Why is UNPA Wrong?

The United National Progressive Alliance, also known as third front, has taken a decision to abstain form the presidential election’s votings. This is wrong for the following reasons:-1. In presidential elections, the electoral college consists of the members of the parliament and the state legislatures. There is no whip system. So morally, it should be left to the voter to decide whether to vote or for him or her.2. The electoral college members affiliated to the UNPA(which consists of some prominent political parties), are supposed to vote in place of the people they represent. What in case a majority of those who have elected these MP’s and MLA’s may actualy want them to vote for a particular candidate?3. The reason behind the decision to abstain are political. But UNPA’s political compulsions (Practically, failing to have their own candidate) should not deter the presidential election’s voters(who are also part of the UNPA) to neglect the larger will of the real voters of this country.4. Political leaders in India should not set such examples like abstaining form an election. In this case one of the most important elections for the Republic of India.5. This blogger has earlier argued for a more transparent and apolitical system of presidential elections. The political compulsions of a handful of party bosses should not decide the fate of the highest office in this country.

प्रतिभाताई, अब आपकी बारी है

आदरणीया श्रीमती प्रतिभा पाटिल जी,

राष्ट्रपति पद के रा.ज.ग. समर्थित निर्दलीय उम्मीदवार श्री भैरों सिंह शेखावत ने कल संपत्ति की घोषणा कर दी है। देखें यहाँ। और यहाँ। तो अब संप्रग उम्मीदवार होने के नाते आपसे भारतवासियों की अपेक्षा है कि आप भी अपनी संपत्ति की घोषणा करें ताकि हमें मालूम हो कि हमारी संभावित राष्ट्रपति महोदया की कुल संपत्ति कितनी है। ऐसा इसलिये भी ज़रूरी है क्योंकि हमें आपके बारे में बहुत कुछ सुनने को मिल रहा है। पढ़ें  यहाँ।  और यहाँ

चूँकि चुनाव में अब अधिक दिन शेष नहीं हैं, अतः अच्छा होगा यदि आप शीघ्र ही यह घोषणा करें। हम यह जानते हैं कि विधिवत आप ऐसा करने को बाध्य नहीं हैं। किंतु आपसे इतना निवेदन तो देशवासी कर ही सकते हैं!

धन्यवाद।

Who is Pratibha Patil?

 That should be the question on every Indian’s mind. To know more worth is you visit these link. First of which is a website launched by Bhartiya Janata Party. This blogger is no su[pporter of BJP, but the the candidate of the UPA, Mrs. Patil is facing some serious allegations. The nation has all rigths to know about its presidential candidates.

http://www.knowpratibhapatil.com/

Indian Express: Delhi HC admits plea on Pratibha

The Wall Street Journal: Decline in Delhi

Hindustan Times: Chandra Shekhar?s last statement

The Pioneer: Left, Congress lose credibility

Indian Muslims: NDA demands probe into Patil's 'misuse' of MPLAD funds

Nagaland Post: NPF to cast conscience vote

The Pioneer: Left, Congress lose credibility

News item published in The Times of India of 14 Jan 2007: 'A year on, slain Congman's wife awaits justice'.

CNBC: India Tonight    Karan Thapar interviews Arun Shourie on the latter's three articles on
    Pratibha Patil.
    [Video]

Aaj Tak: Hatyara Kaun    See the investigative report by India’s leading television channel that
    clearly damns a family member of Ms Pratibha Patil in a murder case.
    [Part 1]  |  [Part 2]

CNN-IBN: Pratibha Patil on speaking to a ghost    The Presidential candidate talks of spiritually communicating with a
    godman who died 38 years ago.
    [Video]

   

Intra-party Denocracy and Presidential Elections

The Ongoing presidential elections are very different from the previous ones. And whatever has happened so far, be it ’mudsliding, handpicked third or fourth choice’ , ‘attempts to cross-voting’ all has been unfortunate. There is no point in reproducing everything in this blog. But politics apart, the mood of the nation is that the two candidates we are having aren’t the best we could have. There are many who could not become part of the race. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Dr. Karn Singh, Mr. Shivraj patil, or even Mr. Narayan Murthy, have a much higher status among the people of the country. The the will or say compulsions of few Political leaders have made it sure that we are not going to have the best. But, what have been the case had we have had some different set of rules for election process for the president? Like, we could have done away with this mandatory support of a minimum number of MPs for candidates to file nominations. And, most importantly, if our distinguished voters, the members of the parliament and the state legislatures, would have enjoyed a greater freedom in voting? 

Most of the readers would agree that Mr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was the first choice of the common people of India. Or at least, Mrs. Pratibha Patil and Mr. Bhairon Singh Shekhawat were not. There is little doubt that our political leaders were aware of this fact. Still, they preferred to carry on with their own politically correct choices. So can the politicians afford to neglect the will of the people? Well, if it is presidential election, then yes. But even if the party bosses do not select popular candidates, why can’t the members of parliament our legislative assemblies support a people’s choice as president? After all, there are no whips in the presidential elections so a party MP or MLA is free to vote on the call of their conscience. May be we would see that happening if Mr. Bhairon Singh Shekhawat is really lucky to have some cross voting. But that will be more due to the political networking than due to the MPs and MLAs falling to people’s choice.

 

The question is, when in presidential elections, MPs and MLAs are free to vote as per their choice, why don’t they do it? Why don’t they question and challenge their party boss’s decisions?

 

We have hardly seen inner party democracy in all the leading political parties in India. Unlike the mature democracies, like US, where Member of Parliament is free to agree or disagree on policy decisions of his on party, we hardly see that happening in India. Even inside party headquarters where the party presidents are surrounded by sycophants, not many challenge a party decision. This is especially true because political parties are increasingly taking shape of private limited companies in India; most of them even have family ownerships. In such a scenario, one can not hope that our representatives whom we elect and send to the capitals will actually take our cause there. So be it a candidate against whom the list of charges of corruption, favoritism and superstition do not seem to end, the MPs will blindly follow what the party asks them to. In the process, they even forget that there is no legal binding and the polling is confidential. The anti-defection-law helps the party heads to force their will on the elected member. This law and the lack of intra-party democracy have allowed the political parties to neglect the will of the people.

 

So had we enjoyed a better level of transparency in the functioning of political parties (a corporate governance equivalent in politics), we would have found these presidential elections even more interesting. And we would have seen that the highest office of the country is not occupied by someone who is tainted or a third or fourth choice handpicked by her or his political messiahs.

 

P.S: This would be a very interesting subject to discuss that whether in any case we need a post of president or a governor!