The idea of one nation, one election is just one of the many reforms that the country must undertake to strengthen democracy
The Prime Minister deserves all compliments for forming a committee to study much-needed aspects of the One Nation-One Election in the country. Frequent elections can be avoided by reducing or extending the terms of assemblies by up to one year to hold any elections only once a year in a month considered best suited by various aspects. Any by-election or even regular civic or panchayat election may also be held in this ‘election month’.
The idea of holding simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and all state assemblies can be practical only by eliminating chances of mid-term elections which require the Prime Minister/Chief Ministers to be simultaneously elected with the Speaker and Deputy Speaker by secret and compulsory vote of members of the Lower House through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) equipped with VVPAT on nominations signed by at least 34-percent members. Such an elected PM/CM may be removed by the same process but with the compulsion of naming an alternate leader in the same motion. Members not opting to vote may lose voting rights in the House even though they retain membership of the House.
No person should be allowed to contest from more than one constituency or for both Parliament and state assembly. A sitting MP or MLA should resign first from his/her earlier seat before filing a nomination for the other seat. Provision should be there of auto-termination of membership of a Parliamentarian just on taking oath in a state as minister (or Chief Minister) and vice-versa.
Secret voting for Rajya Sabha elections should be restored but through EVMs equipped with the VVPAT system. Since Legislative Councils in states do not serve any purpose, the Constitution should be amended to abolish the provision of Legislative Councils. Only those not having contested any election in life should be appointed nominated members of the Rajya Sabha. Persons who have not contested any election in their lifetime may only be appointed as governors. No MP or MLA should retain any type of post in their party or even in society. Ministerial strength should be reduced to 10 per cent of the strength of the lower House. The Post of Parliamentary Secretaries should be abolished.
Security-losing persons should be barred from contesting elections for the next six years. ‘None-of-the above’ (NOTA) option should be made practically useful by barring all candidates getting votes less than ‘NOTA’ from contesting any future election even though in case NOTA winning in any constituency, next to NOTA may be declared elected but only for that term. Thereafter he may lose the right to contest any election in a lifetime.
President and Vice President should be simultaneously elected by all MPs and MLAs in the manner the President is elected but through EVMs equipped with VVPAT on nominations signed by at least 34 per cent of MPs to ensure direct elections. In case of a vacancy caused at the post of President, the Vice President may be made President for the rest of the term. But in case of a vacancy caused at the post of a Vice President, an interim Vice President may be elected by MPs only. Persons once posted on these posts and also as state governors must quit active politics forever. Otherwise, all their post-retirement benefits including pension and government-accommodation may be withdrawn.
To avoid the usual delay in approving poll reforms by the Parliament, the Election Commission should be empowered to implement poll reforms by giving one-year notice to Parliament. If Parliament does not disapprove reforms proposed by the Election Commission within the stipulated one year, these should be taken as approved by the Parliament. Election Commissioners should be selected by a 3-member committee also consisting of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha.
Immunity to elected representatives should be withdrawn even from legislative proceedings because, in the infamous JMM-bribery case, even the Apex Court expressed its inability to act against guilty ones because their bribed act to vote for Narasimha Rao-government was considered to be immunised being under Parliamentary proceedings. Lok Sabha mildly punished its member Rajesh Manjhi for taking his lady-friend as his wife on a foreign trip at government expense by just barring him from a few sittings of Lok Sabha. The presence of an absconding Parliamentarian from court summons or warrants at Sansad Bhawan even for attending the session, should be immediately informed to concerned police authorities.
Absconding members must not be allowed to leave Sansad Bhawan till the execution of summons/warrants is complete. Parliamentarians and legislatures with attendance less than say 75 per cent in the House should not be allowed to contest any elections for the next six years. Curious case of George Fernandez having been elected to Rajya Sabha despite having lost all his memory even calls for some minimum medical-fitness certificate before allowing him to contest elections. An RTI response reveals that even the oath for being a member of the Rajya Sabha was read by a party colleague of George Fernandez!
Parliamentarians should be required to fill all their particulars in their bio-data including details of their assets, name of spouse/s etc. to be put on the public domain of the websites of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. This will check several malpractices like hiding the name of the additional spouse like was done by Dharmendra when he did not disclose the name of Hema Malini as his wife. Salaries/perks of MPs can be withheld till they provide all these particulars. Rules of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha should be re-written stringently by encoding fixed punishments for Parliamentarians for not following rules and norms and snatching discretionary powers of Chairpersons and Parliamentary committees.
The rule should be to make all deductions of government dues like of water, electricity, telephone, rent or any other from salary/perks/pensions etc. payable to them. Likewise, pensions and other payables should be held till former Parliamentarians/ Ministers do not vacate government-accommodations. Defaulters should be barred from contesting any next elections or holding any official post till all dues are cleared against them, and non-entitled government-accommodations are vacated. It is a shame that even persons posted as Prime Minister had been defaulters of dues for the use of Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft for non-official purposes. Either the Prime Minister or the political party sponsoring that Prime Minister on post should deposit advance money for the use of IAF aircraft for non-official use. Since political parties are not complying with the CIC-verdict bringing these under the purview of the RTI Act, all direct/indirect government funding including tax-exemptions, subsidized land or leased government accommodations, free voters’ list and free Doordarshan/ Radio timings etc. should be abolished. Political parties not having contested any election in the last five years should be de-recognised.
Live TV debates between prominent leaders and Prime-Ministerial/Chief-Ministerial candidates can replace mega-budgeted rallies. Since even the Election Commission opposed opaque Electoral Bonds, these must be transparent to avoid these becoming a tool to get favours from the concerned governments. Sections 13A, 80GGB and 80GGC of the Income Tax Act on contributions received by and made to political parties should be abolished to prevent the whitening of black money by political parties getting themselves registered but not contesting elections. Corruption-generating MPLADS should be abolished. Pensions to MPs and MLAs have no logic when it has been done away with government servants. Persons with more than two children should not be allowed to contest elections. It should be compulsory for every political party to give at least one-third of party-tickets to women till the legislation of the Women-Reservation Bill.
(The writer is a Guinness Record Holder for letters in newspapers and an RTI consultant)
