Annoyed by the Centre’s utter disregard for a 2018 Constitution Bench judgment that sought greater disclosure of criminal history of electoral candidates, the Supreme Court has taken a tough stand. However, cleansing the political system cannot be achieved by guidelines and rulings issued by apex court and Election Commission alone, unless the political parties themselves take initiative to prohibit such candidates. Publication of criminal history of candidates will not make any impact, as people elect them, with huge margins, knowing fully well their criminal background. Further, the political parties may prefer publishing the criminal history of the tainted candidates rather than preventing them from contesting elections. Political parties are capable of furnishing convincing reasons for fielding tainted candidates. There are two options before the authorities for cleansing electoral politics. One, political parties should refrain from giving ticket to tainted candidates; two, Election Commission should reject the nominations of such candidates. (Editorial, “Choice and candidacy,” February 15).
D. Sethuraman,
Chennai
Though one welcomes the latest directive of the Supreme Court that all political parties should invariably publish the entire criminal history of the candidates which the State or Centre intend to field for the elections and also cite the reasons that prompted and provoked them to dole out tickets, I, for one, wonder why the apex court was so stoically silent over this cardinal issue, for years on end, since 1952 when the first General Elections were held in our country.
Had the Supreme Court cracked the whip in 1952 itself, one could not have seen such an alarming number, 43%, in the case of MPs with questionable backgrounds, in the year 2019.
One thing is crystal clear. Political parties, undoubtedly and wantonly, close their eyes to the criminal records of the candidates, even if some irregularities are noticed.
Has anyone come across any other government vacancy being filled up if the candidate had a proven criminal record? Such being the case, how come candidates chosen for the State or Centre elections with shady background are given tickets? A moot point to ponder.
Will the recent directive of the Supreme Court be followed in letter and spirit by the concerned? Doubtful indeed.
Mani Nataraajan,
Chennai
The hugely dismal performance of the Indian National Congress in the Delhi elections, which not only saw the party draw a blank but also witnessed almost all its candidates forfeiting their deposits, has perturbed several senior leaders and a chorus of demands for reinventing the party are being heard from various quarters. (“After Delhi defeat, Cong leaders for reinvention of party,” Feb. 16). Senior leader and former Union Minister Veerappa Moily has joined his colleagues in the Karnataka Congress and called for a serious introspection into the present state of affairs. Younger elements in the party like former Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia too have voiced their deep concern. However, it appears that as long as the Gandhis call the shots, the future of the Congress, as far as its electoral prospects are concerned, is extremely bleak. Discredited leaders like the former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, who turned ecstatic after AAP’s resounding victory oblivious to the rot in his own backyard, are only dragging the party deeper down the mire. It is unbelievable that this was the same party that ruled Delhi for 15 years at a stretch.
C.V. Aravind,
Bengaluru