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Losing confidence in democracy

Young Bites. Dated: 2/23/2018 10:59:22 AM

When India became independent and declared itself a democratic republic, there was hope that India would make unprecedented progress in every field. No one anticipated that India’s democracy would decay to the level it has today, where corrupt and criminals are elected to Parliament, and good people shun politics as if it were worse than leprosy. The people of India are rapidly losing confidence in democracy. The purpose of democracy will be defeated if we fail to design a system in which good candidates are willing to come forward as candidates. However, it is true that without being able to spend sufficient money, it is not possible to communicate one’s message to the voter. If corrupt politicians can’t gain an electoral advantage through use of huge amounts of black money, then barriers against good candidates will further reduce. Election Commission should be charged with fast-tracking criminal cases. Cases against elected MPs should be be given top priority and heard without break until completed. People of India have often been changing governments and elected representatives. However, this change of players has little real impact on the nature of governance. Even if all those elected lose, and all losers are elected, the outcome is not substantially altered. This sad situation calls for a change in the rules of the game, and citizens cannot be content with mere change of players. Nothing is more important in today’s India than political and electoral reforms to transform the nature of politics and governance, and to restore public confidence. Many reforms have been suggested from time to time, and some have been implemented. However, more systemic reforms are needed to address the problems of money power, decline of national political parties and abdication of the best and the brightest. Such a reform must be broadly acceptable, easily achievable, and must have minimal risk of unintended negative consequences. The health of a democracy depends on the choice of representatives and leaders, which in turn is directly linked to the way political parties function and the manner in which elections are conducted. While we have outstanding men and women in public life, flawed electoral process is increasingly alienating public-spirited citizens from the political and electoral arena. The persons best equipped to represent the people find it impossible to be elected by adhering to law and propriety. If elected, decent citizens cannot survive for long in elected public office without resorting to, or conniving in, dishonest methods. Even if they survive in office, their ability to promote public good is severely restricted.