Constitutional Body fails to uphold Constitution?

Pradakshina

Election Commission being a Constitutional apparatus is a part of the state machinery, designated to conduct Free and Fair elections in democratic India, therefore it begs the question whether or not it is mandated to uphold the nation’s unity and integrity, and it’s secular democratic values?

The Role of Election Commission

The Election Commission of India is a constitutional authority under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, and is responsible for the conduct of elections at the national level, state level and local level (municipality, panchayat etc.). The body administers elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies, State Legislative Councils and the offices of the President and Vice President of the country.

The Election Commission operates under the authority of Constitution per Article 324, and subsequently enacted Representation of the People Act. The Commission has the powers under the Constitution, to act in an appropriate manner when the enacted laws make insufficient provisions to deal with a given situation in the conduct of an election. The Election Commission was established on 25th January 1950 in accordance with five Articles in Part XV (Elections) of the Constitution. The Constituent Assembly was concerned mainly with ensuring the independence of the Election Commission. Article 324 vests "in an Election Commission" the "superintendence, direction and control of elections". Parliament enacted The Representation of the People Act, 1950 and later enlarged the powers of the Commission in 1951. A law for the registration process for political parties was enacted in 1989, which ensures that the political parties are brought under the purview of the commission. The election commission allots symbols to the political parties, gives recognition to the national parties, state parties and regional parties. It sets limits on poll expenses. The Commission prepares electoral rolls and updates the voters’ list from time to time.

Is the EC doing it’s duty?

What is Election Commission’s (EC) role in containing and restraining separatist, divisive, communal, nation-breaking agendas of political forces? Is it’s role limited only to the mechanics of conducting elections, which is the scheduling of elections, moving paramilitary forces for security, organizing voting machines and designating polling duties, and lastly counting of votes and declaring results; in other words organizing the logistics and coordinating polls in various states and at the national level. Or does EC have a bigger constitutional mandate as a part of the `state apparatus’. A few examples suffice.

Separatist tendencies?

In October 2020, a total of seven political parties in Jammu and Kashmir - National Conference, PDP, CPI, CPM, PC, JKPM, and ANC allied to restore Article 370 and thereby return J&K to its special status-it was called the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD). Farooq Abdullah of the National Conference was Chairman and PDP’s Mehbooba Mufti was the Vice-Chairperson of Gupkar Alliance. The alliance came together to contest the District Council polls, which were held for the first time ever in the state; Ironically the elections were possible only because Article 370 was abrogated, as J&K didn't have the three-tier Panchayati Raj System earlier. The Gupkar Alliance openly declared it’s allegiance to a separate Kashmiri flag and a different Constitution, and demanded that the separatist divisive Article 370 must be reinstated. Article 370 was abrogated by the supreme authority of Indian parliament on

5th August 2019, which eventually allowed integration of the state with the rest of the country. Therefore the question arises whether EC can allow political parties, which openly go against the same Parliament and Constitution?

Mr Farooq Abdullah is a MP from J&K’s Srinagar parliamentary constituency, in a by-poll held in 2017, the total voting percentage in the entire constituency was less than 7% and yet Mr Abdullah was declared an elected MP. EC’s manual may not have a rule as to what could be done when there are no voters. Yet EC in all it’s wisdom, could have taken the decision to forego the election held as they were no voters, and not make a mockery of the sacred duty of sending members to the Parliament. Yet the EC didn’t take a call, and declared him a winner. Even in the recent 2019 elections, the voter turnout in the same Srinagar constituency has been about 13%, a little higher than 2017. So when unusual circumstances arise, which may not have been listed in the manuals that the august body follows, is it not incumbent upon them to weigh-in on the situation? One wonders if the EC is only a logistics and coordination machinery or a constitutional authority with some powers vested in it?

A political party from Tamilnadu, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) has two seats in Parliament including it’s leader Mr Thirumavalavan. It was formerly Dalit Panthers Party and claims to fight caste-discrimination. In 2019 parliamentary elections, they contested as a part of DMK alliance. Even officially, this party has always been a strong supporter of the `freedom movement’ of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka and had also demanded that President of Srilanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa be charged with war crimes for the killings of Tamil people during the civil war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). VCK party along with DMK, DK, NTK formed Tamil Eelam Supporters Organization (TESO). It is no secret that some of these groups harbor the idea of a `Tamil country’ encompassing Tamilnadu and parts of Srilanka, and idolize slain LTTE commander Prabakaran. These parties also openly play casteist politics for `dalit vote’ consolidation and do not shy away from declaring themselves against Hindutva and Hindu texts; they called for a ban on `Manusmriti’ and demanded extending reservations to `converted Christians’. Significantly, VCK also won 4 assembly seats in the recently held Tamilnadu Assembly elections.

Is the EC unaware of the political proclivities of some separatist political parties, and has no concerns about such parties and their leaders getting elected to Indian parliament? They may duly swear-in and declare their allegiance to the `unity and integrity’ of the country, but who can predict what activities they may indulge in future? In any case, why would EC allow separatist parties to contest in elections?

Caste and religious vote-banks?

Appealing to voters in the name of caste, community, religion and region is fairly common and has been going on for decades in Indian politics. It is not clear whether EC has ever taken any action on the political parties leaning on casteist or religious vote-banks. Parties openly appeal for various vote-banks- dalit/yadav/muslim/christian/so-called `dravidian’ parties and camouflage their vote-banks in the name of ubiquitous `social justice’ or `identity politics’. No one is left with any doubt on the intentions of these political parties except perhaps EC. Even in recent West Bengal Assembly elections, TMC leader Sheikh Alam in an election rally said that Muslims are 30%of the population and if they come together, they can easily form 4 Pakistans. Similarly Badruddin Ajmal, an Alliance partner of Congress in Assam is known to make several controversial statements with communal undertones. Although there was condemnation of such highly communal and divisive statements, EC is found lacking in its duty yet again and has refrained from taking any kind of action. West Bengal election is an example of clear and present danger of what happens when consolidated, focused and near-unanimous voting of one major community takes place and how politics of communal appeasement clearly wins the mandate.

Generally speaking, just as political parties in Northern India appeal to casteist and muslim vote-banks, in Southern India, an additional Christian vote-bank needs to be factored, especially in Kerala, Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh. It is ofcourse highly curious that except in Kerala, Christian population Officially doesn’t exceed 5% of the overall population in any other southern state, yet their vote-banks are humongous. There are thousands of churches catering to this miniscule population, with overflowing congregations. Andhra Pradesh has even seen a particular political party canvassing in innumerable churches, promising `God’s rule’ in AP, and which later succeeded in winning consecutive elections. Even though direct canvassing in churches in secular India is not widely reported in the regional media, it is still not unknown to the general public. In contrast to these religious-political appeals in churches and mosques during elections, the Hindu temples have never been known to make such appeals. It is well-known that Shahi Imams from Jama-masjids have appealed in the past for a particular political party, and Archbishops of various states have appealed to their congregations, on their official letter-heads too, to vote for a particular party, and even more definitely not to vote for another particular party.

However, the question arises why EC has never taken action against any of these offenders or even questioned the beneficiary political parties. Why did EC never show any interest in upholding the secular values of the Constitution? How does religious interference from two major sections of the Indian population tantamount to `free and fair’ elections?

`Free and fair’ elections or freebie elections?

In a predominantly south Indian phenomenon, increasingly in the last 2-3 decades, elections have been a supermarket of sorts, where political parties have been promising every conceivable thing `free’ to the electorate. The Indian voting public has been receiving the largesse of a benevolent state, which even the world’s richest nations couldn’t afford to do. The old practice of cash for votes being cast is still going on unabated in southern states, virtually getting institutionalized. Apart from that, fans, TVs, grinders, mixies, laptops have got added to the hamper of free goodies. The `welfare state’ has metamorphosized into a `freebie’ state, with reckless spending running into thousands of crores to fulfill poll promises, once the political party comes to power and forms the government. Recently an MP from Andhra Pradesh, Sri Raghuramakrishna Raju has officially mentioned the commercial part of elections in the Parliament, although it’s doubtful if Parliament will take notice, as parliamentarians belong to the same political parties. When voters are thus lured into voting for a political party in exchange for free goods and benefits, how does the election itself remain `free and fair’? Why doesn’t the EC take action against this reckless profligacy which has pushed the states into debt?

When a Constitutionally mandated body is derelict in it’s most sacred duty of holding elections in the world’s largest, and arguably the oldest democracy, which other institution will protect the country? Does EC recognize that it allows the political parties to cater to separatist and divisive tendencies? Does EC realize that elections are the arena in which political parties seek votes in the name of caste, community, religion and region? Does it understand that societal rifts along caste and religious lines are being created, that new hitherto non-existent vote-banks are being formed, and old fault-lines are exploited ruthlessly? It is absolutely necessary for EC to realize it’s own sacred mandate and do everything possible to uphold the unity and integrity of the nation, before it’s too late. No constitutional wing of the `state’, is above the nation.

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