The original petition requested only for the EB scheme to be declared unconstitutional. The SC did that but went ahead and also issued directions to SBI and ECI to ensure full implementation of the judgment. This initiative of the apex court must be acknowledged and commended 8 pm of March 14, 2024, was somewhat reminiscent […]
Exposure to public scrutiny is one of the known means for getting courageous and credible people to govern. On 15th February 2024, the Supreme Court of India finally paid much-needed tribute to that little man, a citizen, a voter whose contributions to a participatory democracy were incessantly disparaged by the political establishments in recent times. It is […]
This article is an interview of Prof Chhokar, Founder Member and Trustee of ADR, with Indian News Weekly. At the last moment of elections, the Supreme Court has created an uproar among political parties by declaring the ‘Electoral Bond Scheme’ unconstitutional. For the ruling party, this was such a system of getting access from […]
This article is an interview of Prof Chhokar, Founder Member and Trustee of ADR, with Scroll.in. On Thursday, the Supreme Court reserved its judgement on a batch of petitions challenging the appointment process of election commissioners, the officers who comprise the Election Commission – the body responsible for conducting national and state elections. Scroll.in spoke […]
This article is an interview of Prof Chhokar, Founder Member and Trustee of ADR, with Civil Society Online. Promises fly thick and fast during election time. Political parties seek to outdo one another in getting the attention of voters. In the heat of the moment, mostly anything goes and voters are none the wiser […]
If a candidate makes an outlandish election promise, it is for the voter to decide whether to buy it or not. While the central poll panel labours over what is essentially a policy matter, an election practice that is actually problematic is not getting its attention In 1999, the Association for Democratic Reforms filed a […]
Promises of welfare spending should not be equated to a reckless freebie culture or a race to the bottom. It must be understood that welfare spending is essential to partly redress the widening inequality in Indian society India has been managing the world’s largest and longest running free food programme since April 2020. This is […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]