The former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi said here on Saturday that there was an urgent need to “untwine the money-electability connect” as it had benefited only the “electable.”
Speaking after introducing the former Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi’s book An Undocumented Wonder — The Making of the Great Indian Election , Mr. Gandhi called upon the stakeholders to fight the “tsunami of money power in politics.” That might seem daunting, but that had to be accomplished, he said.
Politicians might not be interested in bringing about the required reforms to curb money power, but people comprised the general body in the electoral process and hence the Election Commission must reflect their aspirations by fighting money power, he said.
Mr. Gandhi pointedly noted the establishment of the Expenditure Monitoring Department in the commission by Dr. Quraishi, and said it was a significant step in reining in unwanted money play in the electoral process.
Another former Chief Election Commissioner T.S. Krishnamurthy pointed out that the right to recall must be introduced to curb errant politicians and stamp out electoral malpractices. The “first-past-the-post” concept had outlived its utility in India and the concept must be changed,” he said.
Dr. Quraishi termed the Indian general elections as the biggest human event, more than just a political exercise.
The former Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalswami said the book was a comprehensive exercise that threw light on various aspects of conducting elections.
The former bureaucrat M.G. Devasahayam gave selected readings from the book.
