09-01-2006, 02:01 PM
<!--emo&:thumbdown--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbsdownsmileyanim.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='thumbsdownsmileyanim.gif' /><!--endemo--> CPM seeks EC Reform - Communist attempt to undermine Indian ConstitutionIn the wake of its recent tiffs with the Election Commission, the CPI(M) on Wednesday sought a Constitution amendment on the modalities of appointment and removal of the Election Commissioners and to make them accountable for their "omissions and commissions". Initiating a debate on the need to reform the EC, CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat on Wednesday circulated a note calling for legislative measures relating to the composition of the commission and its powers and jurisdictions. The CPI(M)'s demand comes after the Left parties' recent brush with the EC over the unprecedented five-phased assembly elections in West Bengal and the office of profit controversy after petitions against several Left MPs, including Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, seeking their disqualification. The CPM's Brinda Karat was most vocal when she called the Election Commission biased. Accusing the Election Commission of playing an "extremely biased" role during the West Bengal assembly elections, CPI-M leader Brinda Karat today said her party's proposal for reforms of the poll panel was aimed at generating a debate on its powers and jurisdiction.
So the question is what has got the CPI-M all riled up against the one Constitutional Authority in India that all Indians have been so proud of and that one office of last resort which had given legitimacy to the electoral process in India.
The reasons for the CPI-M's ire are a little baffling. The West Bengal elections were a waterhed victory for the CPI-M. It improved its vote share, it also improved its seat share in Urban West Bengal. It pretty much decimated the opposition in West Bengal and firmly established the so called "Brand Buddha" to further show that Bengal had moved on from the Jyoti Basu era. So in an election that the Communists did so well why is the CPI-M so worked up. If the elections were the best in West Bengal in decades a fact acknowledged by the opposition Trinamul Congress lead by Mamata Bannerjee, what is the CPI-M's gripe against the election commission. Is it that the elections were too tough and clean to the CPI-M's liking. Is it that it is not satisfied with a whopping victory unless it was won on its terms rather than on the terms of the election commission. Or is it that the CPI-M has a pathological hatred for true democracy.
Well let us first look at the CPI-M's run in with the law. First the Election Commission got tough on voter's lists in West Bengal. It weeded out all the benami voters and it spent months cleaning it up much to the chagrin of the communist cadre who pretty much have treated West Bengal elections as their personal sports rigged and doctored to suit their local interests. It then announced an unprecedented 5 phase schedule for the elections to ensure adequate monitoring and law enforcement was in place much to the discomfort of the communists who were used to the strong arm booth tactics none of which was going to be entertained by the Election Commission. The result was a poll with little or no violence, barely on bogus voting and hardly any repolls. The communists who have been so used to elections where it is business usual and where the Communist Politburo was the final arbiter just could not tolerate a higher authority.
So what has the CPI-M called for now and what does it mean ?
Getting into the specifics of what the Sitaram Yechury, Prakash Karat combine has asked for. The note calls for legislative measures relating to the composition of the commission and its powers and jurisdictions. So right off the Communists want the legislature which means the politicians, which in today's day and age is not the lok sabha but the Rajya Sabha which has become viagra for all the electile dysfunctional leaders of the day to be final the arbiter of who is appointed to the Election Commission and what powers they have. So what this means is folks that those who have never faced a real election in their life, have never felt it was important to be directly accountable to the people, will at free will tamper with the composition and the powers of the election commission unbridled to suit their political objectives. Given that they never will contest a real election their motives will be always self interest and not the public interest.
Prakash Karat reveals his diabolical anti-democratic mindset that reeks of the Soviet Union and the Chinese communist party when he talks off requiring that no election commissioner be allowed to be associated with any political party after their retirement. Folks look at the Communist Party's gall it believes that the politicians interest is so important that it can take away Constitutionally Guaranteed rights of a Private Citizen to contest elections and pursue politics of his or her choice just because the Politburo Hot Heads dont like him or her. Prakash Karat goes onto become very specfic by demanding that the election commissioners take on oath they will never become members of parliament. So while Sitaram Yechury and Prakash Karat who have never faced a godamm election in their pitiable lifes and who have arrogated to themselves Rajya Sabha seats for a life time, they want the election commissioners to forgo their fundamental rights. Folks you can see it in black and white the anti-democratic mindset of these psuedo-progressives who are no better than Stalin or Mao.
So this is a defining moment in Indian Democracy. This issue is a litmus test for those who are for true democracy in India versus those who are for a Pseudo democracy in India at the whims and fancies of the Politburo. So here is Offstumped's challenge to the rag tag progressive bunch that keep company with Prakash Karat and Sitaram Yechury and whose conscience is perked everytime an issue of Human Rights crops up. So Teesta Setalvad, Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Rajeev Dhawan, Arundhati Roy and the rest of you, you cannot shy away and hide. You will have to come in the open and take a stance. You will have to come out in the open and say if you are for taking away the Fundamental Rights of Private Citizens to contest elections to suit the whims of the Communist Cabal or if you are for true democracy in India where the Election Commission remains free of political influence and where every private citizen has the Constitutional Guarantee to pursue his or her political objectives ubridled by oaths and undertakings. There cannot be anymore ambiguity or ambivalence. If we have to take your so called progressive democratic humans rights crusades with any credibility you will have to take a stance on this issue. Otherwise the next time your consicence perks up selectively on Rights Issues we know it is motivated, it is biased and it is selective. We will know that you are psuedo-progressives.
The Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi Congress lead UPA and the Advani, Rajnath Singh BJP must denounce this anti-democratic move by the Communists in the strongest terms. It is a shame that the Congress and the BJP have lead the country to this sorry state of affairs where a motley group of Communists with no presence outside of West Bengal and Kerala, with electile dysfunctional leaders in the Rajya Sabha have arrogated to themselves the gall to subvert public debate with influence far disporportionate to their electoral strength. The blame for this goes to Messrs Atal Behari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani for having bungled the NDA's chances in the 2004 elections that saw the Communists in the driving seat in the center. The Right of Center movement in India and Offstumped can never forgive them for this. The Congress also shares the blame for having entertained the communists to its own peril. Rather than focus on rebuilding itself in UP and Bihar and making it a 2 party fight between the Congress and the BJP, the Congress has allowed itself to be at the mercy of the Communists.
All Indians irrespective of political hues or regional colors have been proud of the Election Commission for being the last resort of Constitutional Authority for having cleaned up the electoral process, introduced 100% electronic voting an achievement yet to be seen in developed democracies like the United States, eliminated concepts of booth capturing and rigging and brought in a commendable level of credibility to election results in states like Bihar. Chief Election Commissioners ( CEC ) like T.N. Seshan, M.S. Gill, GVG Krishnamurthy, KJ Rao, JM Lyngdoh deserve the nations thanks and the nation's support in any public endeavours they choose to pursue post their retirement.
Offstumped Bottomline: The CPI-M's proposals for Election Commission Reforms are diabolical and anti-democracy. They are not reforms but a subversion of Constitutionally guaranteed rights and democracy. That Prakash Karat and Yechury had the gall to suggest such a Constitutional atrophy in serious public debate reflects that the Communists will always be Communists in the Kremlin, Beijing, Havana, Pyong Nyang mould, democracy and elections notwithstanding. Prakash Karat owes it to the nation to explain what Public Interest and not Public Servant's Interest is served by these proposals. Failing which the so-called Progressive Human Rights Activists must make clear if they are for or against True Democracy in India and if they are with or against the Communists on this issue
So the question is what has got the CPI-M all riled up against the one Constitutional Authority in India that all Indians have been so proud of and that one office of last resort which had given legitimacy to the electoral process in India.
The reasons for the CPI-M's ire are a little baffling. The West Bengal elections were a waterhed victory for the CPI-M. It improved its vote share, it also improved its seat share in Urban West Bengal. It pretty much decimated the opposition in West Bengal and firmly established the so called "Brand Buddha" to further show that Bengal had moved on from the Jyoti Basu era. So in an election that the Communists did so well why is the CPI-M so worked up. If the elections were the best in West Bengal in decades a fact acknowledged by the opposition Trinamul Congress lead by Mamata Bannerjee, what is the CPI-M's gripe against the election commission. Is it that the elections were too tough and clean to the CPI-M's liking. Is it that it is not satisfied with a whopping victory unless it was won on its terms rather than on the terms of the election commission. Or is it that the CPI-M has a pathological hatred for true democracy.
Well let us first look at the CPI-M's run in with the law. First the Election Commission got tough on voter's lists in West Bengal. It weeded out all the benami voters and it spent months cleaning it up much to the chagrin of the communist cadre who pretty much have treated West Bengal elections as their personal sports rigged and doctored to suit their local interests. It then announced an unprecedented 5 phase schedule for the elections to ensure adequate monitoring and law enforcement was in place much to the discomfort of the communists who were used to the strong arm booth tactics none of which was going to be entertained by the Election Commission. The result was a poll with little or no violence, barely on bogus voting and hardly any repolls. The communists who have been so used to elections where it is business usual and where the Communist Politburo was the final arbiter just could not tolerate a higher authority.
So what has the CPI-M called for now and what does it mean ?
Getting into the specifics of what the Sitaram Yechury, Prakash Karat combine has asked for. The note calls for legislative measures relating to the composition of the commission and its powers and jurisdictions. So right off the Communists want the legislature which means the politicians, which in today's day and age is not the lok sabha but the Rajya Sabha which has become viagra for all the electile dysfunctional leaders of the day to be final the arbiter of who is appointed to the Election Commission and what powers they have. So what this means is folks that those who have never faced a real election in their life, have never felt it was important to be directly accountable to the people, will at free will tamper with the composition and the powers of the election commission unbridled to suit their political objectives. Given that they never will contest a real election their motives will be always self interest and not the public interest.
Prakash Karat reveals his diabolical anti-democratic mindset that reeks of the Soviet Union and the Chinese communist party when he talks off requiring that no election commissioner be allowed to be associated with any political party after their retirement. Folks look at the Communist Party's gall it believes that the politicians interest is so important that it can take away Constitutionally Guaranteed rights of a Private Citizen to contest elections and pursue politics of his or her choice just because the Politburo Hot Heads dont like him or her. Prakash Karat goes onto become very specfic by demanding that the election commissioners take on oath they will never become members of parliament. So while Sitaram Yechury and Prakash Karat who have never faced a godamm election in their pitiable lifes and who have arrogated to themselves Rajya Sabha seats for a life time, they want the election commissioners to forgo their fundamental rights. Folks you can see it in black and white the anti-democratic mindset of these psuedo-progressives who are no better than Stalin or Mao.
So this is a defining moment in Indian Democracy. This issue is a litmus test for those who are for true democracy in India versus those who are for a Pseudo democracy in India at the whims and fancies of the Politburo. So here is Offstumped's challenge to the rag tag progressive bunch that keep company with Prakash Karat and Sitaram Yechury and whose conscience is perked everytime an issue of Human Rights crops up. So Teesta Setalvad, Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Rajeev Dhawan, Arundhati Roy and the rest of you, you cannot shy away and hide. You will have to come in the open and take a stance. You will have to come out in the open and say if you are for taking away the Fundamental Rights of Private Citizens to contest elections to suit the whims of the Communist Cabal or if you are for true democracy in India where the Election Commission remains free of political influence and where every private citizen has the Constitutional Guarantee to pursue his or her political objectives ubridled by oaths and undertakings. There cannot be anymore ambiguity or ambivalence. If we have to take your so called progressive democratic humans rights crusades with any credibility you will have to take a stance on this issue. Otherwise the next time your consicence perks up selectively on Rights Issues we know it is motivated, it is biased and it is selective. We will know that you are psuedo-progressives.
The Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi Congress lead UPA and the Advani, Rajnath Singh BJP must denounce this anti-democratic move by the Communists in the strongest terms. It is a shame that the Congress and the BJP have lead the country to this sorry state of affairs where a motley group of Communists with no presence outside of West Bengal and Kerala, with electile dysfunctional leaders in the Rajya Sabha have arrogated to themselves the gall to subvert public debate with influence far disporportionate to their electoral strength. The blame for this goes to Messrs Atal Behari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani for having bungled the NDA's chances in the 2004 elections that saw the Communists in the driving seat in the center. The Right of Center movement in India and Offstumped can never forgive them for this. The Congress also shares the blame for having entertained the communists to its own peril. Rather than focus on rebuilding itself in UP and Bihar and making it a 2 party fight between the Congress and the BJP, the Congress has allowed itself to be at the mercy of the Communists.
All Indians irrespective of political hues or regional colors have been proud of the Election Commission for being the last resort of Constitutional Authority for having cleaned up the electoral process, introduced 100% electronic voting an achievement yet to be seen in developed democracies like the United States, eliminated concepts of booth capturing and rigging and brought in a commendable level of credibility to election results in states like Bihar. Chief Election Commissioners ( CEC ) like T.N. Seshan, M.S. Gill, GVG Krishnamurthy, KJ Rao, JM Lyngdoh deserve the nations thanks and the nation's support in any public endeavours they choose to pursue post their retirement.
Offstumped Bottomline: The CPI-M's proposals for Election Commission Reforms are diabolical and anti-democracy. They are not reforms but a subversion of Constitutionally guaranteed rights and democracy. That Prakash Karat and Yechury had the gall to suggest such a Constitutional atrophy in serious public debate reflects that the Communists will always be Communists in the Kremlin, Beijing, Havana, Pyong Nyang mould, democracy and elections notwithstanding. Prakash Karat owes it to the nation to explain what Public Interest and not Public Servant's Interest is served by these proposals. Failing which the so-called Progressive Human Rights Activists must make clear if they are for or against True Democracy in India and if they are with or against the Communists on this issue