constitutional goals: If constitutional goals are to be fulfilled...

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Twenty-six years ago on this day, India emerged as a republic with the coming into force of the Constitution. By then, illiteracy, unemployment, poverty and economic and social inequality plagued the country. The members of the Constituent Assembly strongly believed that their elimination and the improvement of the lives of the common people would only be possible with democratic governments emerging from universal adult suffrage. For that, they wanted the election process to be flawless. First Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru warned that if elections are not held in a free and fair manner, the foundations of the Constitution will be damaged. He said that people should not surrender their right to vote to anyone. Constitutional architect Dr. BR Ambedkar also emphasized that the sanctity of elections should not be disturbed under any circumstances. In this order, the nation builders voted for the establishment of an independent election mechanism to conduct the elections which are vital to democracy. Seeing how far the changes they expected in the life of the people have been realized, one can feel the pain!

Delhi has recently hosted an international conference on democracy and elections. The election management mechanisms of more than 40 countries participating in the conference unanimously approved the resolutions of preparing voter lists accurately, conducting elections in a transparent and fair manner, and curbing the flow of false information that is engulfing the spirit of democracy. It is a bitter truth that it is not so easy to fix the election process, which was made as a playground for the rich domestically and a fair of temptations decades ago! In the anarchic game where political parties are playing for power, the names of the deserving ones are disappearing from the lists and the bogus votes are pouring in. Earlier, during the Tirupati Lok Sabha by-election, thousands of fake voter cards came to light shocked the nation. At that time, the number of houses with more than ten votes with the same door number was more than one and a half lakh in AP. The Central Election Commission has recently informed the Supreme Court that in an assembly constituency in West Bengal, 389 voters have the same name as their father, while another person has been registered as the father of 310 voters elsewhere. If democracy is not to remain nominal, all false votes should be completely removed from the rolls. Anyone who is eligible should not be far away from the right to vote!

Despite the abundance of ethical and honest public service, today it has become impossible for those who do not have the financial means to contest the elections and win. In the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, the money spent by all the parties together was Rs. 9 thousand crores, but in the last general election, the amount is estimated to have reached Rs. 1.35 lakh crores! Those who spread black money and steal votes and then commit many illegalities with the intention of earning all that. Because of that, the progress of the people is retarded. Inequality is increasing. The Representation of the People Act should be strengthened to prevent money laundering in elections. During elections, fake news spread on social media is affecting public opinion and making democracy a farce. It is imperative to make special arrangements to remove their masks and inform the public of the facts from time to time!