The criminalisation of politics has reached menacing proportions. Parliament and the State Assemblies have a healthy number of members with serious criminal charges against them. The trend must end
There are standards, both ethical and legal, laid down for most professions including medicine and law. Even for an entry into Government service, a police verification is necessary and the applicant’s past record is checked before he (or she) is appointed. Similarly, before judges are appointed, their reputations are examined with a fine tooth-comb. Any doubt can mean that the person under inquiry is not fit to be trusted even with the simplest of jobs.
When the Constitution was being written, our founding fathers had possibly not imagined that there will be a time when the lawbreakers would become lawmakers and govern India. Indeed, after independence, local marauders have replaced foreigners in stripping India of its wealth.
Earlier, criminals supported otherwise legitimate political candidates for elections. Now, they themselves have jumped into the fray of electoral politics. A number of them have made it to Parliament and State Assemblies. This is because the most important criterion for political parties when they select their candidates is the latter’s ‘ability to win’, not their ethics or morals.
Consequently, our State legislatures, for instance, have been captured by criminals. An analysis of affidavits filed by 4,807 sitting MPs and MlAs, carried out by the Association for Democratic Reforms and the National Election Watch, reveals that 688 (14 per cent) of the total number of analysed legislators have serious criminal cases against them.
Out of 543 lok Sabha MPs, 162 (30 per cent) have criminal cases against them, and 14 per cent of the current lok Sabha MPs face serious criminal cases. A total of 1,258 (31 per cent) out of the 4032 sitting MlAs from all State Assemblies have criminal cases against them.
The analysis shows that the Jharkhand Assembly has the highest percentage — 74 per cent — of elected representatives facing criminal cases. Fifty five out of 74 MlAs of the Jharkhand 2009 Assembly have declared that they have criminal cases against them. In the current Bihar Assembly, elected in 2010, 58 per cent MlAs have declared criminal cases against themselves, while in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, that number is at a whopping 47 per cent.
Further, the analysis shows that as high as 82 per cent of MPs and MlAs who have been elected on the JMM ticket, 64 per cent of those who have been elected on the RJD ticket and 48 per cent of those who have SP tickets, have declared criminal cases against themselves.
The report also revealed that 31 per cent of MPs and MlAs who have been elected on BJP tickets have declared criminal cases against them. In other words, out of the 1017 MPs and MlAs from the BJP, 313 are currently facing criminal charges. Similarly, out of the 21 per cent of MPs and MlAs who have Congress tickets — that is 305 out a total of 1433 — have criminal cases against themselves.
Clearly, when it is a question of power and self-preservation, all political parties band together. last month, political parties closed their ranks after the Supreme Court ruled that legislators in jail will not be allowed to contest elections. Political leaders, almost in one voice, demanded that the situation be rectified by Parliament. In other words, Parliament should pass a law to nullify the judgement, which would of course be open to review by the Supreme Court. But on its part, the Government also expressed concern over the “erosion of supremacy” that Parliament enjoys.
On August 1, the Union Cabinet cleared a proposal to amend the Right to Information Act to keep national political parties out of the legislation’s ambit — a move that would keep the sources of funding of political outfits under wraps. A Bill will now be prepared to that effect and, if it is passed by Parliament, will ensure that political parties are no longer answerable to queries under the RTI. The Central Information Commission observed in June that the six national parties — the Congress, the BJP, the NCP, the CPI (M), the CPI and the BSP — came under the ambit of the RTI, as these were substantially funded by the Union Government. The CIC’s decision naturally evoked sharp reactions from political parties.
The proposed amendment by the Government states that declaring political parties as public authorities under the RTI Act would “hamper their smooth internal functioning since it will encourage political rivals to file RTI applications with malicious intentions”. If there is nothing to hide, why should political parties be afraid of the RTIIJ
The fact is: There is no doubt that some portion of the contribution to political parties is done with black money. This explains why parliamentarians are reluctant to pass a law that all donations or contributions to political parties would be by cheque, except in specified amounts below Rs 20,000IJ
Rule 6 DD of the Income Tax Rules has been amended. This rule deals with cases and circumstances in which a payment or aggregate of payments exceeds Rs 20,000 made by one person in a day, otherwise than by an account payee cheque drawn on a bank or account payee bank draft.
Good governance and the socio-economic development of the country cannot happen unless there is a fair and honest administration. Moreover, since the Constitution guarantees equality, why should a law be made to bring about disparity between persons contributing to the parties and othersIJ Such a law will be ultra vires to the Constitution.
There is no such a thing as a free lunch. Naturally, a person with cases pending in the court, who has since become a legislator, will demand his pound of flesh from the party in power — not only by throwing around his weight but also in being bailed out in criminal activities.
Fortunately, we have constitutional courts which safeguard the interest of the common man. Instead of finding fault with the judgements of the Supreme Court, political parties should come together and thank the jurists for trying to cleanse politics. Heavens are unlikely to fall if a few criminals are shown the door by political parties, and in their place, men of probity are selected. Any time is the right time to do what is right.
Abraham lincoln once said: “I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong.”