The Hindu Business Line : Creating voter awareness

Periodical elections alone do not a democracy make. Genuine democracy calls for the involvement of citizens not just in casting the ballots once in a while but in acting as watchdogs in the period between elections. Without their assuming such a role, it will be impossible to ensure that the functioning of the political parties, legislatures and all the branches and agencies of governments conforms to the strictest norms of competence and integrity.

It is because the political class as a whole, comprising political parties, party members, political cadres and workers, elected representatives and Ministers, has been immune from such a sustained and critical scrutiny that they have been able to get away with literally murders. If only the voters choose to exercise the power of franchise decisively and wisely, it is not beyond them to bring about a change in the style and substance of governance and, as sovereign masters, enforce accountability and good conduct on the representatives elected by them.

The biggest challenge

Conversely, if they find those elected by them are inept and corrupt, and causing grave harm to the body politic, besides setting an obnoxious example to others of their ilk and to the coming generations, they should realise that it is they who have poked their eye with their own fingers and have forfeited all right to complain.

The biggest challenge before the people of India in the coming election for the Lok Sabha is to make it the first of its kind in respect of pressuring political parties to nominate the right kind of candidates with a good record of public service. To enable them to make their choice based on full information, civil society organisations should go into the contents of the affidavits filed by the candidates disclosing their criminal antecedents and assets and liabilities, and advise on their suitability or otherwise for being elected.

Waking up the voters

If the same candidate has stood for, and won, previous elections, and especially if he had served as a Minister, his assets should be scrutinised with extra care to see if they have risen steeply to levels that are inherently unaccountable or disproportionate, and the fact publicised throughout the constituency. Side by side, the civil society organisations should also ascertain from the Income-Tax authorities and Enforcement Directorate the nature of the action taken by them on any suspicious-looking accretion to the candidate’s wealth, and make it known to the public at large.

The Catalyst Trust, a non-governmental organisation of Chennai, devoted to clean politics, good governance and citizen awareness, which had done a remarkable job of waking up the voters to their sacred responsibility in the past few elections, is planning to intensify and expand the scope of its coverage for the coming Lok Sabha election so as to have the people’s will effectively reflected in the behaviour of the political class and their wishes respected by it. The 200 or so Citizens Centres that it has helped to come up in various districts of Tamil Nadu should prove to be of great advantage in enlisting the support of the people at the grass roots and give its efforts a flying start.

It has been fortunate in getting the former Chief Election Commissioner, Mr T. S. Krishnamurthy, to lead the campaign, with the assistance of a committee of non-political personalities and organisations pre-eminent in their own fields of achievement.

All we can do is to wish them Godspeed and the success they will surely deserve!

B. S. RAGHAVAN

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