Of democractic principles and values :: Tools of convenience
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: February 15, 2012 -

The stringent protest raised by the Naga People's Front is interesting.

It has come on the ground that the Election Commission of India has not entertained their complaints while the complaints lodged by the Congress have been duly noted and even acted upon.

In other words the NPF has accused the ECI of being partisan in its treatment and has even gone to the extent of stating that they may be constrained to move the competent Court to stay the counting in some booths, which they have dubbed as ‘under contestations.’

The NPF has also alleged that the ECI ordered repoll at Chingai Assembly Constituency and Chandel Assembly Constituency on the ground that these two segments recorded a voter turn out of over 90 pc !

It is up to the wisdom of the people to decide whether there is merit in the argument that the ECI ordered the repoll on the question of the huge voter turn out, but the fact is, the writ of the militants did run large at these two Assembly Constituencies where repoll was ordered in a good number of polling stations.

The bloody incident at Tampi polling station on January 28 where seven persons were killed is but one example and remember there have been numerous complaints of villagers being thrashed and abducted for reasons not spelt out but understood from Chingai Assembly Constituency.

Place these instances against the allegations raised by the NPF with regard to the repoll and the issue should not be difficult to understand. It is not rocket science technology that we are talking about here.

The NPF has also opposed the exercise to compare the photos of the voters taken at the time of actual voting and the photos that appear on the Electoral Picture Identification Cards.

Why this is so is vague though the NPF has asserted that their opposition to it has come primarily against the backdrop of the fact that the ECI decided on the photo comparison exercise after the repoll and after a lapse of 15 days or so.

Whether the ECI will take note of the complaints filed by the NPF or not is a different matter, but the primary point that should not be lost on the people are the facts that have emerged.

And any exercise to make the election as clean as possible and in the process make the democratic process more transparent should be welcomed, especially the political parties.

That accusations and counter accusations and allegations would fly thick and fast in any election is a foregone conclusion but the interesting part that has emerged from the new initiatives taken up by the ECI is the proof or the lies of the allegations being rolled out before the eyes of the people.

As an institution the ECI has so far done a commendable job and this is all the more noteworthy in a place like Manipur where institutional collapse has become the order of the day. It is the concept of institutions which can keep the wheel of development, progress, civilisation and the well being of the people churning.

And the manner in which the ECI, despite the shortcomings that have emerged, has been going about with the business of conducting the election is heart warming. This is something which the people and the political parties should learn to appreciate.

The photo comparison exercise was a novel method to crack down on electoral malpractices and the pictures carried by the State dailies tell a story of how rampant proxy voting and impersonation was resorted to in some polling stations.

While it remains to be seen what steps the ECI will take, it is nonetheless a welcome step and the strong objection raised to it by the NPF tells a significant story.

Let the complaints put up by the NPF be studied minutely, for this is what democracy should ideally be about but at the same time it should be kept in the mind of all that the system which only a democracy can offer canot be the monopoly of anyone.

It cannot be a case of falling back on the principles of democracy when it suits them and giving a damn to it when it concerns others.

Can any candidate or political party stand up and sincerely say that this is what they believe in and practise ?

So far the indication is that democracy and its principles are to be bandied about only when it suits them and not when it concerns the interest of the people and the land.

And this is not a healthy sign.