SC has batted big for transparency by dismissing SBI’s plea for more time to disclose electoral bonds info. People have a right to be aware of political party funding before they go to polling booths On March 11, SC took up two petitions of national importance. One was State Bank of India’s plea seeking extension […]
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 […]
Beyond the binary of a Supreme Court ruling and the Modi government’s disquieting new Bill lies a fresh perspective on limiting executive control over EC appointments. This ‘new’ perspective goes back to prescient Constituent Assembly debates. In its 73-year journey as a constitutionally mandated body in charge of conducting elections to Parliament, state assemblies, and […]
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 […]