The Hindu : Reminding the EC of its job

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Aug 13, 2002

Opinion

Opinion - News Analysis

Reminding the EC of its job

By Kuldip Nayar

Institutions are the blood of a democratic polity. If their independence is questioned or sought to be watered down, they begin to wilt. Their functioning is affected. This is what happened during the Emergency. The institutions which should have stood up to authoritarianism became themselves an instrument to carry out even the wishes of the rulers. Arun Jaitley, BJP spokesman, who himself suffered during the Emergency, does not have to be told this.

The Central Election Commission is one of the institutions which reflect the nation's free functioning. It cannot be treated in a cavalier manner. I am grieved over the remarks which Mr. Jaitley has made. What does he mean when he says that the Election Commission should concentrate only on holding elections? It is like saying that the judges must give their judgments. Has this to be told? It is their job.

What else has the Election Commission been doing, other than concentrating on the polls. It sent a Central team to Gujarat to assess the situation on the ground. After receiving its report, the Commission has followed it up with a visit of all the three members to Ahmedabad.

That a former Law Minister, whose portfolio included the Election Commission, should remind the Commission to hold elections is unfortunate. Is he questioning its judgment or is he trying to influence it? Still worse, if he is telling the Commission: `Watch out', it is intimidation. He is a young, clean politician. But discretion should be as much part of him as articulation.

Elections are not an end in themselves. They are a means to an end. They are meant to find out from the voters which set of rulers they want at a particular time. If the polls are not free, the very purpose is lost. True, the BJP wants to sanctify the carnage through the polls. But the Election Commission's job is to find out whether there are conditions prevailing where the voters are in a position to express their opinion freely. Mr. Jaitley's statement that relief camps should do their jobs raises a counter question — whether the Government is permitting conditions for a free and fair poll. If rehabilitation had been alright, the discussion on the postponement of elections would not have arisen. From the reports the National Human Rights Commission, the Editor's Guild and other organisations have published, it is clear that the relief and rehabilitation is far from complete. It is the State which is really responsible for the mess. It cannot be cleared by Mr. Jaitley however blind support he gives to the Chief Minister, Narendra Modi.

Whether the elections should be held by October or not is a matter of the Constitution's interpretation. I am not a legal expert. Ultimately, the court may have to decide the matter if it comes to be contested. But there cannot be two opinions that thousands of voters are even afraid to stir out from the places where they have taken shelter. How are they expected to go to the polling booths? Mr. Jaitley's party should be thinking of that instead of reminding the Election Commission of its job.

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