Former Congress Minister Krishna Byre Gowda on Tuesday said that all parties, including the Congress, have dislodged State Governments by using their power at the Centre.
Participating in a discussion on electoral reforms in the Legislative Assembly, he said: “We (Congress) began this and the BJP has mastered the art of dislodging Governments. The JD(S) is not left out. In 1977, the then Janata Parivar also did a similar thing... One Nation, One Election is contrary to democracy. It will only lead to central ruling.”
Pointing out that election is a precursor to democracy, he said election in itself is not democracy. “What we are having now is managed democracy. We should be aware that our democracy is turning into an autocracy. I want India to remain a democracy. Today, there is an undeclared emergency in India,” he said.
Objecting, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J.C. Madhuswamy said Mr. Byre Gowda’s statement on autocracy cannot be accepted. At this point, there was chaos when ruling and opposition party members indulged in a verbal duel. Mr. Byre Gowda cited Russia’s example and asked: “Russia has elections but is that a democracy?”
Earlier, Mr. Byre Gowda pointed out that the lapses in other pillars of democracy - judiciary, executive and press - should also be looked into. “We must locate the decay in the electoral system in the context of overall decay in our system. I am not justifying the wrongs in the electoral system but what about the wrongs happening in the judiciary, executive and the press?” he asked. “Why do we see so many judgments that are delivered against justice? Let them discuss and analyse their lapses too.”
Discussing NOTA and poor voting percentage in urban areas, Mr. Byre Gowda said the idea of mandatory voting is contrary to the whole philosophy of democracy which rests on free will. “Voting cannot be mandatory. Voters should be motivated to choose their representative,” he said.
Intervening, Mr. Madhuswamy said there is both representative democracy and participative democracy. “Whether you like it or not, you have to participate under participative democracy,” he said.
Missing EVMs
Former Congress Minister H.K. Patil on Tuesday challenged the Election Commission of India (EC) to disprove allegations on the 19 lakh missing Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the country.
“There are huge disparities between the accounting of the number of EVMs the ECI had received over a period of time and the supply records of the manufacturers. We should seek an explanation from the ECI on this. In fact, they should come forward to explain. They are privileged to come and depose before this House,” he said.
Intervening former Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar, said the Election Commission has lost its credibility. “The EC is totally to be blamed and not any political party. It has no credibility. We should pass a resolution asking the EC to give an explanation,” he said.
Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri asked Mr. Patil to submit all details to him. “I will see how I can get a reply from the Election Commission,” he said.
