Uphold integrity, use RTI: Former chief election commissioner

DNA; Prahlad Rao; Wednesday, December 8, 2010,

With so many discretionary decisions controlling the political and economic life of India, it was time that these decisions were made public.

This suggestion of N Gopalaswami, the former chief election commissioner (CEC), made on Tuesday, needs to be seen in the backdrop of what is happening in Karnataka (allocation of sites, denotification and land transfers) and at national level (Adarsh scam and 2G scam).

He said that the incidents in Karnataka were nothing new. In the northern states like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, the abuse of discretionary powers was rampant. At least in Karnataka, some politicians have been decent enough to admit, and are trying to defend the indefensible, Gopalaswami said.

The former CEC was speaking at an interactive session on ‘elections and democracy’ organised by the Bangalore Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Gopalaswami, clearly distressed at the state of Indian democracy, said that elections are the biggest generators of black money in India. The Election Commission has been able to reduce the malpractices of booth capturing by using muscle power to subdue the muscle power of political class. But it cannot match the money power of the political establishment.

Multi-phase polling was required to deploy police force and this was evident even in the recent Bihar elections, Gopalaswami said.

He also traced the evolution of the model code of conduct, which is enforced in the polling season, and said that India was only one among the 150 odd democratic nations to have such a code.

The code was enacted in 1960 but attained a moral force in the 1990s. Karnataka is currently under the code of conduct regime as local body election dates were announced on Monday.

On the return of investment in politics, Gopalaswami’s talk threw light on the fact that Karnataka was the most profitable state. Its ministers’ assets have grown by a stupendous 797% in the last few years.

The former CEC felt that citizens should always uphold their integrity and use the Right to Information extensively. He emphasised that one should never sacrifice one’s conscience and must vote.