A case against politicians

The primacy of the “people” in the Indian Constitution is etched in stone, and there is nothing, as long as the Constitution lasts, that can upset it. It is also true that, generally, people anywhere and everywhere would like to be led by the best leaders that are available. In India, this would translate into getting a “clean” set of leaders to guide the nation’s destiny, as long as they are in power, which is for a renewable period of five years.

If the above formulation is accepted as valid, it follows that Indian citizens as a whole would like the people they elect to be “good” people, and “goodness”, generally speaking, does not go hand in hand with court convictions for acts breaking the law of the land. In normal circumstances, no parent would want his or her child to grow up into a criminal but rather into a citizen who stands out in society for his “good” thoughts and deeds.

SUPREME COURT RULING

On July 10, the Supreme Court passed an order striking down the provision in the electoral law which allowed MPs, MLAs or MLCs, who have appealed against specific offences for which they have been convicted, to continue till the court ruling on their case. The Court ordered that such persons would become “immediately” ineligible for membership of the legislative bodies following such conviction.

The Supreme Court also directed that no such person would be allowed to contest elections for a period of six years after completing his or her jail sentence, if any. In other words, following effective implementation of the judgement, the nation’s Parliament and State Assemblies will have a “cleaner” membership in the eyes of the law which, among other things, should merge more completely with the scheme of things envisaged by the Constitution. A cleaner Parliament and State Assemblies would serve better the cause of protecting those rights.

The “political class” is a part of the “people” in the broad sense of the term, and there is no reason why this class of citizens in a Parliamentary democracy should be given precedence over the other social segments.

POLITICAL RESPONSE

It is, therefore, preposterous that some politicians have been brazen enough to ask for a review of the Supreme Court ruling on the ground that it may encourage political rivals to slap false cases on each other. What is beneficial for the general good of society is being held hostage to the interests of just a section of it. Briefly, political parties should frame rules to prevent their members from instituting false cases against their rivals. If they cannot do so they should tell the world of their inability in this regard, allowing people to decide what exactly is wrong with our political system.

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