Nine months from today India will go to the polls to elect the government that will rule it between 2019 and 2024.
Should I go to the booth to cast my vote? If I do should I cast it in favour of one of the contestants, or should I vote NOTA?
One of India’s most enduring qualities is that in the hundreds of elections that have taken place since 1952, the handing over of power has been smooth. Of course, there have been instances in the recent past, where governors played less than impartial roles in manoeuvring the power change.
If I decide to vote, there is no point in voting NOTA. For that, I might as well stay at home. Interestingly, recently NOTA scored more votes than the candidate of a national party, but neither the party nor the candidate seemed to have felt ashamed and just wondered “so what?”
I will vote only for the candidate of the party, which promises to do the following and with a defined timeline. Should they fail to honour, progressively, I propose to cease to vote. This is the only way, albeit a long way, to teach these men a lesson.
Make the CBI independent: There is no reason why the head of the investigating bureau should report to the minister heading the department of personnel, even if that minister turns out to be the prime minister. The Pradhan Sevak needs to stick to the business of governance.
De-franchise all constitutional heads: At the core of many of the ailments is the perceived view of the political leanings of judges and constitutional heads. Thus judges of Supreme Court, high court, president, vice president, and governors should not be allowed to vote in the elections.
No sinecure for judges: There should be no post-retirement political or other work for judges. It is painfully shocking to see judges who have given favourable judgments to people in power become governors within a few days of retirement. If these are still to be engaged in public office. There should be a cooling period of 5 years for judges, CVC, CBI head, CAG…
Kick-in Lokpal: Anna Hazare found resonance with the people because he wanted an anti-corruption ombudsman. Today, it looks palpably evident that those who supported it, supported not because they were perse against corruption, but were against the Congress. What else can describe the fact that the Lokpal hasn’t yet seen the light of the day? It’s time that it’s kicked in and that even constitutional heads, except for the president and the vice-president and the judiciary should fall under it. If America could investigate Clinton while he was President of the USA, why should we not have something similar in India?
Don’t tinker with RTI: There should be a promise not to tinker with the Right to Information Act. This is one of India’s path-breaking legislation and has kept Indian bureaucracy on its toes. This is crucial to the well being of a nation.
Make taxes more sensible: Today, of the Rs 100 I earn about 33 goes as a tax. I am left with Rs 67. If I spend all of it, I can pay only Rs 57 as the other Rs 10 goes away as GST. Effectively Rs 43 is the contribution to the government. I see no reason why the tax should be this high. I know there are Internet economists who will talk to me about the importance of taxes for a nation, but I too have read a bit of economics and know that beyond a point, taxes can be a pain in the neck.
I am conscious of the fact that good people elect bad governments by their abstinence. But when there are no suitable candidates and when parties in power behave like a bunch of jokers rather than as respectable adults, it is time to stay away. The debates in parliament, the quality of the conversations, the jibes in public reek of the basest human instincts. If political parties in the country cannot learn to respect other parties and leaders, and if there are strong personal divisions and abusive as we see on the social media, it is best to walk away from the quagmire.
