The
Representation of the People (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2013: Rajya Sabha, the
upper House of the Indian Parliament, on August 27, unanimously passed a
proposed amendment in the Representation of the People Act 1951 (RP) to negate
a landmark Supreme Court order that could have brought fundamental (and desperately required) improvements in the conduct of the
political class.
The
Supreme Court decision united the whole political class in an unholy alliance
to thwart the reform measure as they viewed it as something affecting the
political career of many of their types, scores of the tainted politicians of
the day.
Now,
once approved from the Lok Sabha, the amended RP Act will be effective from
July 10, 2013 and will negate the Supreme Court order passed on July 10, 2013
that said the people lodged in jails and convicted politicians could not
contest elections. The Supreme Court, as per the RP Act, very logically had
ruled that those who could not vote because of being in jails could not contest
the polls either.
Let’s
see what the sub-section (2) of the section (62) of the Representation of the
People Act 1951 states:
62.
Right to Vote. (2) - No person shall vote at an election in any
constituency if he is subject to any of the disqualifications referred to in
section 16 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (43 of 1950). (From the Law
Ministry website)
Section
16 of the Representation of the People Act 1950: (From the website of the PRS
Legislative Research)
16.
Disqualifications for registration in an electoral roll — (1) A person shall
be disqualified for registration in an electoral roll if he—
(a)
is not a citizen of India;
or
(b)
is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court; or
(c)
is for the time being disqualified from voting under the provisions of any law
relating to corrupt* * *practices and other offences in connection with
elections
(2)
The name of any person who becomes so disqualified after registration shall
forthwith be struck off the electoral roll in which it is included:
[Provided
that the name of any person struck off the electoral roll of a constituency by
reason of a disqualification under clause (c) of sub-section (1) shall
forthwith be re-instated in that roll if such disqualification is, during the
period such roll is in force, removed under any law authorising such removal.]
With an
ever increasing number of corrupt and criminal elements in Indian politics the
authoritarian mentality in politicians saw it big threat coming, and in their
usual style, amended the concerned section of the RP Act (sub-section (2) of
section 62) on which the Supreme Court had based its decision.
They did so even while they had already filed review petition in the apex court
to review the decision.
The
proposed amendment seeks to ‘subvert’ the provision of this section that
disqualifies those in jails based on certain categories of unlawful behavior.
According
to a Time of India report, “The
Representation of the People (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2013, which was
passed by the House, seeks to add a proviso to sub-section (2) of section 62 of
the RP Act to state that a person cannot cease to be a voter while in detention
as h/his right is only temporarily suspended.”
It
further said: “One of the
amendments states that as the name of the jailed person continues to be on the
electoral rolls, s/he also continues to be an elector and can file nomination
for an election.”
Now,
once the amendment is approved (and
expectedly in this Monsoon session only that is ending on September 6),
anyone (read politicians or
their affiliates) in jail
would be able to contest elections, the way they have been doing, making
mockery of the Constitution, manipulating the democracy and humiliating the
primary stakeholders of this Republic, the voters.
What is
worrying is the frequent audacity, the recurrent brazenness of the political
class to change or co-opt anything that is coming in its way. The practice was
always there but it has grown at a deafening pace in recent times. The
Representation of the People Act is just yet another democratic casualty while
our politicians enjoy a highly subsidized lifestyle.
Their
opulence humiliates the poverty of India.
Such
moves are effectively blocking the possibilities to reform the Indian democracy.