Correcting electoral rolls in a society like India’s has to be done the hard way — going door to door. Quick fixes and tech solutions like Aadhaar can do more harm than good The issue of linking India’s voters’ list with the Aadhaar database is in news again with the surreptitious passage of The […]
Reforms must begin with the Election Commission itself, says ADR co-founder
“A law and a collegium for appointment of the CEC and ECs and securing the tenure of them all alone will give EC to confidence to act independently, says Prof Jagdeep S. Chhokar.” Prof Chhokar speaks to Sanjukta Basu, from National Herald, on the struggle for free and fair elections. The Election Commission says linking […]
Apprehensions persist over electoral bonds
Only 15 regional parties received donations through electoral bonds, the highest amount being BJD’s Rs264 crore. For the Opposition parties, electoral bonds pose the fear of omission (being starved of funds) and the fear of commission — being traced and harassed by the ED and CBI. How would you like to play a game in […]
There’s Not Much to Celebrate in EC Saying Candidates Have to Declare Criminal Records
All that the announcement does is to follow exactly what several judgments of the Supreme Court have ordered. The announcement of the schedule for elections for five state assemblies was a much anticipated event. What attracted attention of some observers was the inclusion of requirements for disclosure of criminal antecedents by candidate and political parties […]
Why Has the EC Brought Back the Dangerous Proposal to Link Voter IDs With Aadhaar?
Despite the ECI’s enquiries and reassurances, there is a fairly widespread impression that the attempted linking of electoral roll data with Aadhaar may have resulted in the disenfranchisement of legitimate voters. After a gap of six years, the dubious linkage between voters IDs with Aadhaar numbers is back in the news. It was reported on […]
बहुत जरूरी हैं चुनाव सुधार
हाल ही में हैदराबाद की एक विशेष अदालत ने तेलंगाना राष्ट्र समिति की सांसद कविता मलोथ को छह महीने कारावास की सजा सुनायी है. कविता ने 2019 लोकसभा चुनाव में अपने पक्ष में मतदान के लिए लोगों को पैसे बांटे थे. चुनाव के दौरान मतदाताओं को पैसे बांटने के लिए किसी पदस्थ सांसद को अपराधी […]
‘EC needs to do course correction’
PROF JAGDEEP S CHHOKAR is one of the founding members of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) — one of the leading voluntary organisations dedicated to strengthening democracy and improving governance in the country. He has worked for electoral reforms through the judicial system by filing Public Interest Litigations in the higher judiciary to get […]
करप्शन का बैरोमीटर:भ्रष्टाचार में हम एशिया में नंबर वन! कैसे मिलेगी इस बीमारी से मुक्ति?
ट्रांसपेरेंसी इंटरनेशनल की ताजा रिपोर्ट “ग्लोबल करप्शन बैरोमीटर फॉर एशिया’ के अनुसार भ्रष्टाचार के मामले में भारत अब एशिया में शीर्ष पर है। इस रिपोर्ट के अनुसार करीब 50 फीसदी लोगों को अपना काम निकलवाने के लिए रिश्वत देनी पड़ी। इनमें से 63 फीसदी ने इस डर से काई शिकायत भी नहीं की कि इससे […]
Ballot choices crying for clean sweep of criminal taint
The apex court has asked parties and candidates to widely publicise criminal histories in local and national newspapers, as well as on social media, including Twitter and Facebook. The published material must list details of the offence, charges framed, etc. The party has to explain why the candidate was chosen despite the criminal taint. Merely […]
The charade of limits on election expenditure by candidates
The Election Commission recently mooted connecting electoral expense limits to population and inflation; but will that create a level playing field between rich and poor candidates? “Indian politicians start their legislative careers with a lie — the false spending returns they submit? – Atal Bihari Vajpayee” Achchhe din (Good days) are here for at least one category of persons in India: […]