The Hindu Business Line : No follow-up

Some years ago, voluntary organisations working for clean politics, good governance and voter awareness came together under the banner of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) to launch a powerful and tenacious campaign, and forced the Government to accept the Election Commission's (EC) proposal to require candidates for elections to the State and Central legislatures to file, along with their nomination papers, affidavits disclosing details of criminal cases in which they were accused or convicts, their moveable and immoveable assets, and their educational qualifications, so as to enable the electorate to form informed judgment about their suitability.

Thanks to the publication of the contents of the affidavits on the EC Web site, and also their being made available to the voters and the media, there is no dearth of information on those contesting the elections. But it now appears that the ADR had not really thought through the nature and modalities of the follow-up action to be taken on it. Further, some of the members of the ADR have also allowed their neutral standing to be compromised by becoming members of the committees set up by the ruling establishments.

The result is that the mass of particulars of those elected to representative bodies is lying unused for the purpose for which it was intended: To expose the law-breaking proclivities, if any, of the law-makers; to have the sources of assets scrutinised by the tax authorities; and to adopt measures to mobilise people in the form of another powerful campaign for legislation to weed out criminal elements from Cabinets, legislative forums and the hustings.

The ADR itself could undertake the preliminary work of analysing the immense quantity of data to suggest the lines of investigation and to give a thrust to the trial of cases involving serious criminal or economic offences, besides making public the unsavoury profiles of those purporting to represent the people. And the sooner the better.

B.S. RAGHAVAN