Moves to reduce criminals running in Indian elections
Updated
It's election time in India where having done a little jail time is no impediment to running for high office.
Civil society groups have been raising awareness about those candidates with criminal records. But that hasn't stopped those with a less-than-stellar record putting themselves forward for election.
Presenter: Murali Krishnan
Speakers: Bibhu Mahapatra, poll minitor; Rebecca Mamen, criminal lawyer; Nawaz Kotwal, programme coordinator from the Commonwalth Human Rights Initiative
KRISHNAN: Five years back, the Indian Supreme Court ordered candidates standing for public office to file disclosure affidavits with the Election Commission (EC), which in turn were made available to the public. Voters have access to information about a candidate's criminal record, educational qualifications and personal wealth. And in several cases, the exposure of criminal backgrounds in media actually pressured parties against including such candidates on their lists.
Though that move has had some impact on elections, it has yet to purge candidates with criminal cases. A recent study by the Election Commission put the problem of crime and politics in India into stark perspective by stating that the nexus between the two threatened every area of the nation's life.
Bibhu Mahapatra, who is part of an election watch organization which monitors polls closely, says this time around their campaign has had some effect.
MAHAPATRA: "Uttar Pradesh has the highest crime rate and violent crimes in the country. Yes, people have come out on the streets protesting and complaining, asking for cleaner and better candidates. And this time, political parties are eally jittery that these votes may not come to them if they do not put up better candidates."
KRISHNAN: Indian law does not allow those awaiting trial to vote but there is no bar on people fighting elections from jail if not yet convicted. The Election Commission has ordered all candidates to clearly state in an affidavit the number of cases pending against them.
Weeding out candidates with criminal antecedents from the electoral process in their entirety may still take some time in India. Currently the law bars only those with an actual conviction from contesting the polls. But few, if any Indian politicians are likely to have spent time in prison.
Criminal lawyer Rebecca Mamen says the judiciary is at fault.
MAMEN: So long as the courts take as long as they do to convict people this will continue to be a problem. Couts must convict people at the earliest. Secondly political parties must take responsibility and not wheel in people with criminal records. But that is something they would have to deal on their own. I feel its the judicial system that has let us down and unless the judicial system gets its act together this problem will remain.
ecently the ruling Congress party had to drop two of its candidates, Jagdish
Nawaz Kotwal, a programme coordinator from the Commonwalth Human Rights Initiative says the process to weed out criminals from parliament is on but change will be gradual.
KOTWAL : I think change will come about but slowly. The fact that common people
ave woken up candidates like Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar had to withdraw is a very positive sign and I'm a perpetual optimist. I think the democracy we want we will slowly achieve. And if the media and civil society organisations and with some amount of support from political parties' decision that we won't let criminals stand for elections and become people who would rule us things would change and we will see the democracy that we want to see.
KRISHNAN: Criminalisation of politics is increasingly becoming an issue of serious concern. Campaigns are being carried against the criminal politicians by some NGOs and media organizations, yet the impact is yet to trickle down to ural pockets of India. But on a positive note, it is being noticed at least in urban areas.
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