India’s
Politicians Close Ranks To Derail Poll Reforms
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| Congress Party's Sonia Gandhi and BJP's Advani in Parliament |
By
Md. Zeyaul Haque, Special to IslamOnline
NEW
DELHI, August 3 (IslamOnline) - In a rare display of unanimity,
India’s politicians across the entire ideological spectrum have come
together to water down poll reforms suggested by the Supreme Court of
India and the Election Commission.
The
Supreme Court had, in a landmark order on May 2, desired that persons
seeking election to state or national legislature should declare their
financial assets (as well as those of their family members) and their
criminal antecedents (if any) at the time of filing their nomination
papers before election presiding officers.
Taking
a cue from the apex court, the Election Commission (EC) passed, on
June 28, the rule that people seeking election to state or central
legislatures would have to declare their assets and criminal
antecedents before presiding officers, who would have the right to
cancel candidatures of people whose financial assets had not been
declared properly, or who had been ivolved in cases of serious
offences.
Election
presiding officers are bureaucrats and, as government employees, come
next to the politicians in the pecking order. Politicians as public
representatives are ultimate masters.
Politicians
reacted sharply to the Election Commission rule empowering presiding
officers to reject improperly furnished nomination papers. They moved
on to enact legislation overturning EC rules, restoring the
superiority of the political class over bureaucracy.
On
July 15, the central government circulated a draft bill saying for a
politician's candidature to be cancelled, he or she would have to be
charge-sheeted in at least two criminal cases over the last six
months.
However,
Friday, August 2, the politicians decided in the final bill presented
to Parliament (to be later turned into an “Act” of legislation)
that for disqualification a politician would have to be
"convicted" and awarded a "two-year or longer"
prison term. The politicians were unanimous that mere charges against
somebody should not prevent him or her from contesting elections.
The
bill seeks to amend Representation of People Act, and is appropriately
called Representation of People (Amendment) Bill, 2002.
The
more important dilution came in the financial assets-declaration rule
of the EC. The politicians decided that instead of declaring financial
assets before the election, a politician would have to declare it
after election to the Speaker [chairman] of the lower house of
Parliament or the deputy chairperson of the upper house of Parliament,
depending upon which house the person is elected to.
This
effectively scuttles the Supreme Court’s order to enlighten voters
on critical aspects of the person’s life whom they are going to
elect.
The
bill, which would be turned into law in the current session of
Parliament, also reasserts the supremacy of politicians over
government officials, howsoever high. 
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