GFILES NATIONAL INTEREST INITIATIVE | election reforms

GFILES NATIONAL INTEREST INITIATIVE
election reforms
A citizens’ petition from Punjab, pleading for change
To

Her Excellency, The President,
Republic of India,
Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi

His Excellency, The Vice-President,
Republic of India,
New Delhi

Hon’ble Prime Minister of India,
North Block, New Delhi

Hon’ble Speaker,
Lok Sabha, New Delhi

Hon’ble Chief Justice of India,
New Delhi

Hon’ble Chief Election Commissioner,
New Delhi

Subject : Need and request for Electoral Reforms to enable Indian democracy to survive the onslaught of criminals and corrupt politicians

Most respectfully and with high hopes, we, the voter-citizens of India, whose signatures are appended herewith (eleven thousand seven hundred plus), humbly approach you to kindly pay attention to the degenerated and further fast degenerating electoral system of the country. Since this more than eleven thousand number is based on only one voter member signing for the whole family, the number of voters directly represented is more than forty-seven thousand. Interestingly, not even a single voter, when explained, gave a second thought while signing this petition. We ourselves have restricted the number of signatories, because of the volume of paper involved. Otherwise, crores of voters would be eager to sign this petition. 
Through the election system we are following, political power has already gone into the hands of the moneyed and muscled corrupt and criminals, because our elections have come to depend solely on money and muscle power. Even the Prime Minister of India has lamented that educated, honest, service-minded persons are not coming forward in the field of politics. Not only that, educated and well informed middle and upper class voters seem to have lost faith and interest in voting itself because they, more often than not, find that none of the candidates fielded by the political parties and Independents come up to their expectations. Most of today’s politicians have lost the respect of the people. This leads to low voting percentage, particularly of the educated and better-informed voters of the country. It is only the poor, ignorant and uneducated persons whose votes are mopped up by the moneyed and muscled politicians. As a result, our democracy has degenerated into government by the poor and ignorant people, of the unconcerned and indifferent bureaucracy and for the corrupt politicians. 
While celebrating the 61st Republic Day of India, at the Pensioner Bhawan, Ludhiana, more than 400 retired persons, including high-ranking civil servants, educationists, defence officers and professionals, deliberated on the issue with deep concern and felt that the present system of elections is highly inimical to the healthy development of our democracy and, if left as such, will lead to total chaos in the society. After long and sustained deliberations, we came to the following solution of the problem, which will give an adequate chance to our democracy to survive the onslaught of criminals and corrupt politicians and put it back on the path to healthy development. We put forward these suggestions for your consideration and humbly request you with all the seriousness at our command to save Indian democracy. Your considered action at this stage will leave an indelible positive mark on our democracy, for which future generations will remain ever grateful to you. The election system we propose is detailed below:

A :

In the keyboard of the voting machine add one red button at the top, indicating NOBODY. This will give a choice to the voter to reject all the candidates if he or she does not consider anyone up to the mark.

• The red button votes should be counted just as the votes of all other candidates are counted.
• The winning candidate must obtain votes more than the number of red button (Nobody) votes.
• If no candidate gets more than Red Button/Nobody votes, this would mean the majority of the voters do not elect/approve any of the candidates.
• In such a situation, the elections of such constituencies/ wards should be cancelled and held anew.
• In such an eventuality, all the candidates that got rejected by the voters should be debarred for six years from contesting elections.

B :

The elections should be held at government account/cost :

• The government should set up stages/pandals at prominent places in every Assembly/Parliamentary constituency.
• The number of stages (say 15-25) will depend on the size and spread of the constituency.
• Every candidate (party nominee or Independent) should get an equal chance by turn to address the voters from every stage/podium/pandal on his/her programme or vision or election manifesto.
• These pandals/podiums should be provided with adequate security, day and night, during the period of campaigning.
• No candidate should be allowed to contact the voters individually or make door-to-door calls. Because it is the individual contact or door-to-door campaigning when intoxicants, money or other considerations are passed on to the voters. No one can distribute these considerations from the podiums or pandals.
• Hence, any candidate (directly or through his/her agent/supporter) found contacting the voters individually should be considered to be indulging in electoral malpractices, which should render the concerned candidate liable to be disqualified.
• Political parties can be allotted time on TV and radio channels for putting forth their manifestoes/programmes to the people.
• The nomination fees may be increased to Rs 25,000 or more to partially meet the election expenses incurred by the government on providing pandals and security.

These steps will in totality reduce the economic costs of elections and will set healthy traditions. We are conscious that even if, overall, it may involve some additional expenses, it will be only once. This cost will, however, certainly pay back many fold in its turn by filtering out the criminals and the corrupt from the highly sacred and powerful profession of politics. In the following round, after cancellation of elections in affected constituencies, and for the future, the political parties and individuals will think a hundred times before putting up their candidatures.
We most humbly make a fervent appeal once again that our request on these proposals may be given serious thought and implemented in order to enable our democracy to survive the onslaught of criminals and corrupt politicians, who have made nefarious inroads into the political set-up of the country. Honourable Sirs and Excellencies, the future of our highly valued Indian democracy is in your hands. If some solid action on these lines is not taken at this stage, doom will come calling on our otherwise vibrant society.

Most respectfully, we, the voter-citizens of India :1. Dr. S. S. Johl (Awarded Padma Bhushan), Ex-Vice- Chancellor, 2920, Gurdev Nagar, Ludhiana (Punjab), Mob: +91-98151-86766
2. S. P. Karkara, IAS (Retd), President, Senior Citizens Welfare Association, 32 Swami Vivekananda Vihar, Ludhiana, Mob: +91-98142-43643
3. Capt. Kamaljit Singh Walia, President, Gurdev Nagar Association (Regd), 2930 Gurdev Nagar, Ludhiana (Punjab), Mob: +91-9814143850
4. Dr. Lakhbir Singh Brar, Director of Horticulture (Retd), Gen Secretary, PAU Alumni Association, Ludhiana (Punjab), Mob: +91-98155-53325
5. B. R. Kaushal, Add. Registrar (Retd), Chairman, Retirees Welfare Association, Urban Estate-Phase II, Ludhiana, Mob: +91-98140-54016

(List of additional signatories with their telephone numbers as identity is enclosed)