The stranglehold of political parties on the electoral and political system continues to increase with time. The anti-defection law, passed in 1985, formalised the control of political parties even on Parliament. Despite a large number of candidates on the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM), the candidates with a realistic chance of getting elected are two […]
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A question of election funding
Illustration by Tanmoy Chakraborty The Election Commission of Indias reported response, to a Right to Information (RTI) application, stating that political parties are not within the purview of the RTI created quite a stir. To quote the ECI: [The] requisite information is not available [with] the Commission. This is related to political parties and […]
Know your leaders: 24% of newly-elected Karnataka MLAs face serious criminal charges
By Maj. Gen. Anil Verma (Retd) The results are in for Karnataka but the jury is out as to who will provide a stable government due to the hung verdict of the electorate. The next two weeks will be full of political action and drama with the Governor, Opposition, BJP and the Supreme Court […]
Need to change electoral system to serve people – By Prof. Trilochan Sastry
Even a T-20 match could not have been more exciting. But the stakes in elections are far higher than in a cricket match. Right up to the end, the BJP was moving towards a decisive win and there were celebrations about it forming a government on its own. At the last moment, the results […]
No demand for Electoral Bonds of smaller denomination
There was an intense debate around the introduction of electoral bonds by the government. Data obtained from SBI reveals that there is hardly any demand for electoral bonds of smaller denomination while 99.9% of bonds sold in terms of amount are of Rs 10 lakh & Rs 1 crore denomination. The Electoral Bonds were first […]
Know your candidate: 15% Karnataka poll hopefuls face criminal charges
The Karnataka state polls are scheduled for May 12. Credit: Wikimedia Commons. By Anil Verma With only a few days remaining before the Karnataka state polls scheduled for May 12, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) analysed the affidavits of about 96% of the candidates. The study revealed some shocking facts about gender disparity, as well as the […]
पारदर्शिता से परहेज करते राजनीतिक दल
केन्द्रीय सूचना आयोग के फैसले को डस्टबिन में डालने के बाद सरकार राजनीतिक दलों को सूचना अधिकार कानून 2005 के दायरे से बाहर करने की जुगत में है। सरकार के इस प्रस्ताव पर लेफ्ट-राइट किसी के भी ऐतराज करने की गुंजाइश नहीं है। पारदर्शिता और खुलासा हमेशा से ‘पड़ोस’ की वस्तु रहे हैं और राजनीतिक […]
Gujarat Reservation Stir: Where Do the Fault Lines Lie? – The Big Picture
Guests: Aakar Patel, Columnist and political analyst ; Prof. Jagdeep Chhokar, former Director, IIM-Ahmedabad and founder-member of National Election Watch ; Ajay Gudavarthy, Assistant Professor, Centre for Political Studies, JNU ; Anand Vyas, Bureau Chief, Janambhoomi ; Vishal Dahiya, Correspondent, RSTV. Anchor: Girish Nikam Gujarat Reservation Stir: Where Do the Fault Lines Lie? – The Big Picture
Debate on ADR’s PIL to bring Political Parties under RTI
राष्ट्रीय राजनीतिक दलों को RTI के दायरे में लाने के मामले में सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने केंद्र सरकार, चुनाव आयोग और 6 राष्ट्रीय राजनीतिक दलों को नोटिस देकर 6 हफ्तों में जवाब मांगा है। इन पार्टियों में बीजेपी, कांग्रेस, एनसीपी, बीसपी, सीपीआई और सीपीएम शामिल हैं। एडीआर ने सुप्रीम कोर्ट में याचिका दाखिल की थी। वकील […]
NGOs’ foreign funds and a trust deficit
There is no organised conspiracy against NGOs. It is in the nature of power to exercise greater control, and exempt itself from accountability. The recent changes in the rules governing foreign funding of NGOs under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) have been widely discussed. The last word on it will perhaps never be written. […]