THIS REFERS to Election Commission of India derecognising Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) from being a national party after the party could not retain required six-percent vote share for being a recognised national party. Indian democracy is lacking the ideal two-party system with flood of political parties in existence only for personal benefits. Eligibility for being a registered political party should be to get at least twenty-percent of valid votes polled.
New Chief Election Commissioner SY Qureshi has rightly desired more autonomy and powers for Election Commissioners to decide on aspects like expense-limit. Since, Parliament has no time to approve even poll-reforms proposed decades back by Election Commission, the rule should be to empower Election Commission to implement poll-reforms after six months of making such proposals public. These may be taken as approved by the Parliament if the House does not disapprove any of such proposals within a period of six months.
Since a person cannot represent two constituencies or become member of both Parliament and state-Assembly, no person should be allowed to contest from more than one constituency or for both Parliament and State-Assembly. A sitting MP/MLA should resign first from his earlier post before filing nomination for the other seat. Parliamentarians on being appointed Ministers in states should automatically lose their Parliament seat and vice versa. Security-losing persons should be barred from contesting elections for next six years. Election Commission formula for making it compulsory for each party to give at least one-third party-tickets to women should be accepted till passing of Women Reservation Bill.
Much has been talked about ‘Fixed Term Legislatures’ and for simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and state-assemblies. But this can only be made possible by electing Prime Minister/ Chief Ministers by secret and compulsory vote of MPs/MLAs through EVMs on nominations signed by at least one-third members. Such an elected PM/CM may be removed by same process but with compulsion of naming alternate leader in the same motion. Even Speakers and Deputy Speakers should be elected simultaneously with Chief Ministers in the same manner. Arm-twisting in co-alition governments like done by smaller parties may not then be possible.
0 comments:
Post a Comment