuation
facilities.

The jawans were rushed to a hospital reportedly in a private bus due to the
unavailability of an ambulance. A journalist at the hospital made a video of one of
the injured, 39-year old constable Dillip Kumar, who is seen in the clip pleading to
be saved. “I am lying here for the last two hours. There are no doctors here.
Please save me or otherwise I will die. I have small kids. I appeal to the PM,
President of India to please save me. I am appealing to my DGP, please help me
out and save my life.”

When such apathy against the very people who risk their lives to maintain the
security of the country could not find one reasonable political voice supporting
them, people like Azam Khan are given free access by their own party
leaderships to undercut political opponents using whatever means possible.
This continuous practice has gone unchallenged by legalities or more stringent
checks by the Election Commission as well, and the success of such a ‘strategic-
communal’ policy applied by the likes of the SP and the BJP are already
reflecting in pre-poll surveys, giving more legitimacy to their effectiveness. For
example, according to media reports, UP’s Muslim population may vote for the SP,
the BSP and the Congress in order to try and keep the BJP out of the picture.

However, the likes of Azam Khan, who seem to have no qualms in dragging an
institution such as the Indian Army into the pre-poll banter, should not even be
allowed by the public to drag the Indian soldier into becoming a tool to garner
votes. As writer Charles M Province has said:

“It is the Soldier who salutes the flag,

Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag.

ELECTION COMMISSIONER

Composition and Functions of Election Commission ofIndia

Elections are an important part of democratic government. If the elections for electing the
representatives are not fair and impartial, people lose faith in the entire democratic system. Thus, to
make sure that elections are free and fair, the Constitution of India (Article 324) provides for an
Election Commission.

It consists of a Chief Election Commissioner and some other members (at present, there are two
other members). They are appointed by the President of India. Their terms and conditions of service
are determined by the Parliament.

The normal tenure of the Election Commissioners is 6 years. However, they can be removed from
office by the same procedure by which a judge of the Supreme Court can be removed.

Functions of Election Commission:

The main functions of the Election Commission are as under:

(i) The superintendence, direction and control of elections. To conduct elections and to look after all
the problems connected with elections.

(ii) To prepare electoral rolls and get them revised before every election.

(iii) To supervise the machinery of elections throughout the country so that the elections are held in a
free and fair manner.

(iv) To conduct the elections of President, Vice-President, members of both the Houses of
Parliament, members of Legislative Assemblies and Legislative Councils of various States.

(v) Delimitation of Constituencies.

(vi) To give recognition to political parties as All India Parties or Regional Parties on the basis of the
votes received by them in the last elections.

(vii) To allot symbols of various political parties and independent candidates. It hears and settles all
the disputes with regard to symbols.

(viii)To cancel polls in case of large scale rigging, irregularities or violence.

(ix) To give opinion to the President of India about the possibility of holding elections in a State
under President's rule after the expiry of six months.

(x) To advise the President or a Governor on matters pertaining to disqualification of a legislator.

(xi) To conduct by-elections for filling up vacancies in Parliament or any State legislature.

Very few Election Commissions in the world have such wide ranging powers as the Election
Commission in India. Initially the Election Commission did not use all its powers but in the last 15
years or so it has begun to exercise all the powers given to it by the constitution and has been even
asking for more powers.

Now, it is very common for the Election Commission to reprimand the government and the
administration for their lapses and negligence. If the Election Commission feels that the election in a
particular constituency was not fair, it often cancels the polling and order a re-poll in some polling
booths or even the entire constituency and order for fresh polls.

MAMATA VS EC

elationship with the Election Commission has been troubled to say the least. Last year, this time, Banerjee was at
loggerheads with the State Election Commission in West Bengal, fighting a loud battle over the dates of the
panchayat elections in West Bengal. While Banerjee wanted the elections to be held on April 26 and April 30, the EC
wanted it pushed back. Also, the EC wanted the deployment of central paramilitary forces for the polls, whereas,
Banerjee wanted to make do with the state police. Finally, the SC had to intervene and put Banerjee down, deciding
that the polls will be held in July and central forces will be employed for purposes of security.

Back then, Banerjee's cabinet minister declared that the state election commissioner was a CPM appointee and
deliberately wanted to thwart the state polls and create disharmony. Two years after the Trinamool Congress came to
power in West Bengal with resounding success, Mamata Banerjee was still busy fighting the CPM. The state is
experiencing a sense of deja vu today as Mamata Banerjee's government takes on the state election commission
once again, as Banerjee threatens to court arrest aand not give in to the Election Commission. This time around, the
point of contention is the EC's demand that Banerjee transfer 6 election officials because of Opposition claims of bias.
"The Election Commission removed a DM and five SPs from their poll duties following complaints against them,"
state chief electoral officer Sunil Gupta told reporters in Kolkata. The reasons for Mamata's defiance remain, as
before, inexplicable. When she fought the battle over panchayat polls, Mamata had just convincingly annihilated the
CPM in West Bengal and she knew well that the voters contempt for the Left party was way more that any negative
points she'd earned over her short tenure. At the time, some saw it as her mental conditioning (because Banerjee's
two-decade old political career was all about battling the CPM) and others as sign of an unsettling insecurity - but
Banerjee didn't seem ready to leave the ghosts of the past behind. In Bengal, she made her primary job still sound
like fighting the Left. A year later, little seems to have changed. "It is a conspiracy by a media house, central
government, Congress, EC, BJP and CPI-M. I will fight alone and I don't care for your conspiracy. I only care for the
people," Banerjee said, breathing fire against the State EC. The decision to remove the officials came on the heels of
a review by the West Bengal Chief Election Commissioner, but for Mamata, the very decision by the state EC to
investigate the complaints is good enough to brand them as sympathisers of opposition parties. While during CPM's
heydays, such transfers of government officers was a regular practice to ensure rigging, booth blocking etc. The
districts and rural electorate were dominated by powerful CPM cadre armies and there was part-loyalty, part-fear for
the party, which made a party like TMC to survive difficult. But now Mamata is the one in charge, and her staunch
supporters now wield the same political clout that CPM once did. A couple of transfers is hardly going to dent her
power. However, she continues to refuses to let go of her self-image as the grand victim, suspecting multiple
conspiracy theories aimed at dethroning her. The present row with the EC is yet again a unnecessary attempt to feed
her own ego and make sure that she never yield an inch to her adversaries - be it Congress, BJP and mostly the
CPM. It is not the EC she is fighting, she is still at war - with the already-vanquished CPM. Given that she might have
a kingmaking role to play post the Lok Sabha polls, her colleagues from other parties might want to think the
implications of a potential alliance with a leader living in the past.

MB VS EC

The great Indian elections are here, with the curtain being raised on the first
phase on Monday peacefully. But West Bengal was deprived of this peace on
Monday with an impending war being ticked off between the Election
Commission (EC) and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

The Election Commission has decided to transfer seven top officials in the state
government from any election related duties. By taking this decision without
consulting the state government, the commission has set an unprecedented
example for West Bengal.
The tussle between the government and the commission is not new in India, and
definitely not in West Bengal, where in a tiff with TN Sheshan, Jyoti Basu called
him a megalomaniac. But this time the commission has made its concerns clear:
it is sceptical about the partisan behaviour of officials during polling, and that
this might hamper the running of free and fair elections. Mamata, in her
characteristic fiery manner, has challenged the commission saying she will not
transfer anyone and would fight from prison if the commission arrests her. Some
Election Commission officials in return have warned that it could postpone or
cancel the polls in certain areas in Bengal if the state government refuses to
budge.

It is expected and natural for everyone to question Mamata’s unrelenting

behaviour when the constitution mandates superior power to the commission in
election times, and the government has no option but to listen to it. It is also
ridiculous that Mamata would call the commission officials agents of the
Congress, the CPIM and the BJP, who are trying to rig the elections. She also
mentioned elsewhere that they were all ganging up against her because she is a
woman. But that would just be her playing plain politics of victimhood, because
she is not speaking these words at a press conference in Kolkata, but at rallies
in the hinterland in Hooghly and Burdwan.

The collusion among bureaucrats, police officers and the ministers are not new
in India or Bengal. When Rizwanur was killed in Kolkata in 2006, the police
commissioner called a press conference two days after the body was found and
said it was a “simple case of suicide” even before the post mortem was done. He
said it was “natural” for a father to oppose a marriage where “financial and
social status does not match”. He also said the police had always dealt such
cases in the same manner and would do so in future.

Quickly thereafter, the state’s chief of CPIM came out in support of the police
force, in a case where the police had intervened in a personal matter on behalf
of a rich industrialist family. Thirty-four years of rule had brought Bengal to a
point where the party, the government, the officials, bureaucrats, the police
force: all of them subsumed into an image of the state that was arrogant. Some
might say that same arrogance is now seen in Mamata and her workings as well.
However, it is unclear what made the Election Commission take the decision it
has taken. Why were only seven officials transferred? Why not more, or less, and
why just these names? Why does the name of officers like Bharati Ghosh, whom
the government has given much credit for restoring peace in Junglemahal,
feature in the list? The constitution surely rests more power in the commission;
but the commission must also rest its authority on better clarity. Today the
debate around this battle between the commission and the state is merely
political: a better explanation of its decisions will keep the politics intact, but
infuse the discourse with more sense.

REFERENCE

In linguistics, a homonym is a set of words that share the same spelling and pronunciation
but have different meanings. In Indian politics, Technology spawns homonym.
To Congress led UPA Technology means ‘Corruption’. Truck loads of paper and ink have
been wasted on writing about 2G and other scams. Hence I won’t get into it.

While to BJP and its Prime ministerial candidate Technology means ‘Transparency’. We
live in an age in which technology contributes to development, growth. Technology is power.
The superiority that technology enjoys shapes our developmental priorities. Following are
few examples of the same from the state of Gujarat.

Gujarat State Wide Area Network (GSWAN) is an advanced communication infrastructure

which works towards improving administrative effectiveness and efficiency and brings
reliability and accountability to the overall system of Government-to-Government (G2G)
functioning. It offers a wide range of ICT services since 2001. It facilitates uninterrupted
and easy IP based Video-conferencing between various Government of Gujarat offices.
Today, Gujarat provides a large pool of bandwidth which can facilitate future requirement of
service on demand. GSWAN connects all 26 Districts, 225 Talukas ultimately
interconnecting more than 3200 GoG offices through a secure digital communication.

GSWAN intranet provides secure access to various applications such as – Public

Distribution System(PDS), Garvi (Registration of Documents), Land Record Information
System (E-dhara), Electoral Roll Management System (ERMS), e-Mamta, IWDMS-
Integrated Workflow & Document Management System, IFMS-Integrated Financial
Management System, HMIS-Hospital Management & Information System, GSBTM-Guj
State Bio-Tech Mission, GAD-General Administration Dept., XPLORA – Entry Card Swipe,
Agriculture Soil Health Card Application, SWAGAT – Grievances Redressal to Hon’ble CM,
Commodity Price Monitoring, Agriculture Census Gujarat, Ration Card, Intra FOREST, RoR
at Village, Janseva, Development Support Agency – Tribal, Media Response System, City
Survey – Gujarat, Jantry – Land Registration, Gujarat Information Commission,
Directorate of Animal Husbandry, FDCA – Foods & Drugs Controller Administration, &
Drugs Manufacturing License Allocation, Directorate of Pension & Provident Funds etc.

GSWAN hosts more than 260 different departmental websites which gives access to
information to common citizens. Moreover, applications like ATVT hosted on GSWAN has
ultimately led to generation of revenue worth Rs. 3,75,80,720 till date, gARVI (Automation
of Administration of Registration, Valuation & Indexing in Gujarat) has generated Rs.
8652.31 Crore till date, eDhara has recorded 10.7 Crore Transactions (5-10/- per
transaction) through GSWAN.

In a nutshell, GSWAN has not only created a role model for connectivity and efficient
management of Asia’s one of the largest Government network but also given business model
to earn revenue for the Government. Considering all such growth, Government of India has
also recommended bandwidth enhancement to all states stating Gujarat as the Role Model.
Some examples are as follows:

1. Land Record Information System and RoR at Village: There are 225
Servers installed at Block level, which are connected to 25 District Servers. There are 98 Lac
land records, which are computerized. The District Server data has been uploaded to the
State Data Centre at Gandhinagar. There are around 400 to 500 (average) daily transactions
observed at each block location. People get well-printed copies of their land holding
documents. Tampering with revenue records have been minimised. People get the copy of
Record of Right (7/12) and Account of land holding (8a) at the Taluka level. Farmer Book is
printed. It reduces litigation and helps in expediting litigation process.
2. SWAGAT (State Wide Attention on Grievances by Application of
Technology): SWAGAT is a combination of digital management and WAN technology to
overcome the above said problems. It makes the travel of the grievance instant and the
system below is sensitized and held accountable. Grievances are categorized into: Policy
matters, First timers and Long pending Cases. All three categories of grievances will be
displayed in the same manner to all connected functionaries through the bilingual web
based application. Hon. CM takes up such grievances, District wise, in presence of the
applicant and asks the concerned District functionary on video conferencing about the
reasons of pendency on the 4th Thursday of every month. Approach is to resolve the
grievance then and there. This application runs on GSWAN extending connectivity to Hon.
CM Office: all the Secretaries, all the District Collectors / DDOs / S.Ps. and Head of
Departments.

3. e-Gram (Vishwa Gram)Village Panchayats of Gujarat State (under

District Panchayat):The e-Gram is based on surveys carried out on each individual
family of a village, which contains detailed information of each member of a family. This is
used to provide many certificates such as Income, Caste, Domicile, Character, and Farmer
etc. to citizens. Also, the database of property of each family is maintained to provide
necessary certificate and to use in panchayat for property tax collection. Conversion of this
system into e-GPIR (Gram Panchayat Internal Register) is underway on so that a single e-
GramPanchayat system can be deployed and be in use across all Gram Panchayats
One sarpanch puts it in perspective when he says “Internet access gives us a feeling of being
one with the rest of the state.” The implications of this development are truly extraordinary.
Every village will now have access to a globalised economy.

4. WHO – Integrated Disease Surveillance (Health Department): NIC has

developed IDS for Department of health and World Health Organisation. For 16 identified
diseases, data of new cases and deaths are collected weekly at Remote Units, Corporation
Hospitals and Medical Colleges (Hospitals attached to it). Data on weekly basis is entered at
the district level and transferred to Central server at Gandhinagar for analysis.
5. e-PRIMA (Panchayati Raj Institutes – Maintenance of Accounts)
Panchayat Department: It captures data of Opening & closing balance of PRIs, works
carried out in PRIs under particular schemes, Income & expenditure, closing balance,
financial progress of funds received from CFC, State Govt , Own fund etc.
Contrast the use of technology by BJP/Narendra Modi to the use of technology by
Congress/UPA. Congress/UPA uses the technology not only to make man redundant by
transferring cash into his/her bank but also to exploit possibilities for corruption.

This mind set reflects in the manifesto of both the parties as well. For checking corruption
BJP says ‘e-governance to minimize discretion’, Congress says ‘enact laws’; and we all know
what ‘law’ promotes. The manifesto clearly explains the future as seen by Congress and BJP.

EC

The Election Commission of India is an autonomous, constitutionally established

federal authority responsible for administering all the electoral processes in the
Republic of India. Under the supervision of the commission, free and fair
elections have been held in India at regular intervals as per the principles
enshrined in the Constitution. The Election Commission has the power of
superintendence, direction and control of all elections to the Parliament of
India and the state legislatures and of elections to the office of the President of
India and the Vice-President of India.[2]
The commission consists of a Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and
two Election Commissioners (EC), appointed by thePresident of India.

The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from his office by Parliament
with two-thirds majority in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on the grounds of proven
misbehaviour or incapacity. Other Election Commissioners can be removed by
the President on the recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner. The
Chief Election Commissioner and the two Election Commissioners draw salaries
and allowances at par with those of the Judges of the Supreme Court of India as
per the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners
(Conditions of Service) Rules, 1992.[3] The current CEC is V.Sundaram Sampath.

T.N. Seshan[edit]
Over the years, the Election Commission's enforcement of India's remarkably
strict election laws grew increasingly lax. As a consequence, candidates
flagrantly violated laws limiting campaign expenditures. Elections became
increasingly violent (350 persons were killed during the 1991 campaign,
including five Lok Sabha and twenty-one state assembly candidates), and voter
intimidation and fraud proliferated.[4]

The appointment of T.N. Seshan as chief election commissioner in 1991

reinvigorated the Election Commission and curbed the illegal manipulation of
India's electoral system. By cancelling or repolling elections where improprieties
had occurred, disciplining errant poll officers, and fighting for the right to deploy
paramilitary forces in sensitive areas, Seshan forced candidates to take the
Election Commission's code of conduct seriously and strengthened its
supervisory machinery. In Uttar Pradesh, where more than 100 persons were
killed in the 1991 elections, Seshan succeeded in reducing the number killed to
two in the November 1993 assembly elections by enforcing compulsory deposit
of all licensed firearms, banning unauthorised vehicular traffic, and
supplementing local police with paramilitary units. In state assembly elections in
Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, and Sikkim, after raising ceilings for campaign
expenditures to realistic levels, Seshan succeeded in getting candidates to
comply with these limits by deploying 337 audit officers to keep daily accounts
of the candidates' election expenditures. Although Seshan has received
enthusiastic support from the public, he has stirred great controversy among the
country's politicians. In October 1993, the Supreme Court issued a ruling that
confirmed the supremacy of the chief election commissioner, thereby deflecting
an effort to rein in Seshan by appointing an additional two election
commissioners. Congress (I)'s attempt to curb Seshan's powers through a
constitutional amendment was foiled after a public outcry weakened its support
in Parliament.
Use of Scientific and Technological Advancements[edit]
The Election Commission had tried to bring improvements in election procedures
by introduction of EVM – Electronic Voting Machines. It was used with view to
reducing malpractices and also improving the efficiency. On experimental basis
it was firstly tried in the State of Kerala in 1982 for Legislative Assembly
Elections. After successful testing and legal inquires the commission took
historic decision to go ahead and start use of EVMs.[5]

The Election Commission making use of Information Technology launched a web

site of its own on 28 February 1998. It helps to provide accurate information,
management, administration and instant results of the elections. In 1998,
Election Commission decided programme for 'computerisations' of the electoral
rolls.

To prevent electoral fraud, in 1993 EPICs – Electorals Photo Identity Cards were
issued. In 2004 elections, it was mandatory to possess card.

Multi Member Commission[edit]

Originally the commission had only a Chief Election Commissioner. But, two
additional Commissioners were appointed to the commission for the first time on
16 October 1989 but they had a very short tenure till 1 January 1990. The
Constitution Amendment Act, 1993 made Election Commission to be multi
member body. Later, on 1 October 1993, two additional Election Commissioners
were appointed. The concept of multi-member Commission has been in operation
since then, with decision making power by majority vote.[5]

Functions and powers[edit]

Guardian of Free and Fair Elections[edit]
One of the most important features of the democratic polity is elections at
regular intervals.

Democracy is the

“Government of the people, By the people, And for the people".

Holding periodic free & fair elections are essentials of democratic system. It is
part of basic structure of the Constitution which has been held in T. N. Sheshan
V/s Union of India.[6]The Commission has taken many efforts for the success of
elections and thereby democracy.

Model Code of Conduct[edit]

The Election Commission is regarded as guardian of free and fair elections. In
every election, it issues a Model code of Conduct for political parties and
candidates to conduct elections in free and fair manner. The Commission issued
the code for the first time in 1971 (5th Election) and revised it from time to time.
It lay down guidelines for conduct of political parties & candidates during
elections. However, there are instances of violation of code by the political
parties and complaints are received for misuse of official machinery by the
candidates.

In I.D. Systems (India) Pvt. Ltd. v/s. Chief Election Commissioner,[7] the Kerala
High Court held that the object of model code of conduct is not to stop all
governmental activities but only those actions which may directly influence a
section of electors need to be prevented.

The need for such code is in the interest of free and fair elections. However, the
code does not have any specific statutory basis. It has only a persuasive effect.
It contains what, known as "rules of electoral morality". But this lack of
statutory backing does not prevent the Commission from enforcing it.

Registration of Political Parties[edit]

A law regarding to this registration process was enacted in 1989 and number of
parties got registered with Commission.[8] It helps to avoid confusion and
headache of the administrative machinery as well as confusion of the electorate.
It ensures that political parties can practice democracy only by their
registration.

Limits on Poll Expenses[edit]

To get rid of the growing influences and vulgar show of money during elections
the Election Commission has made many suggestions in this regard. The Election
Commission has fixed the legal limits on the amount of money which a candidate
can spend during election campaigns. These limits have been revised from time
to time. The Election Commission by appointing observers keeps an eye on the
individual account of election expenditure. The contestants are also required to
give details of expenditure with 30 days of declaration of results. However,
political parties do not adhere to the financial ‘Lakshman Rekha’ as huge amount
are spent by parties under the garb of their supporters.

The campaign period was reduced by the Election Commission from 21 to 14

days for Lok Sabha and Assembly elections; it is for to trim down election
expenditure. The Election Commission’s this attempt to impose these measures
has been a move in the right direction. Moreover, Election Commission takes
details of the candidate's asset on affidavit at the time of submitting nomination
paper.
In Common Cause v/s. Union of India, it was pointed out that, in India elections
are fought on the basis of money. The Court ruled that, purity of election is
fundamental to the democracy and Commission can ask the candidates about
the expenditure incurred by them and political party for this purpose.

Prohibition on Publication[edit]
The Commission can issue an order for prohibition of publication and
disseminating of results of opinion polls (Exit Polls).[4]

Quasi judicial powers[edit]

Under the Constitution, the Commission also has advisory jurisdiction in the
matter of post election disqualification of sitting members of Parliament found
guilty of corrupt practices at elections which come before the Supreme Court
and High Courts.The Courts refer to the Commission for its opinion on the
question as to whether such person shall be disqualified and, if so, for what
period. The opinion of the Commission in all such matters is binding on the
President or, as the case may be, the Governor to whom such opinion is
tendered. The Commission has the power to disqualify a candidate who has
failed to lodge an account of his election expenses within the time and in the
manner prescribed by law. The Commission has also the power for removing or
reducing the period of such disqualification as also other disqualification under
the law.

Booth Level Officer[edit]

Booth Level Officer (BLO) is a local Government/Semi-Government official,
familiar with the local electors and generally a voter in the same polling area
who assists in updating the roll using his local knowledge. BLO is a
representative of Election Commission of India (ECI) at the grass-root level who
plays a pivotal role in the process of roll revision and collecting actual field
information with regard to the roll corresponding to the polling area assigned to
him.Under Section 13B (2) of Representation of People Act, 1950, BLOs are
appointed from amongst the officers of the Govt. /Semi Govt. /Local Bodies.
Generally, one BLO is responsible for one part of the electoral roll. From August
2006 the Commission has decided to introduce the concept of appointing BLOs
[9]
who would be accountable for ensuring the fidelity of electoral roll.

Secretariat[edit]
The Commission has a separate Secretariat at New Delhi, consisting of about
300 officials, in a hierarchical set up.[8] Two or three Deputy Election
Commissioners and Director Generals who are the senior most officers in the
Secretariat assist the Commission. They are generally appointed from the
national civil service of the country and are selected and appointed by the
Commission with tenure. Directors, Principal Secretaries, and Secretaries, Under
Secretaries and Deputy Directors support the Deputy Election Commissioners
and Director Generals in turn. There is functional and territorial distribution of
work in the Commission. The work is organised in Divisions, Branches and
sections; each of the last mentioned units is in charge of a Section Officer. The
main functional divisions are Planning, Judicial, Administration, Systematic
Voters' Education and Electoral Participation, SVEEP, Information Systems, Media
and Secretariat Co-ordination. The territorial work is distributed among separate
units responsible for different Zones into which the 35 constituent States and
Union Territories of the country are grouped for convenience of management.

At the state level, the election work is supervised, subject to overall

superintendence, direction and control of the Commission, by the Chief Electoral
Officer of the State, who is appointed by the Commission from amongst senior
civil servants proposed by the concerned state government. He is, in most of the
States, a full-time officer and has a small team of supporting staff.

At the district and constituency levels, the District Election Officers, Electoral
Registration Officers and Returning Officers, who are assisted by a large number
of junior functionaries, perform election work. They all perform their functions
relating to elections in addition to their other responsibilities. During election
time, however, they are available to the Commission, more or less, on a full-time
basis. The gigantic task force for conducting a countrywide general election
consists of nearly five million polling personnel and civil police forces. This huge
election machinery is deemed to be on deputation to the Election Commission
and is subject to its control, superintendence and discipline during the election
period, extending over a period of one and a half to two months.

Budget and Expenditure[edit]

Secretariat of the Commission has an independent budget, which is finalised
directly in consultation between the Commission and the Finance Ministry of the
Union Government. The latter generally accepts the recommendations of the
Commission for its budgets. The major expenditure on actual conduct of
elections is, however, reflected in the budgets of the concerned constituent units
of the Union – States and Union Territories. If elections are being held only for
the Parliament, the expenditure is borne entirely by the Union Government while
for the elections being held only for the State Legislature, the expenditure are
borne entirely by the concerned State. In case of simultaneous elections to the
Parliament and State Legislature, the expenditure is shared equally between the
Union and the State Governments. For Capital equipment, expenditure related to
preparation for electoral rolls and the scheme for Electors' Identity Cards too,
the expenditure is shared equally.[10]

Tenure[edit]
Main article: Chief Election Commissioner of India
The Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners have a tenure
of six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. The Chief Election
Commissioner can be removed from office only through impeachment by
Parliament.[5]

Judicial Review[edit]
Further information: Election petition

The decisions of the Commission can be challenged in the High Court and
the Supreme Court by appropriate petitions called as "Election petition". By long
standing convention and several judicial pronouncements, once the actual
process of elections has started, the judiciary does not intervene in the actual
conduct of the polls. Once the polls are completed and result declared, the
Commission cannot review any result on its own. This can only be reviewed
through the process of an election petition, which can be filed before the High
Court, in respect of elections to the Parliament and State Legislatures. In
respect of elections for the offices of the President and Vice-President, such
petitions can only be filed before the Supreme Court.[5]

National Voters' Day[edit]

25 January is the foundation day of the Commission, which came into being on
this day in 1950. It is also celebrated as National Voters' Day by ECI . The
Commission's objective through National Voters' Day is to increase enrolment of
voters, especially of the newly eligible ones, to make universal adult suffrage a
complete reality. The National Voters' Day is also utilised to spread awareness
among voters regarding effective participation in the electoral process. [11]

4th National Voters' Day[edit]

The Election Commission of India celebrated the 4th National Voters' Day across
the country on 25 January 2014 . The theme for the 4th NVD was 'Ethical Voting'.
NVD functions were held at more than 656,000 locations across the country
covering nearly all 900,000 Polling Stations. 39.1 million new electors were
added in the run up to the fourth National Voters' Day, among which 12.7 million
are the newly eligible 18-19yrs old.[11]
New Initiatives[edit]
The Commission has taken several new initiatives in the recent past. Notable
among these are: a scheme for use of State owned Electronic Media for
broadcast/telecast by Political parties, checking criminalisation of politics,
computerisation of electoral rolls, providing electors with Identity Cards,
simplifying the procedure for maintenance of accounts and filling of the same by
candidates and a variety of measures for strict compliance of Model Code of
Conduct, for providing a level playing field to contestants during the elections.[5]

Criticism[edit]
The Election Commission of India came into severe criticism when a RTI by
disability activist Dr Satendra Singh revealed it's ill-preparedness to safeguard
electors with disabilities in General Elections 2014.[12] There were many
violations of Supreme Court order from 2014 to enfranchise persons with
disabilities.[13]

MADHU KISHWAR

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the heat of final days of the Lok Sabha campaign, writer
Madhu Kishwar bats for Modi at the launch of her book Modi, Muslims and Media: Voices
from Narandra Modi's Gujarat, at Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday. While the book is an
attempt at fixing the trust deficit of Indian Muslims, Kishwar drags Congress into the mud,
saying the former Mayor from Gujarat Himmatsinh Patel and current Congress candidate
from Ahmedabad East had a major role to play in the 2002 riots. She also took a jibe at
Arvind Kejriwal saying "he could very well pull off being the president of Pakistan" given his
political ideology.

"The Congress conspired to create terror during the Godhra carnage. Sonia Gandhi presides
over the mafia. She only visits the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid during election time ... There
is a serious conspiracy by the Congress to paint Modi as a monster in the media. It is a well-
planned attack. The things that I saw for myself when I was in Gujarat researching for the
book, is not going to fit into one volume. I will bring out two more books. The second book -
Heroes of the Secular Brigade: A Rogue's Gallery (working title) - will be an in-depth study
of the propped up witnesses against Modi. Teesta Setalvad of the Best Bakery Case is a
Congress proxy, and is going to be jailed shortly for embezzling funds. The third book will
focus on the development in the coastal villages and earthquake rehabilitated areas," said
Kishwar, who reiterated that she is that she has no leanings to BJP's ideology and that her
only attempt was to figure out the truth about media's portrayal of Modi, whom she said she
met only in June 2013, six months into her research for the book.
Kishwar said Modi has a "static political energy" and that he is a friend of the Muslims.
"Modi's election campaign had created utter panic among Congressmen because he was
taking away its most loyal vote bank. The Muslim population, Dawoodi Bora youth, had
organised a motor cycle rally in support of Narendrabhai and they helped him win in Rajkot.
Do you think then Modi is mad to allow the massacre of people who supported him? Did
you know that as a newly appointed CM, Modi issued instructions to provide safe police
escort to the 6000 Haj pilgrims who were returning to Gujarat in March 2002, post Godhra
riots? They were from 400 different towns and villages of Gujarat," said Kishwar.

CRONY CAPITALISM

Ideological labels are likely to mislead by channelling the debate into issues of
capitalism and socialism and detract from the real problem
George Santayana said: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Having
forgotten the license-permit-quota-raj that enveloped us from 1950 to 1980 and its ‘crony socialism,’
many intellectuals, mediapersons and politicians have now discovered ‘crony capitalism.’ The license
raj consisted of stifling controls imposed on prices, production, capacity, investment, imports and
exports, capital markets, banking and finance, land, labour. This provided ample opportunities for
collusion between a corrupt government (politicians and bureaucrats), initially used to generate
money to run parties and fight elections, but gradually became a means of generating personal
income and wealth. Controls on pricing, production, investment and foreign trade in manufactured
goods were reduced in the 1980s and lifted in the 1990s. There was also a reduction in controls on
banking and finance and some simplification of taxes. This reduced the scope for corruption in
reformed areas.

Incentive for corruption

But controls remained in other areas, of which the most important (from the corruption perspective)
are government ownership of and/or control of land, minerals, energy and infrastructure. With
acceleration in the growth of demand for natural resources, generated by the faster growth of the
economy, rents inhering in these natural resources have risen, providing greater incentive for
corruption. This is particularly true of tradable natural resources in which global prices have shot up
(oil, coal, iron ore) and non-tradables (urban land, electricity, transport networks) in which the gap
between domestic demand and supply has widened. Rising growth rates have similarly raised the
rents implicit in public monopolies and the returns to those who control these monopolies.

As noted by Thakurta (2003), during the socialist era, “... Indian politicians were known to curry
favour with businessmen — licences and permits would be farmed out in return for handsome
donations during election campaigns. Indira Gandhi returned to power in 1980 and Dhirubhai
[Ambani] shared a platform with the then Prime Minister at a victory rally. He had also become very
close to the then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and the Prime Minister’s principal aide, R.K.
Dhawan.” For instance, in 1981, the then Maharashtra Chief Minister A.R. Antulay had to resign
following a media exposé alleging that he extorted millions of dollars from businesses dependent
on state resources and put in a private trust named after Indira Gandhi. “The Indian
Express detailed a host of ways in which the government had gone out of its way to assist the
Ambanis.” (Thakurta 2003) “In 1987, a customs show cause notice to Reliance Industries alleged
that: “Reliance appears to have unauthorizedly imported four additional spinning machines
(valued at Rs. 53.02 crore)...in a clandestine manner and without payment of customs duty (Rs.
119.64 crore) on these machines.” (Ninan 1987) No industrialist in India could dare to undertake
such activity in the heydays of Indian socialism, without making ‘campaign contributions’ to
cronies in the self-labelled “socialist” government.

More harm than good

A paper presented at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies, New Delhi (Economic
and Political Weekly, 2002), argued that the “government’s power to do harm has increased, while
its power to do good has reduced.” It detailed through examples and experiences how pervasive
and systemic corruption had become at all levels of government. Systemic corruption has been on a
worsening trend over the past four decades. The Commonwealth Games scam was exceptional
only in that money was spent in a short time to produce shoddy work under the nose of the
national media. It was merely a tip of the corruption iceberg that imposes a cut of one-fifth to half
on all payments for goods and services purchased by Central and State governments, the
Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) and Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) from suppliers. The
2G scam was in contrast an example of the use of government policy controls over resources to
create and extract rents. AnEconomic and Political Weekly (2000) paper on telecom reform had
argued that the only way to determine the correct market price for the spectrum over any
geographical area was through a competitive auction, which would allow any “natural resource
rents” inhering in the spectrum to be captured by the government. The 2G scam would have been
very difficult to execute if these policy recommendations had been adopted by the government
earlier. The manipulation of policy by the political executive to extract rents obviously requires
business partners (cronies) who will share the “resource rents” with the minister (thus jointly
cheating the national exchequer). But this has nothing to do with ‘crony capitalism’ and everything
to do with ‘corruption.’

Regulatory systems
A new opportunity for corruption in public contracting has arisen in the form of Public-Private
Partnership (PPP) contracts. Given the limited experience in this area, initial contracts had flaws
that could create opportunities for corruption. There is now sufficient experience of PPP in ‘natural
monopoly’ infrastructure, to modify these contracts and build corrective mechanisms into them.
Governments have also failed to build independent professional regulatory systems. Ministers who
treat regulatory appointments as sinecures for favoured officials need to be exposed as indulging
in (non-monetary) corruption.

Ideological labels like ‘crony capitalism’ are likely to mislead by channelling the debate into
philosophical-ideological issues of capitalism and socialism and detract from finding and
addressing the real problems. The real problem is the unprecedented and unique system of
government controls built under the Indian version of socialism. This has resulted in pervasive and
deep-rooted corruption. We need policy reforms that reduce the incentive for corruption and
institutional reforms that catch, try and punish the corrupt.

Degration of discourse:
Politics has increasingly become toxic, which doesn't augur well for democratic
institutions

In March 1977, Janata Party won the general elections, dethroning Congress. Atal Bihari
Vajpayee was appointed foreign minister. After being sworn-in, Vajpayee proceeded to
South Block where a bevy of officials escorted him into his new office.

Vajpayee was familiar with the building, having entered it many times as an opposition MP.
Now, coming in as the occupant, he spotted that something was missing. This was a portrait
of Jawaharlal Nehru. Sycophantic babus had removed it beforehand, judging this would
please a man who had just emerged from a jail sentence ordered by Nehru's daughter. To
their surprise, Vajpayee asked for it back. His first act as foreign minister was therefore to
undo a bureaucratic insult to the memory of India's first foreign minister.

When Vajpayee entered Parliament in 1957, he quickly made a mark as a speaker. Nehru
wrote him a letter of appreciation and invited him for a chat. Yet it was not merely that act
but a wider sense of the importance of civility in politics which lay behind Vajpayee's call for
the return of Nehru's portrait.

Nehru had once written (in July 1939) that, "In public life we must presume the bona fides
of each other...I trust that all our criticisms will be based on policy and not on personalities."
His hopes were largely fulfilled in the first two decades of Independence, when Parliament
was a theatre for intelligent debate. Politicians offered rival policies without casting
aspersions on the character of their opponents.

Now, however, speakers are shouted down by their rivals, mikes are flung around and
walkouts are frequent. As the distinguished sociologist Andre Beteille has written: "In the
noise and disorder generated in Parliament over (allegations of) scandalous misconduct by
someone somewhere, it becomes difficult to decide on the merits of the individual case. But
the long-term effect of continuous discord and disorder within Parliament is an erosion of
public trust in the institution itself."

The (mis)conduct of Parliament, Beteille further points out, is symptomatic of a wider

climate of poisonous partisanship. For a parliamentary democracy to function well, there
must be a minimum of trust between government and opposition. Policies must be analysed
on the basis of facts and arguments, not through accusations of personal advantage. This
basic level of trust exists in most democracies in Western Europe. But it has substantially
eroded in the US, and all but disappeared in our country.

And so, as Beteille remarks, in India today, "The chronic mistrust between government and
opposition impairs the foundation of democracy. Mistrust and suspicion on one side is met
with concealment and evasion on the other. The very purpose of shaping the opposition into
a responsible and legitimate political institution is frustrated."

Who was the first Indian politician to abandon argument for innuendo? At the national
level, it may have been Ram Manohar Lohia, who, when Indira Gandhi became prime
minister in 1966, dismissed her as a goongi gudiya (dumb doll), a remark staggeringly sexist
by the standards of our time, yet shameful even in the context of the 1960s.

In her own long reign as prime minister, Indira Gandhi sometimes resorted to sly innuendo
herself. She hinted that Swatantra and Jana Sangh leaders were in the pay of the Americans.
Once she even claimed that the great patriot Jayaprakash Narayan was acting at the behest
of foreign masters.

During and after the Indira years, political debate has become increasingly personalised.
Much of the innuendo has come from Congress, which, accustomed to seeing itself as the
natural and even permanent party of government, tends to dismiss all critics as malign and
motivated. Union ministers such as Kapil Sibal and Manish Tewari use language
unbecoming of their office and go unchecked by their party president or their prime
minister.

Congress is far from blameless; even so, no Indian politician may have made slander and
abuse so much a part of his political style as Narendra Modi. Campaigning for Gujarat
elections in 2002, he made continuous references to Sonia Gandhi's Italian origins and to
the fact that the chief election commissioner was also a Christian by birth. He was chastised
by Prime Minister Vajpayee for using "improper language" and making "indecorous
insinuations".
Now that Vajpayee is no longer in public life, Modi goes unchecked. His characterisation of
a Congress minister's wife as a "50-crore girlfriend" was entirely in keeping with his
approach to political debate. In a single week this past November, he made personal attacks
on Nitish Kumar, Sonia Gandhi and, above all, Rahul Gandhi. In one speech in
Chhattisgarh, Modi said the shehzada who pays Rs 100-200 for a bottle of water has been
professing concern for the poor. In another speech he asked if central funds came from
Rahul's 'mama's house' (mama as in maternal uncle, implying Italy).

In the run-up to the next general elections, a climate already polluted has been made
completely toxic. Yet after the polls, a new Parliament and government will have to be
constituted. How these shall function when there is so much venom and hatred abroad, is
anybody's guess.