A COMMENTARY ON CONSTITUTIONAL

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A COMMENTARY ON CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF INDIA

By

Dr. Jag Pal Singh 'Sameer Kutir', 642/7, Jagriti Vihar, Meerut - 250004. (U.P.), INDIA.

ABOUT THE BOOK In these days all over the country, there is a very serious and genuine demand for changing the existing Vicious Circle of Constitutional Democratic Republic. Ill conceived definitions of the concepts of "voter"; "right to vote" and "election" provide the foundation to the Vicious Circle of Constitutional Democratic Republic. Accepting the demand and popular dictum, "in order to achieve the marvelous the unthinkable must be thought", the present book defines all the three above mentioned concepts on the basis of their inherent essence and spirit and proposes a "partyless six-tier decentralized bottom-to-top institutional structure of governance along with 'Rule of Maximum Vote' based procedure for election for its constitution and operation. The proposed structure of governance and procedure for election are capable enough to ensure equal opportunity-liberty-right to contest election and to cast his/her vote in favor of the candidate nominated by himself/herself only to every voter of the country. Equal opportunityliberty-right to contest election is a common denominator for challenging the Vicious Circle of Constitutional Democratic Republic and examining the democratic validity of the proposed institutional structure of governance and procedure for election. Instead of putting demand for different types of rights; different types of equalities; different types of liberties; different types of justices and different types of securities, the reformers and the social activists working in the country must put demand jointly for democratic right, i.e., "equal opportunity-liberty-right to contest election" or "availability of every participating voter of the constituency/electoral college for getting his/her thoughts-expressions-actions evaluated by every participating voter of the constituency/electoral college on the basis of day-to-day interaction. The demand for democratic rights would certainly help in mobilizing over seventy crore voters of the country mentally and physically for initiating and running a nation-wide Revolutionary Democratic Movement successfully.

Name and Address of the Publisher: First Published: 2008 Copyright: Author ISBN............... Printed in India

FOREWORD A Commentary on Constitutional Democratic Republic of India authored by Dr. Jag Pal Singh is a thought–provoking book on what has gone wrong with the Indian secular, democratic republic. The book raises lot of important questions and advocates for systemic changes so that India will become in real sense a socialist, secular, and sovereign democratic republic. The author has rightly focused on the drawbacks with the present Indian polity and has in his own way advocated some solutions, which are very radical in nature and which will require overhauling of the entire political system. It may be a gigantic task for anybody to take up. Some of the issues raised which weaken the foundations of the democracy in India are important enough to be seriously taken note off. The emphasis of the book on the importance of elections and the Right to Vote is the cornerstone of the main theme of the book. Though there may be difference of opinion on various concepts developed in the book. The author has exercised the right to express his views freely. The book will be a significant contribution and the pleasure reading for all those who are interested in laying down a new road map for the Indian democracy. Though the ideas expressed in the book are exclusively within the domain of the author which one may or may not agree but the author deserves compliments for thinking out of the box to solve the problems faced by the Indian political system.

Prof. RANBIR SINGH Vice-Chancellor Nalsar University of Law, HYDERABAD

FOREWORD Every now and then one is fortunate to come across a revolutionary thinker who changes the face of the nation, and proves to be a boon to mankind. Dr. Singh is one such person. His crystal clear concepts of a successful democracy by the people, of the people and for the people is unique. His logic is impeccable. Freedom has eluded us in that there is no real governance nor is power vested in the people under the present system devised by the vested interests. The system, "top to bottom", is anti-democratic which is based on the concept of "justification and not verification". His candid concepts of a system evolved on the basis of "bottom to top" is the only solution for a true democratic and socialistic se tup, which will realize the aspirations of the freedom fighters to have a true democracy. None can deny his pointed statement that "Redressal of the damage done to India and Indians demands immediate replacement of the present process of politicization by the process of socialization." There is no doubt that to the people of India, democracy has become a farce, a tool for criminals and politicians to the masses. His rationalization has appealed me, and I am certain it will appeal to all conscience oriented people with aspirations to see his dream of a glorious future for our country reaches the hearts of the people.

RANJAN DWIVEDI Advocate Supreme Court of India New Delhi

PREFACE "It is interesting to see how the so-called Third World countries in which more than threefourth of the humanity lives have responded to the UN Declaration. As Jennings puts it, 'psychology of the government is in fact more important than the form of government.' Initially every country that attained independence religiously swore by democracy and human rights. But with time, democracy came to be qualified by injecting their own non-democratic ideology into it, preserving only the "holy word". Philippines, Malaysia and Liberia justified dictatorships by calling it Individualist Democracy. Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia called their type of aristocracy Elitist Democracy while the military dictatorships of Burma, Pakistan and Egypt called themselves Guided Democracies. Indonesia's Soekarno went to the extent of even labelling the election-based democracy as a disease that was a result from free fight liberalism. As there was no effective UN intervention on these 'developments', the human rights violations committed by them were also largely ignored" (Pinto, 2004). "Democracy, in all class divided societies, according to Marx, has always remained as the dictatorship of some dominating class over others. For instance, in the Greek city states, the idea of equal rights of men did not apply to the slaves. Again, the capitalist democracy, in reality, is a democracy for the minority, only for the possessing class. As a result of capitalist exploitation, the vast majority of the people of the society are suffering by want and poverty and, therefore, democracy is nothing to them and politics is nothing to them. A true democracy, i.e., majority rule, Marx claimed, is possible in socialist democracy because it not only gives rights to the individuals, but also ensures the material conditions necessary to enjoy and improve them" (Satyanarayana, 2004). "In the present context capitalist democracies in its myriad forms cannot bring sustainable peace and prosperity for the people at large. At the present moment the most powerful democratic power remains the major threat to global power. It is the real source of global "terrorism". While making this observation, we must be careful about the fact that the major socialist experiments made in the past - be it in the Soviet Union or in China - degenerated in course of time into Party dictatorships. They failed to hold high the banner of socialist democracy which must be both an extension of capitalist democracy and a transcendence of it. That is not really a wishful thinking. In a socialist society where the commanding heights of the economy are in the hands of the State and the medium enterprises are allowed to be run by cooperatives of the working masses, it is not difficult for some opposition groups to function freely in the domain of politics. Freedom of speech and expression are not anathema to a socialistic order. On the contrary, such freedoms are a sine qua non for ensuring stability of the socialist system" (Panda, 2004). "The rule of law is thus being eroded before our very eyes at the beginning of the 21st Century. The people of the world have been reduced to helpless spectators when the international law painstakingly nurtured over the last three centuries and more is being undone. Powerful States attack small States at will, occupy them, change governments and set up collaborator regimes, kill and maim the civil population, destroy their infrastructure, exploit their natural resources for their own benefit, loot or destroy their cultural heritage, all in the name of replacing tyranny and depotism with Democracy" (Shahabuddin 2005). Alam (1999) reports that "though people value the system of representation, they do not find the representatives elected by them as worthy of regard." In 1971, as much as 58 percent of voters said that the elected representatives do not pay attention to, or care about, voters' interests and concerns. The situation became worse by 1996 when the percentage of disillusioned voters went up to as much as 63 percent. Reacting on it, Sau (2002) wrote, "Going by Javeed Alam's incisive study we can say that our commitment to democracy is deepening; but our voices are increasingly falling short of reaching the august precincts of legislature and judiciary. We are being increasingly alienated. Yet, every one of us has an invaluable story to

tell, a precious lesson of experience to deposit with the society. It is time we have a forum, where everyone will have an invitation to come and speak. Let billion voices rise." On the basis of the above quotes it can be logically and firmly concluded that: (i) democratic system of governance is still pre-matured; (ii) all over the world academicians and researchers in general and the communists in particular are more interested in highlighting the failure of democratic system of governance in achieving its intended goal, i.e., ensuring different types of human rights, different types of equalities, different types of justices, different types of liberties and different types of securities to every citizen of the State; and (iii) required efforts have not been made (a) to identify the tools which implement democratic system of governance, (b) to pinpoint the defects in the structures of these tools, and (c) to find out the feasible solutions. The present situation of democratic system of governance can be equated with the crashed aircraft. In order to find out maladies and feasible remedies, one has to postmortem the black box related to the democratic system of governance, i.e., "(alternate) structures of the tools which implement democratic system of governance". The present book is an effort in this direction. Right to vote is the foundation of Democratic Republic. Right to vote demands the multi-tier institutional structure of governance and procedure for election which must ensure the availability of every participating voter of the constituency/electoral college for getting his/her thoughts-expressions-actions evaluated by every participating voter of the constituency/electoral college on the basis of day-to-day interaction. Multi-tier institutional structure of governance constituted and operated by so called ideology based political parties and as per 'the first-past-the post' system based procedure for election converted the democratic right to vote into right to endorse the choice of one or the other political party or of any independent candidate. Ill conceived definitions of the concepts of 'voter', 'right to vote' and 'election' destroyed the theoretical and legal base of 'right to vote'. In brief, through Constitution and the Representation of the People Act, the Constituent Assembly provided to the sovereign citizens of independent India an unbreakable Vicious Circle of Constitutional Democratic Republic, which is a very serious legislative conspiracy and a huge fraud perpetrated by the legislators of independent India against the voters of the so called largest democracy of the world. In order to immunize the ill conceived definitions of the above mentioned concepts from judicial review and the unbreakable Vicious Circle of Constitutional Democratic Republic from the public action through referendum, the Constituent Assembly of India included Article 329 and Article 368 respectively in the Constitution. Article 368 provides monopolistic authority to the Parliament - which is the shadow of the Political Parties - to amend the Constitution. The Political Parties and their leaders could have corrected the legislative conspiracy and huge fraud through constitutional amendments. Instead, the Political Parties and their leaders utilized the Constitution and its provisions for their own existence-survival-growth. Since last twenty five years, the voters of the country have been giving fractured verdicts against the governance of so called ideology based party system, which have never been seen-heard-felt by the Political Parties and their leaders from the angle of the voters of the country. In this situation, initiating and running a Revolutionary Democratic Movement in the country successfully for realising the democratic rights, i.e., "equal opportunity-liberty-right to contest election and to cast his/her vote in favour of the candidate nominated by himself/herself only to every voter of the country, is the only option left with the citizens of this great nation. The subject matter of the book has been divided into five chapters. The first chapter explains the proposed "partyless six-tier decentralised bottom-to-top institutional structure of governance" and 'Rule of Maximum Vote" based procedure for election. The second chapter provides insights of the Constitutional Democratic Republic. Third and fourth chapters deal with the intellectuals and judicial commentary on the Constitutional Democratic Republic respectively. The fifth chapter summarises the subject matter of the book.

I am aware of the fact that this book could have not been completed without the help and active support from all the members of the Revolutionary Democratic Movement in general and its Office Secretary Mr. Arvind Kumar Tewari, Working President Mr. Ranjan Dwivedi, Finance Secretary Mr. Radhe Shyam Sharma, Vice-President Mr. Mathilisharan and General Secretary Mr. Feroze Ahmed in particular. Therefore, it is my prime duty and responsibility to express my deep sense of gratitude to all of them for their valuable support and inspiration. The author would like to dedicate his thoughts on different aspects related to the ideal form of 'Representative Democracy' to humanity in general and to Indian citizens in particular with the hope that one day they would put collective and cumulative demand for their democratic right, i.e., "equal opportunity for getting elected".

(JAG PAL SINGH)

CONTENTS TITLE

PAGE

FORWARD

iv-v

PREFACE

vi-x

I.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 1.1 Operators of the Democratic System of Governance 1.2 Democratic Institutional Structure of Governance 1.3 Democratic Procedure for Election 1.4 Interdependence 1.5 Conclusion

1-10

II.

CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC 2.1 Constitutional Structure of Governance 2.2 Political Parties 2.3 Existing Procedure for Election 2.4 Guidelines 2.5 Power of Amendment 2.6 Conclusion

11-41

III.

INTELLECTUALS COMMENTARY 3.1 Commentary on Constitution Itself 3.2 Legislators: Obvious Outcome of the Combination 3.3 Working of the Political Parties 3.4 Working of the Institutional Structure of Governance 3.5 Working of the Procedure for Election 3.6 Conclusion

42-73

IV.

JUDICIAL COMMENTARY 4.1 Elector/Voter 4.2 Right to Vote/Electoral Right 4.3 Election 4.4 Bar to Interference by Courts in Electoral Matters. 4.5 Constitutional Validity 4.6 Vicious Circle of Constitutional Democratic Republic 4.7 Conclusion

74-105

V.

SUMMARY 5.1 Sovereign-Socialist-Secular 5.2 Democratic Republic 5.3 Conclusion

106-117

REFERENCES

118-126

CHAPTER – I CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK In order to block the continuation of dynastic rule, the sovereign citizens of independent India consciously or unconsciously accepted the Democratic Republic as a system of governance. In dynastic rule, single tier institution of governance is sequentially constituted and operated by the members of one and the same family. On the contrary, in Democratic Republic multi-tier institutional structure of governance is constituted and operated by the voters of the country and their nominees/representatives. In case of Democratic Republic, the constitutors and operators of multi-tier institutional structure of governance are bound to be the obvious outcome of the adopted multi-tier institutional structure of governance and the procedure for election. Accordingly, the subject matter of this chapter has been divided in five parts. The first part describes the expected roles of the constitutors and operators of the multi-tier institutional structure of governance. The second part provides insight into the Democratic Institutional Structure of Governance. The third part explains the Democratic Procedure for Election. The fourth part explains the interdependence between the multi-tier institutional structure of governance and procedure for election and the fifth part deals with the conclusion. I. OPERATORS OF THE DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM OF GOVERNANCE: Operation of multi-tier institutional structure of governance includes formulation and implementation of cultural-religious-social-economic-judicial-administrative systems, institutions, policies, laws, acts, rules and programmes. Objectives, quality and nature of the ultimate outcome to be achieved out of the operation of multi-tier institutional structure of governance largely depend on by whom the multi-tier institutional structure of governance is being constituted: by the nominees of the political parties? Or by the voters of the country and their nominees? Or by the opportunists? It is quite obvious that the nominees of the Political Parties would prefer to formulate and implement systems, institutions, policies, laws, acts, rules and programmes for the existence- survival- growth of the Political Parties; the voters of the country and their nominees would prefer to formulate and implement systems, institutions, policies, laws, acts, rules and programmes for the existence- survival- growth-welfare of the citizens of the country and the opportunists would prefer to formulate and implement systems, institutions, policies, laws, acts, rules and programmes for the existence- survival- growth of selves and their family members. II. DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE OF GOVERNANCE: Existence- survival- growth- welfare of the citizens of the country demands a multi-tier institutional structure of governance which must be constituted and operated by the voters and their nominees only. The major characteristics of such multi-tier institutional structure of governance are as under: 1. Equal opportunity-liberty-right to every voter of the constituency/Electoral College for getting his/her thoughts-expressions-actions evaluated by every participating voter of the constituency/electoral college on the basis of day-to-day interaction, is a must. 2. All the members of Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, Chief Ministers and Prime Minister must be elected as per 'Rule of Maximum Vote'. 3. Every constituency/Electoral College must have an institution of governance.

4. The higher level of institution of governance must be constituted after a period of six months from the date of constituting all the lower level institutions of governance. Multi-tier institutional structure of governance can be either centralized top-to-bottom or decentralized bottom-to-top. In multi-tier centralized top-to-bottom institutional structure of governance, sizes of Lok Sabha and State Assemblies constituencies in terms of number of voters are bound to be very large. Also, multi-tier centralized top-to-bottom institutional structure of governance forces: (a) to initiate the process of politicization of multi-tier centralized top-to-bottom institutional structure of governance; (b) to adopt justificationauthority based evaluation-monitoring mechanism creating very wide space and scope for corruption; and (c) to adopt punitive measures for sensitizing human emotions, sentiments, thoughts and overall behavior. In fact, the process of politicization starts from politicizing multi-tier centralized top-to-bottom institutional structure of governance and completes it's journey after politicizing criminal systems, institutions and individuals. It is quite clear that multi-tier centralized top-to-bottom institutional structure of governance is incapable to satisfy any of the four characteristics of multi-tier institutional structure of governance constituted and operated by the voters of the country and their nominees. In multi-tier decentralized bottom-to-top institutional structure of governance, the size of the constituency/Electoral College is always within the capacity of a normal voter to observe thoughts-expressions-actions of every voter of the constituency/Electoral College on the basis of day-to-day interaction. In multi-tier decentralized bottom-to-top institutional structure of governance, the concerned voters participate directly in constituting and operating the lowest or grassroots level institution of governance under the leadership of their nominee/representative. In the constitution and operation of the higher level institutions of governance, the participating voters of different constituencies/electoral colleges related to the concerned institution of governance participate indirectly through their nominees/representatives. Multi-tier decentralized bottom-to-top institutional structure of governance forces: (a) to initiate the process of socialization of multi-tier decentralized bottom-to-top institutional structure of governance; (b) to adopt verification-consumers oriented evaluation-monitoring mechanism eliminating the space and scope of corruption; and (c) to adopt preventive-incentive measures for sensitizing human emotions, sentiments, thoughts and over all behavior. The process of socialization also starts from socializing multitier decentralized bottom-to-top institutional structure of governance and completes its journey after socializing the process of sensitizing the human emotions, sentiments, thoughts and over all behavior. Multi-tier decentralized bottom-to-top institutional structure of governance is capable enough to satisfy all the four characteristics of multi-tier institutional structure of governance constituted and operated by the voters of the country and their nominees. In the light of the above discussion, the concept of democracy (direct democracy) can be redefined in the following manner, "Single tier institution of governance constituted and operated by all the eligible citizens (people) of the country." Similarly, the concept of Democratic Republic can be defined in terms of "Party-less multi-tier decentralized bottom-totop institutional structure of governance constituted and operated by the participating voters of the country and their nominees." In such governances, 'givers' and 'takers' are one and the same, i.e. "the people". Such governances, by design, are "for the people". In fact, as the system of governance, Democratic Republic, Stateless Society, Swaraj and Partyless Democracy theoretically, behaviorally and procedurally are perfect substitute of each other. Partyless multi-tier decentralized bottom-to-top institutional structure of governance in varying degrees and procedure for election based on the "Rule of Maximum Vote" for its constitution and operation are the pre-conditions for implementing all these forms of system of governance. In the light of the major characteristics of party-less multi-tier institutional structure of governance constituted and operated by the participating voters of the country and their

nominees and also demographic size of India, a six-tier decentralized bottom-to-top institutional structure of governance is being given below: Ward (a geographical area having around two hundred population) — Village/Molalla (ten wards) — Cluster of Villages/Mohallas (ten villages/ mohallas) — District (twenty clusters of villages/mohallas) — State (twenty five districts) — Nation (one hundred and ten states). In the present circumstances, the size of the Lok Sabha should not be more than one hundred and ten members. III. DEMOCRATIC PROCEDURE FOR ELECTION: Constitution of multi-tier decentralized bottom-to-top institutional structure of governance covers elections of Members of Lok Sabha, State Assemblies, Chief Ministers and Prime Minister. All of them can be elected either as per 'Rule of Majority Vote' or as per 'Rule of Maximum Vote'. 'Rule of Majority Vote' is based on the concept of 'Median' and 'Rule of Maximum Vote' is based on the concept of 'Mode' of Statistics Science. In case of 'Rule of Majority Vote', at every election the number of contesting candidates must be two only; every voter of the constituency/electoral college must cast his/her vote at the election; existence of two outside agencies in the name of Political Parties for nominating two contesting candidates at every election is a must and every participating voter of the constituency/electoral college has to endorse the choice of one or the other Political Party in the name of 'Right to Vote'. Application of 'Rule of Majority Vote' is generally adopted in case of multi-tier centralized topto-bottom institutional structure of governance. In case of 'Rule of Maximum Vote', the number of contesting candidates at every election must be equal to the number of participating voters of the constituency/electoral college; every voter of the constituency/electoral college must have equal opportunity-liberty-right to contest election and to cast his/her vote in favor of the candidate nominated by himself/herself only. The participating voter nominated by the maximum number of voters of the constituency/electoral college is supposed to get elected as a nominee/ representative of the constituency/electoral college. This, in a way, confirms direct and indirect participation of every participating voter of the country not only in constituting multi-tier decentralized bottom-to-top institutional structure of governance but also in formulating and implementing cultural-religions-social-economic-judicial-administrative systems, institutions, policies, acts, laws, rules and programmes for ensuring (a) justice, equality, liberty, perfect competition and fraternity; (b) fulfillment of all the legitimate needs of every citizen of the country; (c) effectiveness of Indian principles of co-existence, participation and inter-dependence; and (d) simultaneous development of every citizen of India, every local society of India, Indigenousness and India as a whole. Situation having the number of contesting candidates more than two and less than the number of participating voters of the constituency/electoral college does not satisfy the pre-conditions either of 'Rule of Majority Vote' or of 'Rule of Maximum Vote'. This is the situation which suits to the opportunists. This rule of election is applicable only in case of multi-tier centralized topto-bottom institutional structure of governance. It is a well known fact that an individual voter cannot elect the representative of his/her constituency/Electoral College. The concept of 'vote' in essence and spirit inherently constitutes the personal choice of an individual participating voter of the constituency/Electoral College. Application of such concept of 'vote' includes three inseparable and interdependent democratic sub-functions - (a) right to evaluate thoughts-expressionsactions of every participating voter of the constituency/electoral college on the basis of dayto-day interaction; (b) out of all the participating voters of the constituency/electoral college to select the most suitable one as a contesting candidate; and (c) through ballot paper or any

other media, to express his/her selection/nomination. As such, an individual voter is an 'evaluator-cum-nominator rather than an elector. Election expresses communitarian choice of the participating voters of the constituency/Electoral College. To be more specific, election expresses the level of agreement among the participating voters of the constituency/Electoral College in respect of every participating voter of the constituency/Electoral College. Level of agreement is a scale. The least count of this scale is complete disagreement among the participating voters and the highest count is complete agreement among the participating voters in respect of a particular participating voter of the constituency/Electoral College. In case of complete disagreement, every participating voter gets one vote only and in case of complete agreement, every participating voter of the constituency/ Electoral College casts his/her vote in favor of one and the same participating voter of the constituency/electoral college. Generally, the real situation is supposed to be in between complete disagreement and complete agreement. According to the above mentioned definition of 'election', the voters getting the highest, the second highest and the third highest number of votes are to be declared elected. For special circumstances, special provisions are a must. The voter getting the highest number of votes would provide leadership for constituting the institution of governance at ward level. All the voters of the concerned ward would be the members of this institution of governance (this is the situation of direct democracy at the grass root level). At a time, a voter can not be the member of more than one institution of governance. The voter getting the second highest number of votes would represent all the voters of his/her constituency/Electoral College at the next level of governance. On behalf of the voters of his/her constituency/electoral college, he/she would participate in building and operating the institution of governance at this level and also perform the roles of a voter and contesting candidate for electing three second-order representatives. If in this election, his/her position is among the first two representatives then in order to ensure the representation of the voters of his/her constituency/electoral college in the village/mohalla level institution of governance, the voter getting the third highest number of votes at ward level would replace the earlier representative and his/her membership at the ward level institution of governance would automatically cease. This procedure for building the institutional structure of governance would continue up to the national level. In case of world level institutional structure of governance, the proposed procedure for election may also go up to the world level. In the world level institution of governance, the number of the members from a particular country is supposed to be in proportion of its population. The symbolic form of the proposed procedure for election is as under: Basic Voters/Candidates  The First Order Representatives (Voters/Candidates)  The Second Order Representatives (Voters/ Candidates)  The Third Order Representatives (Voters/Candidates)  The Fourth Order Representatives (Voters/Candidates)  The Fifth Order Representatives (Voters/Candidates)  The Sixth Order Representatives (Voters/Candidates)  Prime Minister/ President. The election of the representatives constituting the institution of governance at the next level would be held after a period of six months from the date of constituting all the institutions of governance at one lower level. All the concerned representatives would attend all the sessions of the higher level institution of governance without right to vote. During this period, they would get an opportunity to interact and know each other behaviorally. The resolution passed and approved by the concerned institution of governance against any of its member would disqualify him/her being the basic voter till the end of the next election. IV. INTERDEPENDENCE:

Multi-tier institutional structure of governance and procedure for election are not two separate and independent aspects. They are not only inter-connected with each other but very much inter-dependent on each other. For multi-tier institutional structure of governance, procedure for election plays the same role as the foundation plays for constructing a building. For changing the foundation of the existing building one has to (i) get altogether a new and different sketch or map of the building to be constructed; (ii) demolish the existing building; and (iii) lay down the new and different foundation as per the new and different sketch or map of the building to be constructed. Similarly, for electoral reform one has to ensure the availability of commonly agreed a new and different multi-tier institutional structure of governance, willingness of the citizens of the country to demolish the existing multi-tier institutional structure of governance and to adopt the commonly agreed procedure for election and a new and different multi-tier institutional structure of governance. Without these things, it would not be possible to make any substantial change in the existing system of governance. In other words, for ensuring the availability of every participating voter of the constituency/electoral college for getting his/her thoughts- expressions- actions evaluated by every participating voter of the constituency/electoral college on the basis of day-to-day interaction, the reformers and the social activists intending election reform have to change both existing procedure for election as well as the existing multi-tier institutional structure of governance together and simultaneously. V. CONCLUSION: Availability of every participating voter of the constituency/electoral college for getting his/her thoughts-expressions-actions evaluated by every participating voter of the constituency/electoral college on the basis of day-to-day interaction is the inherent essence and spirit of Democratic Republic. Multi-tier institutional structure of governance, procedure for election and operators of the multi-tier institutional structure of governance, are the basic tools which implement the democratic system of governance. Different types of multi-tier institutional structures of governance; different types of procedures for election and different types of operators constitute three compatible combinations. They are: 1. Multi-party based multi-tier centralized top-to-bottom institutional structure of governance…….. constituted……. as per 'the first-past-the post' system and 'Rule of Majority Vote'……… operated……… by the nominees of the Political Parties. 2. Partyless multi-tier decentralized bottom-to-top institutional structure of governance……… constituted …….. as per 'Rule of Maximum Vote'…… operated……. by the voters of the country and their nominees. 3. Multi-party based multi-tier centralized top-to-bottom institutional structure of governance… constituted…… as per 'the first-past-the post' and 'Rule of Majority Vote'…… operated……. by the opportunists in the form of Alliances. Now, it is up to the sovereign citizens of sovereign India: (i) to choose the combination of democratic structures of different tools with the help of the subject matter given in this chapter itself; (ii) to validate the democratic structures of the tools on the basis of intellectuals and judicial commentary given in the third and fourth chapters respectively; and (iii) to give birth to a nationwide Revolutionary Democratic Movement for replacing undemocratic structures of the tools by the democratic ones.

CHAPTER - 2 CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC Besides Preamble, Twelve Schedules and Two Appendixes, the Constitution of India includes three hundred ninety five Articles on different subjects, aspects and issues. This chapter gives brief idea about the Articles dealing with: (i) institutional structure of governance; (ii) political parties; (iii) procedure for election; (iv) guidelines for formulating and implementing systems, institutions, policies, acts, laws, rules and programmes; and (v) power to amend the Constitution. I. CONSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE OF GOVERNANCE: In order to implement the Democratic Republic in independent India, the Constituent Assembly of the country evolved a multi-party based five-tier centralized top-to-bottom institutional structure of governance. Parliament is at the top; State Assemblies are at the middle and Three-tier Panchayat Raj at the bottom of the institutional structure of governance. A. PARLIAMENT Article 79: Constitution of Parliament- There shall be a Parliament for the Union which shall consist of the President and two Houses to be known respectively as the Council of States and the House of the People. Article 80: Composition of the Council of States(1) The Council of States shall consist of - (a) twelve members to be nominated by the President in accordance with the provisions of clause (3), and (b) not more than two hundred and thirty-eight representatives of the States and of the Union territories. (2) The allocation of seats in the Council of States to be filled by representatives of the States and of the Union territories shall be in accordance with the provisions in that behalf contained in the Fourth Schedule. (3) The members to be nominated by the President under sub-clause (a) of clause (1) shall consist of persons having special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as the following, namely. Literature, science, art and social service. (4) The representatives of each State in the Council of States shall be elected by the elected members of the Legislative Assembly of the State in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. (5) The representatives of the Union territories in the Council of States shall be chosen in such manner as Parliament may by law prescribe. Article 81. Composition of the House of the People(1) Subject to the provisions of article 331, the House of the People shall consist of (a) not more than five hundred and thirty members chosen by direct election from territorial constituencies in the States, and (b) not more than twenty members to represent the Union territories, chosen in such manner as Parliament may by law provide.

(2) For the purposes of sub-clause (a) of clause (1); (a) there shall be allotted to each State a number of seats in the House of the People in such manner that the ratio between that number and the population of the State is, so far as practicable, the same for all States; and (b) each State shall be divided into territorial constituencies in such manner that the ratio between the population of each constituency and the number of seats allotted to it is, so far as practicable, the same throughout the State: Provided that the provisions of sub-clause (a) of this clause shall not be applicable for the purpose of allotment of seats in the House of the People to any State so long as the population of that State does not exceed six millions. (3) In this article, the expression "population" means the population as ascertained at the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published: Provided that the reference in this clause to the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published shall, until the relevant figures for the first census taken after the year 2026 have been published, be construed- (i) for the purposes of sub-clause (a) of clause (2) and the proviso to that clause, as a reference to the 1971 census; and (ii) for the purpose of sub-clause (b) of clause (2) as a reference to the 2001 census. Article 82. Readjustment after each census- Upon the completion of each census, the allocation of seats in the House of the People to the States and the division of each State into territorial constituencies shall be readjusted by such authority and in such manner as Parliament may by law determine: Provided that such readjustment shall not affect representation in the House of the People until the dissolution of the then existing House; Provided further that such readjustment shall take effect from such date as the President may, by order, specify and until such readjustment takes effect, any election to the House may be held on the basis of the territorial constituencies existing before such readjustment; Provided also that until the relevant figures for the first census taken after the year 2026 have been published, it shall not be necessary to readjust: (i) the allocation of seats in the House of the People to the States as readjusted on the basis of the 1971 census; and (ii) the division of each State into territorial constituencies as may be readjusted on the basis of the 2001 census, under this article. Article 83. Duration of Houses of Parliament(1) The Council of States shall not be subject to dissolution, but as nearly as possible one-third of the members thereof shall retire as soon as may be on the expiration of every second year in accordance with the provisions made in that behalf by Parliament by law. (2) The House of the People, unless sooner dissolved, shall continue for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting and no longer and the expiration of the said period of five years shall operate as a dissolution of the House: Provided that the said period may, while a Proclamation of Emergency is in operation, be extended by Parliament by law for a period not exceeding one year at a time and not extending in any case beyond a period of six months after the Proclamation has ceased to operate. (B) THE STATE LEGISLATURE: Article 168. Constitution of Legislatures in States1) For every State there shall be a Legislature which shall consist of the Governor, and (a) in the States of 1***, Bihar 2*** 3-4***, 5[Maharashtra], 6[Karnataka], 7*** 8[and Uttar Pradesh], two Houses, and (b) in other States, one House. (2) Where there are two Houses of the Legislature of a State, one shall be known as the Legislative Council and the other as the Legislative Assembly, and where there is only one House, it shall be known as the Legislative Assembly.

Article 169. Abolition or creation of Legislative Councils in States(1) Notwithstanding anything in Article 168, Parliament may by law provide for the abolition of the Legislative Council of a State having such a Council or for the creation of such a Council in a State having no such Council, if the Legislative Assembly of the State passes a resolution to that effect by a majority of the total membership of the Assembly and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of the Assembly present and voting. (2) Any law referred to in clause (1) shall contain such provisions for the amendment of this Constitution as may be necessary to give effect to the provisions of the law and may also contain such supplemental, incidental and consequential provisions as Parliament may deem necessary. (3) No such law as aforesaid shall be deemed to be an amendment of this Constitution for the purposes of Article 368. Article 170. Composition of the Legislative Assemblies(1) Subject to the provisions of article 333, the Legislative Assembly of each State shall consist of not more than five hundred, and not less than sixty members chosen by direct election from territorial constituencies in the State. (2) For the purposes of clause (1), each State shall be divided into territorial constituencies in such manner that the ratio between the population of each constituency and the number of seats allotted to it shall, so far as practicable, be the same throughout the State. [Explanation—In this clause, the expression "population" means the population as ascertained at the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published: Provided that the reference in this Explanation to the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published shall, until the relevant figures for the first census taken after the year 2026 have been published, be construed as a reference to the 2001 census.] (3) Upon the completion of each census, the total number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of each State and the division of each State into territorial constituencies shall be readjusted by such authority and in such manner as Parliament may by law determine: Provided that such readjustment shall not affect representation in the Legislative Assembly until the dissolution of the then existing Assembly: Provided further that such readjustment shall take effect from such date as the President may, by order, specify and until such readjustment takes effect, any election to the Legislative Assembly may be held on the basis of the territorial constituencies existing before such readjustment: Provided also that until the relevant figures for the first census taken after the year 2026 have been published, it shall not be necessary to readjust- (i) the total number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of each State as readjusted on the basis of the 1971 census; and (ii) the division of such State into territorial constituencies as may be readjusted on the basis of the 2001 census, under this clause. Article 171. Composition of the Legislative Councils(1) The total number of members in the Legislative Council of a State having such a Council shall not exceed one-third of the total number of members in the Legislative Assembly of that State: Provided that the total number of members in the Legislative Council of a State shall in no case be less than forty. (2) Until Parliament by law otherwise provides, the composition of the Legislative Council of a State shall be as provided in clause (3).

(3) Of the total number of members of the Legislative Council of a State- (a) as nearly as may be, one-third shall be elected by electorates consisting of members of municipalities, district boards and such other local authorities in the State as Parliament may by law specify; (b) as nearly as may be, one-twelfth shall be elected by electorates consisting of persons residing in the State who have been for at least three years graduates of any university in the territory of India or have been for at least three years in possession of qualifications prescribed by or under any law made by Parliament as equivalent to that of a graduate of any such university; (c) as nearly as may be, one-twelfth shall be elected by electorates consisting of persons who have been for at least three years engaged in teaching in such educational institutions within the State, not lower in standard than that of a secondary school, as may be prescribed by or under any law made by Parliament; (d) as nearly as may be, one-third shall be elected by the members of the Legislative Assembly of the State from amongst persons who are not members of the Assembly; and (e) the remainder shall be nominated by the Governor in accordance with the provisions of clause (5). (4) The members to be elected under sub-clauses (a), (b) and (c) of clause (3) shall be chosen in such territorial constituencies as may be prescribed by or under any law made by Parliament, and the elections under the said sub-clauses and under sub-clause (d) of the said clause shall be held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. (5) The members to be nominated by the Governor under sub-clause (e) of clause (3) shall consist of persons having special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as the following, namely: Literature, science, art, co-operative movement and social service. Article 172. Duration of State Legislatures(1) Every Legislative Assembly of every State, unless sooner dissolved, shall continue for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting and no longer and the expiration of the said period of five years shall operate as a dissolution of the Assembly: Provided that the said period may, while a Proclamation of Emergency is in operation, be extended by Parliament by law for a period not exceeding one year at a time and not extending in any case beyond a period of six months after the Proclamation has ceased to operate. (2) The Legislative Council of a State shall not be subject to dissolution, but as nearly as possible one-third of the members thereof shall retire as soon as may be on the expiration of every second year in accordance with the provisions made in that behalf by Parliament by law. (C) THREE-TIER PANCHAYAT RAJ: In the original Constitution of India, Article 40 dealt with the Three -Tier Panchayat Raj. The subject matter of Article 40 had been amended vide 73rd Amendment of the Constitution. The amended subject matter has been put under Article 243. Article 243. Definitions- In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires,(a) "District" means a district in a State; (b) "Gram Sabha" means a body consisting of persons registered in the electoral rolls relating to a village comprised within the area of Panchayat at the village level;

(c) "Intermediate level" means a level between the village and district levels specified by the Governor of a State by public notification to be the intermediate level for the purposes of this Part; (d) "Panchayat" means an institution (by whatever name called) of self-government constituted under Article 243B, for the rural areas; (e) "Panchayat area" means the territorial area of a Panchayat; (f) "Population" means the population as ascertained at the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published; (g) "Village" means a village specified by the Governor by public notification to be a village for the purposes of this Part and includes a group of villages so specified. Article 243A. Gram Sabha- A Gram Sabha may exercise such powers and performs such functions at the village level as the Legislature of a State may by law, provide. Article 243B. Constitution of Panchayats(1) There shall be constituted in every State, Panchayats at the village, intermediate and district levels in accordance with the provisions of this Part. (2) Notwithstanding anything in clause (1), Panchayats at the intermediate level may not be constituted in a State having a population not exceeding twenty lakhs. Article 243C. Composition of Panchayats.(1) Subject to the provisions of this Part, the Legislature of a State may, by law, make provisions with respect to the composition of Panchayats: Provided that the ratio between the population of the territorial area of a Panchayat at any level and the number of seats in such Panchayat to be filled by election shall, so far as practicable, be the same throughout the State. (2) All the seats in a Panchayat shall be filled by persons chosen by direct election from territorial constituencies in the Panchayat area and for this purpose, each Panchayat area shall be divided into territorial constituencies in such manner that the ratio between the population of each constituency and the number of seats allotted to it shall, so far as practicable, be the same throughout the Panchayat area. (3) The Legislature of a State may, by law, provide for the representation- (a) of the Chairpersons of the Panchayats at the village level, in the Panchayats at the intermediate level or, in the case of a State not having Panchayats at the intermediate level, in the Panchayats at the district level; (b) of the Chairpersons of the Panchayats at the intermediate level, in the Panchayats at the district level; (c) of the members of the House of the People and the members of the Legislative Assembly of the State representing constituencies which comprise wholly or partly a Panchayat area at a level other than the village level, in such Panchayat; and (d) of the members of the Council of States and the members of the Legislative Council of the State, where they are registered as electors within- (i) a Panchayat area at the intermediate level, in Panchayat at the intermediate level, and (ii) a Panchayat area at the district level, in Panchayat at the district level. (4) The Chairperson of a Panchayat and other members of a Panchayat whether or not chosen by direct election from territorial constituencies in the Panchayat area shall have the right to vote in the meetings of the Panchayats.

(5) The Chairperson of- (a) a Panchayat at the village level shall be elected in such manner as the Legislature of a State may, by law, provide; and (b) a Panchayat at the intermediate level or district level shall be elected by, and from amongst, the elected members thereof. Article 243D. Reservation of seats(1) Seats shall be reserved for- (a) the Scheduled Castes; and (b) the Scheduled Tribes, in every Panchayat and the number of seats so reserved shall bear, as nearly as may be, the same proportion to the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in that Panchayat as the population of the Scheduled Castes in that Panchayat area or of the Scheduled Tribes in that Panchayat area bears to the total population of that area and such seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Panchayat. (2) Not less than one-third of the total number of seats reserved under clause (1) shall be reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes or, as the case may be, the Scheduled Tribes. (3) Not less than one-third (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes) of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every Panchayat shall be reserved for women and such seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Panchayat. (4) The offices of the Chairpersons in the Panchayats at the village or any other level shall be reserved for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and women in such manner as the Legislature of a State may, by law, provide: Provided that the number of offices of Chairpersons reserved for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in the Panchayats at each level in any State shall bear, as nearly as may be, the same proportion to the total number of such offices in the Panchayats at each level as the population of the Scheduled Castes in the State or of the Scheduled Tribes in the State bears to the total population of the State: Provided further that not less than one-third of the total number of offices of Chairpersons in the Panchayats at each level shall be reserved for women: Provided also that the number of offices reserved under this clause shall be allotted by rotation to different Panchayats at each level. (5) The reservation of seats under clauses (1) and (2) and the reservation of offices of Chairpersons (other than the reservation for women) under clause (4) shall cease to have effect on the expiration of the period specified in Article 334. (6) Nothing in this Part shall prevent the Legislature of a State from making any provision for reservation of seats in any Panchayat or offices of Chairpersons in the Panchayats at any level in favor of backward class of citizens. Article 243E. Duration of Panchayats etc.(1) Every Panchayat, unless sooner dissolved under any law for the time being in force, shall continue for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting and no longer. (2) No amendment of any law for the time being in force shall have the effect of causing dissolution of a Panchayat at any level, which is functioning immediately before such amendment, till the expiration of its duration specified in clause (1). (3) An election to constitute a Panchayat shall be completed- (a} before the expiry of its duration specified in clause (1); and (b) before the expiration of a period of six months from the date of its dissolution: Provided that where the remainder of the period for which the

dissolved Panchayat would have continued is less than six months, it shall not be necessary to hold any election under this clause for constituting the Panchayat for such period. (4) A Panchayat constituted upon the dissolution of a Panchayat before the expiration of its duration shall continue only for the remainder of the period for which the dissolved Panchayat would have continued under clause (1) had it not been so dissolved. II. POLITICAL PARTIES: India has a multi-party system and politics is dominated by several national and regional parties. Section 29A: Registration with the Election Commission of Associations and Bodies as Political Parties – (1) Any association or body of individual citizens of India calling itself a political party and intending to avail itself of the provisions of this Part shall make an application to the Election Commission for its registration as a political party for the purposes of this Act. (2) Every such application shall be made- (a) if the association or body is in existence at the commencement of the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1988 (1 of 1989), within sixty days next following such commencement, and (b) if the association or body is formed after such commencement, within thirty days next following the date of its formation. (3) Every application under sub-section (1) shall be signed by the chief executive officer of the association or body (whether such chief executive officer is known as Secretary or by any other designation) and presented to the Secretary to the Commission or sent to such Secretary by registered post. (4) Every such application shall contain the following particulars, namely- (a) the name of the association or body; (b) the State in which its head office is situated; (c) the address to which letters and other communications meant for it should be sent; (d) the names of its president, secretary, treasurer and other office bearers; (e) the numerical strength of its members, and if there are categories of its members, the numerical strength in each category; (f) whether it has any local units; if so, at what levels; and (g) whether it is represented by any member or members in either House of Parliament or of any State Legislature; if so, the number of such member or members. (5) The application under sub-section (1) shall be accompanied by a copy of the memorandum or rules and regulations of the association or body, by whatever name called, and such memorandum or rules and regulations shall contain a specific provision that the association or body shall bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, and to the principles of socialism, secularism and democracy, and would uphold the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India. (6) The Commission may call for such other particulars as it may deem fit from the association or body. (7) After considering all the particulars as aforesaid in its possession and any other necessary and relevant factors and after giving the representatives of the association or body reasonable opportunity of being heard, the Commission shall decide either to register the association or body as a political party for the purposes of this Part, or not so to register it; and the Commission shall communicate its decision to the association or body: Provided that no association or body shall be registered as a political party under this sub-section unless the

memorandum or rules and regulations of such association or body conform to the provisions of sub-section(5). (8) The decision of the Commission shall be final. (9) After an association or body has been registered as a political party as aforesaid, any change in its name, head office, office-bearers, address or in any other material matters shall be communicated to the Commission without delay. III. EXISTING PROCEDURE FOR ELECTION: A. QUALIFICATION: (a) Member of Parliament Article 84. Qualification for membership of Parliament- A person shall not be qualified to be chosen to fill a seat in Parliament unless he- (a) is a citizen of India, and makes and subscribes before some person authorized in that behalf by the Election Commission an oath or affirmation according to the form set out for the purpose in the Third Schedule; (b) is, in the case of a seat in the Council of Sates, not less than thirty years of age and, in the case of a seat in the House of the People, not less than twenty-five years of age, and (c) possesses such other qualifications as may be prescribed in that behalf by or under any law made by Parliament. (b) Member of State Legislature Article 173. Qualification for membership of the State Legislature- A person shall not be qualified to be chosen to fill a seat in the Legislature of a State unless he- (a) is a citizen of India, and makes and subscribes before some person authorised in that behalf by the Election Commission an oath or affirmation according to the form set out for the purpose in the Third Schedule; (b) is, in the case of a seat in the Legislative Assembly, not less than twenty-five years of age and, in the case of a seat in the Legislative Council, not less than thirty years of age; and (c) possesses such other qualifications as may be prescribed in that behalf by or under any law made by Parliament. B. PROCEDURE IN BRIEF: Section- 13D of the Representation of the People Act 1950. Electoral rolls for parliamentary constituencies(1) The electoral roll for every parliamentary constituency, other than a parliamentary constituency in the State of Jammu and Kashmir or in a Union territory not having a Legislative Assembly, shall consist of the electoral rolls for all the assembly constituencies comprised within that parliamentary constituency; and it shall not be necessary to prepare or revise separately the electoral roll for any such parliamentary constituency: Provided that for the period referred to in clause (2) of Article 371A, it shall be necessary to prepare and revise separately the electoral roll for that part of the parliamentary constituency of Nagaland which comprises the Tuensang district and the provisions of Part III shall apply in relation to the preparation and revision of the electoral roll of the said part as they apply in relation to an assembly constituency. (2) The provisions of Part III shall apply in relation to every parliamentary constituency in the State of Jammu and Kashmir or in a Union territory not having a Legislative Assembly as they apply in relation to an assembly constituency.

Section- 15 of the Representation of the People Act 1950. Electoral roll for every constituencyFor every constituency there shall be an electoral roll which shall be prepared in accordance with the provisions of this Act under the superintendence, direction and control of the Election Commission. Section- 14 of the Representation of the People Act 1951. Notification for general election to the House of the People(1) A general election shall be held for the purpose of constituting a new House of the People on the expiration of the duration of the existing House or on its dissolution. (2) For the said purpose the President shall, by one or more notifications published in the Gazette of India on such date or dates as may be recommended by the Election Commission call upon all Parliamentary constituencies to elect members in accordance with the provisions of this Act and of the rules and orders made there under: Provided that where a general election is held otherwise than on the dissolution of the existing House of the People, no such notification shall be issued at any time earlier than six months prior to the date on which the duration of that House would expire under the provisions of clause (2) of Article 83. Section-14A of the Representation of the People Act 1951. Notification for electing the representative of the State of Sikkim to the existing House of the People- For the purpose of electing a representative of the State of Sikkim to the House of the People, specified in clause (e) of Article 371F of the Constitution, the Election Commission shall call upon the members of the Legislative Assembly of the State of Sikkim to elect the representative in accordance with such of the provisions of this Act, and the rules and orders make there under, as are applicable to the election of the members of the Council of States. Section- 15 of the Representation of the People Act 1951. Notification for general election to a State Legislative Assembly(1) A general election shall be held for the purpose of constituting a new Legislative Assembly on the expiration of the duration of the existing Assembly or on its dissolution. (2) For the said purpose, the Governor or Administrator, as the case may be, shall by one or more notifications published in the Official Gazette of the State on such date or dates as may be recommended by the Election Commission, call upon all Assembly constituencies in the State to elect members in accordance with the provisions of this Act and of the rules and orders made there under: Provided that where a general election is held otherwise than on the dissolution of the existing Legislative Assembly, no such notification shall be issued at any time earlier than six months prior to the date on which the duration of that Assembly would expire under the provisions of clause (1) of Article 172 or under the provisions of section 5 of the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963 (20 of 1963), as the case may be. Section- 30 of the Representation of the People Act 1951. Appointment of dates for nominations, etc.- As soon as the notification calling upon a constituency to elect a member or members is issued, the Election Commission shall, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint- (a) the last date for making nominations, which shall be the seventh day after the date of publication of the first mentioned notification or, if that day is a public holiday, the next succeeding day which is not a public holiday; (b) the date for the scrutiny of nominations, which shall be the day immediately following the last date for making nominations or, if that day is a public holiday, the next succeeding day which is not a public holiday; (c) the last date for the withdrawal of candidatures, which shall be the second day after the date for the scrutiny of nominations or, if that day is a public holiday, the next succeeding day which is not a public holiday; (d) the date or dates on which a poll shall, if necessary, be taken, which or

the first of which shall be a date not earlier than the fourteenth day after the last date for the withdrawal of candidatures; and the date before which the election shall be completed. Section- 31 of the Representation of the People Act 1951. Public notice of election- On the issue of a notification under section 30, the returning officer shall give public notice of the intended election in such form and manner as may be prescribed, inviting nominations of candidates for such election and specifying the place at which the nomination papers are to be delivered. Section- 32 of the Representation of the People Act 1951. Nomination of candidates for election- Any person may be nominated as a candidate for election fill a seat if he is qualified to be chosen to fill that seat under the provisions of the Constitution and this Act or under the provisions of the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963 (20 of 1963), as the case may be. Section- 33 of the Representation of the People Act 1951. Presentation of nomination paper and requirements for a valid nomination- (1) On or before the date appointed under clause (a) of section 30 each candidate shall, either in person or by his proposer, between the hours of eleven O'clock in the forenoon and three O'clock in the afternoon deliver to the returning officer at the place specified in this behalf in the notice issued under section 31 a nomination paper completed in the prescribed form and signed by the candidate and by an elector of the constituency as proposer: Provided that a candidate not set up by a recognized political party, shall not be deemed to be duly nominated for election from a constituency unless the nomination paper is subscribed by ten proposers being electors of the constituency: Provided further that no nomination paper shall be delivered to the returning officer on a day which is a public holiday: Provided also that in the case of a local authorities' constituency, graduates' constituency or teachers' constituency, the reference to "an elector of the constituency as proposer" shall be construed as a reference to ten per cent, of the electors of the constituency or ten such electors, whichever is less, as proposers. (1A) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), for election to the Legislative Assembly of Sikkim (deemed to be the Legislative Assembly of that State only constituted under the Constitution), the nomination paper to be delivered to the returning officer shall be in such form and manner as may be prescribed: Provided that the said nomination paper shall be subscribed by the candidate as assenting to the nomination, and (a) in the case of a seat reserved for Sikkimese of Bhutia-Lepcha origin, also by at least twenty electors of the constituency as proposers and twenty electors of the constituency as seconders; (b) in the case of a seat reserved for Sanghas, also by at least twenty electors of the constituency as proposers and at least twenty electors of the constituency as seconders, and (c) in the case of a seat reserved for Sikkimese of Nepali origin, by an elector of the constituency as proposer: Provided further that no nomination paper shall be delivered to the returning officer on a day which is a public holiday. (2) In a constituency where any seat is reserved, a candidate shall not be deemed to be qualified to be chosen to fill that seat unless his nomination paper contains a declaration by him specifying the particular caste or tribe of which he is a member and the area in relation to which that caste or tribe is a Scheduled Caste or, as the case may be, a Scheduled Tribe of the State. (3) Where the candidate is a person who, having held any office referred to in section 9 has been dismissed and a period of five years has not elapsed since the dismissal, such person shall not be deemed to be duly nominated as a candidate unless his nomination paper is accompanied by a certificate issued in the prescribed manner by the Election Commission to the effect that he has not been dismissed for corruption or disloyalty to the State.

(4) On the presentation of a nomination paper, the returning officer shall satisfy himself that the names and electoral roll numbers of the candidate and his proposer as entered in the nomination paper are the same as those entered in the electoral rolls: Provided that no misnomer or inaccurate description or clerical, technical or printing error in regard to the name of the candidate or his proposer or any other person, or in regard to any place, mentioned in the electoral roll or the nomination paper and no clerical, technical or printing error in regard to the electoral roll numbers of any such person in the electoral roll or the nomination paper, shall affect the full operation of the electoral roll or the nomination paper with respect to such person or place in any case where the description in regard to the name of the person or place is such as to be commonly understood; and the returning officer shall permit any such misnomer or inaccurate description or clerical, technical or printing error to be corrected and where necessary, direct that any such misnomer, inaccurate description, clerical, technical or printing error in the electoral roll or in the nomination paper shall be overlooked. (5) Where the candidate is an elector of a different constituency, a copy of the electoral roll of that constituency or of the relevant part thereof or a certified copy of the relevant entries in such roll shall, unless it has been filed along with the nomination paper, be produced before the returning officer at the time of scrutiny. (6) Nothing in this section shall prevent any candidate from being nominated by more than one nomination paper: Provided that not more than four nomination papers shall be presented by or on behalf of any candidate or accepted by the returning officer for election in the same constituency. (7) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (6) or in any other provisions of this Act, a person shall not be nominated as a candidate for election (a) in the case of a general election to the House of the People (whether or not held simultaneously from all Parliamentary constituencies), from more than two Parliamentary constituencies; (b) in the case of a general election to the Legislative Assembly of a State (whether or not held simultaneously from all Assembly constituencies), from more than two Assembly constituencies in that State; (c) in the case of a biennial election to the Legislative Council of a State having such Council, from more than two Council constituencies in the State; (d) in the case of a biennial election to the Council of States for filling two or more seats allotted to a State, for filling more than two such seats; (e) in the case of bye-elections to the House of the People from two or more Parliamentary constituencies which are held simultaneously, from more than two such Parliamentary constituencies; (f) in the case of bye-elections to the Legislative Assembly of a State from two or more Assembly constituencies which are held simultaneously, from more than two such Assembly constituencies; (g) in the case of bye-elections to the Council of States for filling two or more seats allotted to a State, which are held simultaneously, for filling more than two such seats; and (h) in the case of bye-elections to the Legislative Council of a State having such Council from two or more Council constituencies which are held simultaneously, from more than two such Council constituencies. Section- 34 of the Representation of the People Act 1951. Deposits(1) A candidate shall not be deemed to be duly nominated for election from a constituency unless he deposits or causes to be deposited- (a) in the case of an election from a Parliamentary constituency, a sum of ten thousand rupees or where the candidate is a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, a sum of five thousand rupees; and (b) in the case of an election from an Assembly or Council constituency, a sum of five thousand rupees or where the candidate is a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, a sum of two thousand five hundred rupees: Provided that where a candidate has been nominated by more than one nomination paper for election in the same constituency, not more than one deposit shall be required of him under this sub-section.

(2) Any sum required to be deposited under sub-section (1) shall not be deemed to have been deposited under that sub-section unless at the time of delivery of the nomination paper under sub-section (1) or, as the case may be, sub-section (1A) of section 33, the candidate has either deposited or caused to be deposited that sum with the returning officer in cash or enclosed with the nomination paper a receipt showing that the said sum has been deposited by him or on his behalf in the Reserve Bank of India or in a Government Treasury. Section- 35 of the Representation of the People Act 1951. Notice of nominations and the time and place for their scrutiny- The returning officer shall, on receiving the nomination paper under sub-section (1) or, as the case may be, sub-section (1A) of section 33, inform the person or persons delivering the same of the date, time and place fixed for the scrutiny of nominations and shall enter on the nomination paper its serial number, and shall sign thereon a certificate stating the date on which and the hour at which the nomination paper has been delivered to him; and shall, as soon as may be thereafter, cause to be affixed in some conspicuous place in his office a notice of the nomination containing descriptions similar to those contained in the nomination paper, both of the candidate and of the proposer. Section- 36 of the Representation of the People Act 1951. Scrutiny of nomination1) On the date fixed for the scrutiny of nominations under section 30, the candidates, their election agents, one proposer of each candidate, and one other person duly authorized in writing by each candidate but no other person, may attend at such time and place as the returning officer may appoint; and the returning officer shall give them all reasonable facilities for examining the nomination papers of all candidates which have been delivered within the time and in the manner laid down in section 33. (2) The returning officer shall then examine the nomination papers and shall decide all objections which may be made to any nomination and may, either on such objection or on his own motion, after such summary inquiry, if any, as he thinks necessary, reject any nomination on any of the following grounds:- (a) that on the date fixed for the scrutiny of nominations the candidate either is not qualified or is disqualified for being chosen to fill the seat under any of the following provisions that may be applicable, namely:- Articles 84, 102, 173 and 191, Part II of this Act, and sections 4 and 14 of the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963 (20 of 1963); or (b) that there has been a failure to comply with any of the provisions of section 33 or section 34; or (c) that the signature of the candidate or the proposer on the nomination paper is not genuine. (3) Nothing contained in clause (b) or clause (c) of sub-section (2) shall be deemed to authorize the rejection of the nomination of any candidate on the ground of any irregularity in respect of a nomination paper, if the candidate has been duly nominated by means of another nomination paper in respect of which no irregularity has been committed. (4) The returning officer shall not reject any nomination paper on the ground of any defect which is not of a substantial character. (5) The returning officer shall hold the scrutiny on the date appointed in this behalf under clause (b) of section 30 and shall not allow any adjournment of the proceedings except when such proceedings are interrupted or obstructed by riot or open violence or by causes beyond his control: Provided that in case an objection is raised by the returning officer or is made by any other person, the candidate concerned may be allowed time to rebut it not later than the next day but one following the date fixed for scrutiny, and the returning officer shall record his decision on the date to which the proceedings have been adjourned.

(6) The returning officer shall endorse on each nomination paper his decision accepting or rejecting the same and, if the nomination paper is rejected, shall record in writing a brief statement of his reasons for such rejection. (7) For the purposes of this section, a certified copy of an entry in the electoral roll for the time being in force of a constituency shall be conclusive evidence of the fact that the person referred to in that entry is an elector for that constituency, unless it is proved that he is subject to a disqualification mentioned in section 16 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (43 of 1950). (8) Immediately after all the nomination papers have been scrutinized and decisions accepting or rejecting the same have been recorded, the returning officer shall prepare a list of validly nominated candidates, that is to say, candidates whose nominations have been found valid, and affix it to his notice board. Section- 37 of the Representation of the People Act 1951. Withdrawal of candidature(1) Any candidate may withdraw his candidature by a notice in writing which shall contain such particulars as may be prescribed and shall be subscribed by him and delivered before three O'clock in the afternoon on the day fixed under clause (c) of section 30 to the returning officer either by such candidate in person or by his proposer, or election agent who has been authorized in this behalf in writing by such candidate. (2) No person who has given a notice of withdrawal of his candidature under sub-section (1) shall be allowed to cancel the notice. (3) The returning officer shall, on being satisfied as to the genuineness of a notice or withdrawal and the identity of the person delivering it under sub-section (1), cause the notice to be affixed in some conspicuous place in his office. Section- 38 of the Representation of the People Act 1951. Publication of list of contesting candidates(1) Immediately after the expiry of the period within which candidatures may be withdrawn under sub-section (1) of section 37, the returning officer shall prepare and publish in such form and manner as may be prescribed a list of contesting candidates, that is to say, candidates who were included in the list of validly nominated candidates and who have not withdrawn their candidature within the said period. (2) For the purpose of listing the names under sub-section (1), the candidates shall be classified as follows, namely: (i) candidates of recognized political parties; (ii) candidates of registered political parties other than those mentioned in clause (i); (iii) other candidates. (3) The categories mentioned in sub-section (2) shall be arranged in the order specified therein and the names of candidates in each category shall be arranged in alphabetical order and the addresses of the contesting candidates as given in the nomination papers together with such other particulars as may be prescribed. Section- 56 of the Representation of the People Act 1951. Fixing time for poll- The Election Commission shall fix the hours during which the poll will be taken; and the hours so fixed shall be published in such manner as may be prescribed: Provided that the total period allotted on any one day for polling at an election in a Parliamentary or Assembly constituency shall not be less than eight hours.

Section- 57 of the Representation of the People Act 1951. Adjournment of poll in emergencies(1) If at an election the proceedings at any polling station provided under section 25 or at the place fixed under sub-section (1) of section 29 for the poll are interrupted or obstructed by any riot or open violence, or if at an election it is not possible to take the poll at any polling station or such place on account of any natural calamity, or any other sufficient cause the presiding officer for such polling station or the returning officer presiding over such place, as the case may be, shall announce an adjournment of the poll to a date to be notified later, and where the poll is so adjourned by a presiding officer, he shall forthwith inform the returning officer concerned. (2) Whenever a poll is adjourned under sub-section (1), the returning officer shall immediately report the circumstances to the appropriate authority and the Election Commission and shall, as soon as may be, with the previous approval of the Election Commission appoint the day on which the poll shall recommence, and fix the polling station or place at which, and the hours during which, the poll will be taken, and shall not count the votes cast at such election until such adjourned poll shall have been completed. (3) In every such case as aforesaid the returning officer shall notify in such manner as the Election Commission may direct the date, place and hours of polling fixed under sub-section (2). Section- 59 of the Representation of the People Act 1951. Manner of voting at elections- At every election where a poll is taken votes shall be given by ballot in such manner as may be prescribed and, save as expressly provided by this Act, no votes shall be received by proxy: Provided that the votes at every election to fill a seat or seats in the Council of States shall be given by open ballot. Section- 60 of the Representation of the People Act 1951. Special procedure for voting by certain classes of persons- Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions contained in section 59, provision may be made, by rules made under this Act, for enabling- (a) any of the persons as is referred to in clause (a) or clause (b) of sub-section (8) of section 20 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (43 of 1950), hereafter in this section referred to as the 1950 Act to give his vote either in person or by postal ballot or by proxy, and not in any other manner, at an election in a constituency where poll is taken; (b) any of the following persons to give his vote either in person or by postal ballot, and not in any other manner, at an election in a constituency where a poll is taken, namely:- (i) any person as is referred to in clause (c) or clause (d) of sub-section (8) of section 20 of the 1950-Act; (ii) the wife of any such person to whom the provisions of sub-section (3) of section 20 of the 1950 Act apply and such wife being ordinarily residing with that person in terms of sub-section (6) of that section; (c) any person belonging to a class of persons notified by the Election Commission in consultation with the Government to give his vote by postal ballot and not in any other manner, at an election in a constituency where a poll is taken subject to the fulfillment of such requirements as may be specified in those rules; (d) any person subjected to preventive detention under any law for the time being in force to give his vote by postal ballot, and not in any other manner, at an election in a constituency where a poll is taken, subject to the fulfillment of such requirements as may be specified in those rules. Section- 65 of the Representation of the People Act 1951. Equality of votes- If, after the counting of the votes is completed, an equality of votes is found to exist between any candidates, and the addition of one vote will entitle any of those candidates to be declared elected, the returning officer shall forthwith decide between those candidates by lot, and proceed as if the candidate on whom the lot falls had received an additional vote.

Section- 66 of the Representation of the People Act 1951. Declaration of results- When the counting of the votes has been completed, the returning officer shall, in the absence of any direction by the Election Commission to the contrary, forthwith declare the result of the election in the manner provided by this Act or the rules made there under. Section- 67 of the Representation of the People Act 1951. Report of the result- As soon as may be after the result of an election has been declared, the returning officer shall report the result to the appropriate authority and the Election Commission, and in the case of an election to a House of Parliament or of the Legislature of a State also to the Secretary of that House, and the appropriate authority shall cause to be published in the Official Gazette the declarations containing the names of the elected candidates. Section- 67A of the Representation of the People Act 1951. Date of election of candidateFor the purposes of this Act, the date on which candidate is declared by the returning officer under the provisions of section 53, or section 66, to be elected to a House of Parliament or of the Legislature of a State shall be the date of election of that candidate. Section- 77 of the Representation of the People Act 1951. Election Expenses permissible during election are as under: TABLE S. No.

I. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28.

Name of State or Union territory

STATES Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu & Kashmir Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Orissa Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu Tripura Uttar Pradesh West Bengal Chattisgarh Uttaranchal Jharkhand

Maximum limit of election expenses in any one Parliamentary constituency Rs. 25,00,000 17,00,000 25,00,000 25,00,000 14,00,000 25,00,000 25,00,000 25,00,000 25,00,000 25,00,000 25,00,000 25,00,000 25,00,000 22,00,000 22,00,000 20,00,000 25,00,000 25,00,000 25,00,000 25,00,000 17,00,000 25,00,000 25,00,000 25,00,000 25,00,000 25,00,000 25,00,000 25,00,000

Assembly constituency Rs. 10,00,000 6,00,000 10,00,000 10,00,000 5,00,000 10,00,000 10,00,000 7,00,000 — 10,00,000 10,00,000 10,00,000 10,00,000 5,00,000 5,00,000 5,00,000 5,00,000 10,00,000 10,00,000 10,00,000 5,00,000 10,00,000 5,00,000 10,00,000 10,00,000 10,00,000 7,00,000 10,00,000

II. UNION TERRITORIES 1. Andaman &Nicobar Islands 2. Chandigarh 3. Dadra and Nagar Haveli 4. Daman and Diu 5. Delhi 6. Lakshadweep 7. Pondicherry

17,00,000 14,00,000 10,00,000 10,00,000 25,00,000 10,00,000 20,00,000

— — — — 9,00,000 — 5,00,000

IV. GUIDELINES: In order to examine and ensure democratic validity of evolution, constitution, operation and amendment of the institutional structure of governance, Indian Constitution has provided number of guidelines under Preamble, Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy. The following lines give brief idea about some of these guidelines. The Preamble to the Constitution emphasizes the principles of Justice, social, economic and political; Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; Equality of status and of opportunity and to promote among them all Fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the nation. Right to Shelter, Right to Equality, Prohibition of Discrimination on Grounds of Religion, Race, Caste, Sex or Place of Birth; Equality of Opportunity in Matters of Public Employment; Abolition of Untouchability; Abolution of Titles; Protection of Certain Rights Regarding Freedom of Speech etc.; Protection in Respect of Conviction for Offences; Protection of Life and Personal Liberty; Right to Education; Protection Against Arrest and Detention in Some Cases; Prohibition of Traffic in Human Beings and Forced Labour; Prohibition of Employment of Children in Factories etc.; Freedom of Conscience and Free Profession, Practice and Propagation of Religion; Freedom to Manage Religious Affairs; Freedom as to Payment of Taxes for Promotion of any Particular Religion; Freedom as to Attendance at Religious Instruction or Religious Worship in Certain Educational Institutions; Protection of Interests of Minorities; Right of Minorities to Establish and Administer Educational Institutions; Saving of Laws Providing for Acquisition of Estates etc.; Validation of Certain Acts and Regulations; Saving of Laws Giving Effect to Certain Directive Principles; Remedies for Enforcement of Rights Conferred by This Part; Power of Parliament to Modify the Rights Conferred by This Part in Their Application to Forces etc.; Restriction on Rights Conferred by This Part which Martial Law is Inforce in any Area and Legislation to Give Effect to the Provision of This Part, constitute Fundamental Rights provided by the Constitution of India to the Indian citizens. State to secure a social order for the promotion of welfare of the people; Certain principles of policy to be followed by the State; Equal justice and free legal aid; Organisation of village panchayats; Right to work, to education and to public assistance in certain cases; Provision for just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief; Living wage, etc. for workers; Participation of workers in management of industries; Uniform civil code for the citizens; Provision for early childhood care and education to children below the age of six years; Promotion of educational and economic interests of Schedule Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other weaker sections; Duty of the State to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living and to improve public health; Organisation of agriculture and animal husbandry; Protection and improvement of environment and safeguarding of forests and wild life; Protection of monuments and places and objects of national importance; Separation of judiciary from executive and Promotion of international peace and security, constitute the Directive Principles of State Policy included in Part IV of the Constitution. V. POWER OF AMENDMENT:

Article 368. Power of Parliament to amend the Constitution and procedure therefor- (1) Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution, Parliament may in exercise of its constituent power amend by way of addition, variation or repeal any provision of this Constitution in accordance with the procedure laid down in this article. (2) An amendment of this Constitution may be initiated only by the introduction of a Bill for the purpose in either House of Parliament, and when the Bill is passed in each House by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting, it shall be presented to the President who shall give his assent to the Bill and thereupon the Constitution shall stand amended in accordance with the terms of the Bill: Provided that if such amendment seeks to make any change in- (a) Article 54, Article 55, Article 73, Article 162 or Article 241, or (b) Chapter IV of Part V, Chapter V of Part VI, or Chapter I of Part XI, or (c) any of the Lists in the Seventh Schedule, or (d) the representation of States in Parliament, or (e) the provisions of this Article, the amendment shall also require to be ratified by the Legislatures of not less than one-half of the States by resolutions to that effect passed by those Legislatures before the Bill making provisions for such amendment is presented to the President for assent. (3) Nothing in Article 13 shall apply to any amendment made under this article. (4) No amendment of this Constitution including the provisions of Part III made or purporting to have been made under this Article whether before or after the commencement of section 55 of the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976 shall be called in question in any court on any ground. (5) For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that there shall be no limitation whatever on the constituent power of Parliament to amend by way of addition, variation or repeal the provisions of this Constitution under this Article. VI. CONCLUSION: For implementing Democratic Republic in independent India, the Constitution of India adopted the combination of multi-party based five-tier centralized top-to-bottom institutional structure of governance......... constituted [election of members of Lok Sabha and State Assemblies]......... neither as per 'Rule of Majority Vote' nor as per 'Rule of Maximum Vote' but as per "the first- past-the post" system......... operated......... by the opportunists.

CHAPTER - 3 INTELLECTUALS COMMENTARY Necessity is the mother of invention. Necessity to end monarchy and dynastic rule gave birth to democracy and Democratic Republic. "The expression 'democratic republic' refers to the political participation of the people in running the administration of the Government. It conveys the state of affairs in which each citizen is assumed of the right of equal participation in the polity. The expression has been used in this sense, both in the Indian Constitution and by the people of Sikkim as their goal to achieve. The repeated emphasis that was given to the rule one man one vote in the various documents preceding Sikkim's merger with India, clearly defines the system of government which the people of Sikkim by an overwhelming majority decided to establish and which was exactly the same as under the Indian Constitution. This goal cannot be achieved by merely alloting each person one vote which they can cast in favour of a particular candidate or a special group of persons, selected for this purpose by others, in which they have no say. The result in such a case would be that while one man of this class is assigned the strength of one full vote, others have to be content with only a fraction. If there is 90 per cent reservation in the seats of a House in favour of 10 per cent of the population in the State, and only the remaining 10 per cent of the seats are left to the majority population, then the principle of adult suffrage as included in Article 326 is sacrificed. By permitting the 90 per cent of the population to vote not only for 10 per cent seats available to them, but also for the 90 per cent reserved seats the basic flaw going to the root of the matter is not cured. The choice of the candidate and right to stand as a candidate at the election are inherent in the principle of adult suffrage, that is, one man one vote. By telling the people that they have a choice to elect any of a select group cannot be treated as a free choice of the candidate. This will only amount to lip-service, too thinly veiled to conceal the reality of an oligarchy underneath. It will be just an apology for democracy; a subterfuge; and if it is permitted to cross the limit so as to violate the very core of the principle of one man one vote, and is not controlled by the constitutional safeguards as included in clause [3] of Article 332 it will amount to a huge fraud perpetrated against the people. The very purpose of providing reservation in favour of a weaker class is to aid the elemental principle of democracy based on one man one vote to succeed. The disproportionately excessive reservation creates a privileged class, not brought to the same plane with others but put on a higher pedestal, causing unhealthy competition, creating hatred and distrust between classes and fostering divisive force" (Basu, 2007). For blocking the continuation of dynastic rule and implementing the Democratic Republic in independent India, through Constitution and the Representation of the People Acts 1950 and 1951, the Constituent Assembly evolved a combination of multi-party based five-tier centralized top-to-bottom institutional structure of governance…….. constituted……. as per 'the first-past-the post' and 'Rule of Majority Vote' based procedure for election……. operated…….. by the opportunists. The working of the Indian Constitution is directly and proportionately related to the working of this combination. The following lines explain the intellectuals' commentary on (I) Constitution Itself; (ii) Legislators-Obvious Outcome of the Combination; (iii) Working of the Political Parties; (iv) Working of the Procedure for Election; and (v) Working of the Institutional Structure of Governance. I. COMMENTARY ON CONSTITUTION ITSELF: Let us start with the opinions of two very prominent members of the Constituent Assembly, namely, Dr. Rajendra Prasad and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar on the working of the Constitution of India in future. "Whatever the Constitution may or may not provide, the welfare of the country will depend upon the way in which the country is administered. That will depend upon the men who administer it….. a Constitution, like a machine, is a lifeless thing. It acquires life because of

the men who control it and operate it, and India needs today nothing more than a set of honest men who will have the interest of the country before them" (Dr. Rajendra Prasad, quoted by Verma, 2006). "I feel, however good a Constitution may be, it is sure to turn out bad because those who are called to work, happen to be a bad lot….. The working of the Constitution does not depend wholly upon the nature of the Constitution. The Constitution can provide only the organs of State such as the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. The factors on which the working of those organs of the state depend on the people and the political parties, they will set up as their instruments to carry out their wishes and their politics. Who can say how the people of India and their parties will behave? He continued. On 26 January, 1950, India will be an independent country. What would happen to her independence? Will she maintain her independence or will she lose it again? This is the first thought that comes to my mind… It is this thought makes me most anxious for the future. What perturbs me greatly is the fact that not only India has once before lost her independence, but she lost it by the infidelity and treachery of some of her own people. In the invasion of Sind by Mahommed-Bin-Kasim, the military commanders of King Dahar accepted bribes from the agents of Mahommed-Bin-Kasim and refused to fight on the side of their King. It was Jaichand who invited Mohammed Ghori to invade India and fight against Prithvi Raj and promised him the help of himself and the Solanki Kings….. Will history repeat itself? It is this thought which fills me with anxiety. The anxiety is deepened by the realisation of the fact that in addition to our old enemies in the form of castes and creeds, we are going to have many political parties above their creed or will they place creed above country? I do not know. But this much is certain that if the parties place creed above country, our independence will be put in jeopardy a second time and probably be lost forever" (Dr. B.R. Ambedkar quoted by Maheshwari, 2006). In the light of the authority of Parliament to amend the Indian Constitution, the above opinions seem to be quite logical and genuine. "The Indian Constitution was made on principles borrowed liberally from all these constitutions; no wonder it is Khitcheri (a mixed broth), faceless and without indigenous features. While it enshrines the great principles of freedom of all varieties, equality and so forth in Articles 14, 19 and 31, it fails to set up a legal dispensation which can make justice affordable for the rich and poor alike. And, duty is not enforceable. Today, one is guilty or innocent in relation to his mental and monetary resources to hire expensive lawyers, ability to pursue the case, bribe the police, corrupt the system and muscle in and out of the court fearlessly. There is no absolute guilt nor absolute innocence. Money can change the situations." (Pathak, 2006). "The Constitution was made by the Constituent Assembly which was not elected by the people of the country. The Constitution was not adopted by the people through a referendum either. A document created by assembly of persons who were 'appointed' cannot claim to have the sanction of the people of the country. Be that as it may, the Constitution provides for amendment by the elected representatives. There are two provisions which nullify this approach. (i) Ruling of the Courts that even the Parliament cannot change the basic structure of the Constitution; and (ii) The provision of whip in the Representation of the People Act. The Supreme Court has been established by past governments. If we start from the undemocratic nature of the Constituent Assembly then the character of the Judiciary established by the Constitution also becomes undemocratic. An undemocratic Constituent Assembly created a judicial system which may not be acceptable to the people. Those elected through such an unacceptable electoral system appointed judges to the Supreme Court. This undemocratically constituted Supreme Court has held that the Legislature does not have the authority to alter the basic structure' of the Constitution." (Jhunjhunwala, 2006). "The present anti-people constitution based on exploitative colonial institutions centralised, non-transparent and bureaucratised, was authenticated in the name of the people in criminal

breach of their trust. As such, in law, it is a fraudulent document. It is, therefore, a legal necessity to replace it by one based on the wishes of the sovereign people. If such a process of reform is not instituted soon, India is likely to drift into anarchy and balkanisation. It may then be to late to make amends" (Sharma, 2006). "Continuing further with current pattern of functioning can only aggregate our problems." (Muthamma 2002, page 47). "At the time of independence, the Indian ruling elite which took over the reins of power was substantially influenced by notions of Western modernity and did not see a different (independent) path for itself. It voluntarily accepted this path and placed the country on this road to development. Bombay Plan drawn up in 1946 by an influential group of industrialists was one such blueprint for independent India. Gandhi who suggested an indigenous path of development based on decentralised economic structures and non-market based solutions to India's problems, was quickly marginalized by the elite. Not just the Communists but also the nationalists saw Gandhi's call to base our approach on our past and not on the notions emerging from the West as undesirable archaic if not reactionary" (Dutt, 1947). "The leaders of independent India in 1947 chose to retain the foundations of the British Indian state. They chose not to make a break with the colonial past, but to prolong its life. The perpetuation of European institutions and concepts of rule of law, order and good government, complemented by the so-called free market reforms in the present period, has led to an acute and deepening crisis of values in Indian society "(Raghavan, 2007). "If we see our present system of governance, we find that the administrative structure at the field remains more or less the same as devised by the Britishers during the colonial rule. The States are divided into administrative units of district, sub-division and Taluka or a Block and the kingpins of the field administration are the District Magistrate and the Superintendent of Police. We must note that this system, while it may have been useful during the colonial period for maintenance of law and order and revenue collection is certainly not in tune with the present day development requirements which the administration is supposed to discharge" (Marwah, 2006). "The independence from British rule in 1947 however led to the transfer of power from British colonialism to the Indian capitalists and landlords and not to the masses of Indian people as our martyrs had dreamt. The last sixty years of independence has led to the consolidation of the rule of the Indian big capitalists, who have ambitions for India to become a super power and declared 2020 as a deadline for the same. They are devising new schemes to enrich themselves, make themselves militarily more powerful with atom bombs and missiles, and enter the global game of finance capital and super powers, in alliance and rivalry with AngloAmerican and various imperialist forces" (Raghvan, 2007). "As India's economy clocks impressive growth, the instruments of governance continue to decay. The police and bureaucracy are pretty much the same as the British left them. These institutions have little accountability and are amenable to do the bidding of their political masters. Mayawati or Mulayam are no exceptions. In most States, Chief Ministers try to ensure a subservient administration. Sooner rather than later, the lack of robust institutions will effect India's growth. Instead of waiting for that to happen, steps must be taken to improve governance" (Editor, 2007c). "There are more failures than successes making the inference inescapable that the fifty years of Working of the Constitution is substantially a saga of missed opportunities" (Kashayap, 2006). II. LEGISLATORS: OBVIOUS OUTCOME OF THE COMBINATION: "It is well-known that a number of elected candidates have criminal record, and money and muscle power continue to have considerable influence on the electoral verdict. In reality, the unaccounted black money and other undesirable factors seem to be decisive. A much more suitable candidate without the help of these factors has seldom any prospect of success. This is a dismal scene and needs to be corrected. Religion, parochial, caste and other similar factors weigh with political parties in the choice of candidates and the outcome" (Verma, 2006). "The

degeneration is so much that some years back we had a Union Minister of State for Home Affairs against whom almost eighty FIRs involving grave crimes had been lodged in various police stations" (Sharda, 2002, page 237). "Politicians as a rule are self-serving. They look after personal interests first and then the interest of their party. The country comes last. Politicians have been exploiting the democratic system for self and party interests. This explains the vacuum in national leadership at the top" (Sharma, 2007). "For the past few months we have had reports of Maoists using vehicles of politicians and contractors who are sympathisers and offer moral and financial support to them", the official said. Additional DGP special branch, Gouri Shankar Rath admitted that SUVs are under public scanner" (Ojha, 2007). "There was a time when politicians were thought of as honest but are now viewed as the most dishonest." (Jha, 2007) "The average politician is now seen as selfish who shamelessly appropriates power, perks, patronage and indulges in rampant corruption to amass wealth in five years sufficient to last for five generations to come. The older man in the street recalls that he had more access to rectification of grievances under the foreign rule and less distance from justice under feudalism in the pre-independence dispensation. He finds there is deterioration of probity; indeed far greater arrogance of office in the bureaucracy at all levels. Democracy is seen as a channel to strengthen the advantages of the "connected" and politics and officialdom conspire to subordinate national interest to myopic populism" (Mehta, 2006). "The popular phrase, politics is the last resort for scoundrels has literally come true with large number of big-wigs facing prosecution for charges levelled against them" (Patel and Patel, 2002, page 98). "No minister; Don't speech, just listen" (Jug Suriaya 2007a). Now look at what people felt is lacking in our leaders. "The biggest complaint is they aren't honest. Another common perception was that most leaders are in politics to serve their own ends and think little about the country or the people. About 56% felt they are there only to pander to their own interests and ego. It is no surprise that just 6% rated the current leadership as very good and less than a fourth as good" (Times Insight Group, 2007). "From the street constable who can be bought for Rs. 50/- to let an errant trucker or motorist go free, to a chief minister who, indicted in a scam, can openly defy the legal system by saying that he is answerable only to the court of the people, the Indian State - as exemplified by its representatives at various levels - is commonly seen to be up for sale or otherwise open to subversion from within" (Jug Suraiya 2007b). "Mukhiyas themselves openly claim that they contest only for power and pelf, said Anil Kumar, the outgoing mukhiya from Ghogha Panchayat in Bhagalpur district. The post is for earning money, Sunita Devi a Zila Parishad candidate in East Champaran district is candid enough to spell out her plan for action if she wins. 'Panch sal me to log dhanik ho jata, to ham kaha na hokhaba. (People become rich in five years, so why should not I), she said..... A mukhiya is successful if he or she earns at least Rs. 20.00 lakh by the end of their terms, said a candidate" (Times News Network, 2006). "We have to think of the future of parliamentary institutions and of the ideals of freedom and democracy, stability and accountability. In a Parliamentary polity, there can be nothing sadder or more dangerous than the representative credentials of the representatives becoming suspect and an increasing alienation taking place between the people and their representatives. Today, we are in a situation where sanctity of means has lost all value, meaning and relevance. If dacoits, smugglers, gangsters and foreign agents can help put us or sustain us in power prepared to compromise with them. We are prepared to buy stability of our chairs by bribing fellow legislators. The people feel that in the face of personal ambitions, the new breed of politicians in all parties are selfish, power hungry, greedy, dishonest, hypocrites and the power merchants for whom the nation comes last and the welfare of the people is at the bottom of priorities. Their only concern is to amass wealth and somehow get to stay in power. They are

so busy in the struggle for survival that they have no time or inclination left for serving the people" (Yerankar, 2003). "India's main worry is that those who are operating the Constitution – both elected and selected – lack adequate preparation as well as proper attitudes and behavioural orientations. The human material operating the Constitution is not upto the mark to fulfill the dreams of the Constitution - makers, which is perhaps India's saddest shame. No Constitution is a shade better than the men and women, operating it. The most serious problem confronting the Indian politics is its criminalisation confirmed by the Vohara Committee Report. The growing nexus between bureaucracy, politician, businessman and criminal poses the greatest threat to both democracy and good governance in the society" (Maheshwari, 2006). "Criminals have flocked in hundreds into Central and State Legislatures, and into Cabinets. The courts are unable to convict any resourceful person beyond appeals. Harshad Mehta and Narashimha Rao died of natural causes before their cases ended. The only quick justice in India comes from Maoist groups, who in many districts hold their own courts, pronounce verdicts and impose penalties on the spot. That is not the privatisation I favour. But it seems to be the only one we will get." (Swaminathan and Aiyar, 2006b). "I salute your hard hitting editorial." Hunger Pangs (Sep. 18). To satiate the greed of a few, millions are being deprived of their two square meals. The question is, will the editorial succeed in opening the eyes of our thick-skinned and myopic policy-makers? Will those who cry over non-issues listen just this once? Why are there no riots by our patriotic representatives over this crucial issue across the country? What are the priorities of political parties, no matter what their leaning? Who will stop this treason? If we can't find honest answers to these crucial questions, we are nothing more than a banana republic, fooling ourselves with tall claims of greatness" (Jain, Mahen, 2007). III. WORKING OF THE POLITICAL PARTIES: "Although political parties were not mentioned in the Constitution until the fifty second constitutional amendment enacted in 1985; the fact remains that representative democratic polity under the Constitution presumed a well organised system of political parties" (Kashyap, 2002, page 4). "Unfortunately in India, while we established a written Constitution, we did not provide in it for the formation and recognition of political parties either at the national or State level. This was left to evolution. The result has been that the Congress continued to be the only national party and no other political party emerged as an alternative at the national level. The dramatic growth of the Bhartiya Janta Party in the last 10 years has raised a hope that national alternative may come into being in next few years. Yet, today it does not stand on its own strength and has per force to depend on a coalition" (Sathe, 2006). "Our Constitution probably did not envisage the possibility of governance by coalitions. Our current rules and norms are clearly incapable of promoting stable governance in fragmented legislatures. However, coalition governments function reasonably efficiently in several countries. It is important to scrutinise the best features of comparative political systems, and modify them to suit our own needs" (Dutta, 2007). In case of multi-party based Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, formulation and survival of the particular institution of governance compel to adopt 'Rule of Majority Vote', i.e., "agreement among more than fifty per cent members of the concerned institution of governance", instead of 'Rule of Maximum Vote', i.e., "agreement among the highest number of the members of the institution of governance". On the contrary, the provision of formation and registration of a new political party recognises and encourages 'disagreement and intolerance' among the members of the political party. Conflict between the requirement of formation and survival of the institution of governance, i.e., 'agreement among more than fifty percent members of the institution of governance' on one hand and the split of the political party, i.e. 'disagreement

and intolerance among one third of the members of the political party' creates instability firstly to the political party and finally to the institution of governance which, in turn, creates the space and scope for the sale and purchase of the members of Lok Sabha and State Assemblies like other commodities. The past history of sixty years witnesses this argument and observation. "We have long witnessed criminals being wooed by political parties and given cabinet posts because their muscle and money power fetches crucial votes. Elections are won and lost on swings of just 1% of the vote, so parties cynically woo every possible vote bank, including those headed by accused robbers and murderers" (Swaminathan and Aiyar, 2006a) "Under the present system, aspiring candidates do not need the support of the electorate, they need the support of a party, as the party with its money and organisation, can get them elected.... The formation of the governments on the basis of party majorities distorts the representative process at all levels before and after election. The need to win party majorities is responsible for the no-holdes-barred fights, including black money, criminal gangs, continuous aggressive confrontations between parties including physical fights in and outside the legislatures and even murders" (Muthamma, 2002, page 43 and 44). "Political system had become corrupt and party leaders thrive on the support of rowdy elements in society. The challenge is to design an electoral system under which it is not possible for such elements to come into power" (Parthasarathy, 2003). "The representatives" within such a system of representative democracy act on behalf of the 'sovereign', organise themselves into political parties, carry out the most vicious competition for positions of power and go to the "fellow countrymen" every few years to provide themselves with the credibility, the mandate that they have the right to continue. These 'representatives' go to the people to demand that they must divide along their political party lines and decide which one of them must govern during the period before the next elections" (Bains, 2007). "The interests of the politicians and criminals are complementary to each other. Whereas, on the one hand the criminals need political protection from official action, the politicians need criminals at the time of electioneering for demonstration of manpower, convassing, booth capturing, impersonation rigging etc." (Sahai, 2002, page 31). "What we witnessed were opportunistic alliances; parties have migrated from one camp to the opposite one. Such kind of alliances are against democratic norms; they distort the results" (Annoussamy, 2005). "Politics of caste and politics of fear go together. It is bad enough to demand votes in the name of caste; it is worst to deny votes in the names of caste; to terrorize hapless minority groups and prevent them from exercising their franchise fearlessly. Hate propaganda too is yet another pollutant in vote-bank politics. All these defects are well known; they do cause concern among thoughtful people. Unfortunately, few are willing to accept that radical remedies are needed" (Indiresan, 2006). "Observing that 'criminal, even convicted criminals are taking part in elections and getting elected to legislatures', Mr. Narayanan quoted the prophetic writings of Mahatma Gandhi in 1920's, 'What if unworthy people get elected because we do not come forward? If such people enter the legislatures, the Government will not be able to run the Government of an awakened people and it will be laughed at." Mr. Narayanan continued, "Today it is more than a laughing matter….. If the organised political parties, who are not obliged to field anyone as a candidate, refrain from giving tickets to individuals with a criminal background, it would be possible to deal effectively with the problem of criminals in politics. Is this too much expected from the political parties?"(Chhokar, 2006). "I have myself fought ten elections and fortunately won all of them. I found that there were defects in the election. But, it was difficult to blame either the government, or the officers or the political parties or even the candidates opposing me. We should identify the defects in the system" (Patil, 2002, page 11). "The nature of our political system and the resultant

politicization of caste and communal identities had proved to be very divisive of society and disruptive of the national ethos. To cobble up a workable majority to form government, compromises had to be made and ideology or notions of quality of governance took a back seat. It became difficult to take strong measures to curb corruption and provide clean and quality governance. In the end, the citizen was the victim of all the mis-governance" (Kashyap, 2006). "Parties no longer consider it important to explain to the people their stand on various important issues confronting the people and the nation and what they had done and in future proposed to do in relation to those issues in order to solve the problems of the people. As a result, some disturbing trends had appeared degenerating the quality of political life and the character of the political parties. The nation was a witness to the indecent scene of the parties shamelessly wooing the actors and actresses in the cinema and in the TV serials to join the parties and campaign for them, no matter by reciting their dialogues on the screen. Politics is no longer a serious business of the nation. It is an entertainment show. Parties select candidates not on the basis of their character, qualifications and their performance but by their so called, "winnability" (Dubhashi, 2006). "Politics has lost its capacity for uniting the country. It no longer offers a story of India that can bind together. It has also lost touch with young, modern India. It offers no role models for the millions of young. A new, young India is thinking confidently and wants to get on with jobs, gadgets, travel, sex and, of course, winning. This is why sports unite people while politics divides them. First, we here the amazing success of a film like Chak De! India, which played on Indianness of the women Hockey players coming from all over India plus their Muslim coach. Then there has been the Twenty 20 success. Everyone could understand the confident, hard working, hard celebrating Indian side. This is young India and indeed non-metropolitan India. No one in politics is taking with it" (Desai, 2007a). "If obscurantism is reckoned to be a bulwark for power, the Congress will not shy away from embracing it – that is the message, driven home with a pile-driver. And where does the Congress's ideologically threadbare political calculus come from? From a profound unwillingness to engage with people, with the political process and ideas. Since the party has given up on meaningful mobilization based on grass-roots engagement, given up on building a broad-based democratic organisational structure, it is forced to try and second-guess, what the people think. And since it has lost faith in the people, it has elected a new people in its own distorted image" (Sen, Suhit , 2007). "As a student of human behaviour, I believe that a substantial portion of the behavior of the political class can be explained as a logical response to the broader social system within which they have to operate. And the electoral system is a major and immediate part of that broader social system. Consequently, one way to change the behavior of the political class would be to change the system in which they have to operate and to which they have to respond. This is where electoral reforms become important" (Chhokar, 2006). At the end, it would be beneficial to explain the reform agenda of National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution related to Political Parties. "Political Parties: Political parties should be institutionalized through a comprehensive legislation to govern and regulate their number and activities, lay down criteria for their registration and recognition as national or State level parties and their deregistration and/or derecognition in case of violation of norms laid down. The law should make it compulsory for the parties to maintain accounts of the receipt of funds and expenditure in a systematic and regular way. The accounts should also be compulsorily audited and available to public for study and inspection. The proposed law should provide for certain other matters like funding and democratic and clean internal functioning of parties. It may provide for making it compulsory for the political parties to require their candidates to declare their assets and liabilities at the time of filing their nomination before the returning officers for election to any office at any

level. It should be laid down in law that no political party should sponsor or provide ticket to a candidate for contesting elections, if he was convicted by any court for any criminal offence or if the courts had framed criminal charges against him. The law should specifically provide that if any party violated this provision, the candidate involved should be liable to be disqualified and the party deregistered and derecognized forthwith. If implemented, this would be obviously an effective check on criminals' increasing clout and control in political parties. Number of Parties: Unless the number of political parties and/or alliances at the national and State levels is regulated by law, representational legitimacy of our legislators with a first-passthe-post system cannot be assured. Also, no scheme of State funding can succeed. Only recognized national parties and pre-poll alliances (i.e. those that secure at least 10% of the votes cast) should be allotted common symbols to contest elections to Lok Sabha. State Parties may be allowed common symbols to contest elections for State Legislatures and the Council of States (Rajya Sabha). This would, by prompting pre-poll alliances, automatically consolidate the vote and help in evolving some sort of federal parties or alliances providing more stable governments. There could be no difficulty in passing such a law in both Houses of Parliament because it was in the best interests of major parties. Funding of Parties: Reform proposals in regard to political funding should revolve round (1) reducing costs, (2) better utilization of funds, (3) curtailing influence peddling and political corruption, (4) strengthening public disclosure and transparency mechanisms with respect to the sources and the use of funds, (5) permitting higher corporate donations with higher limits and tax exemptions, and (6) submission of false or incorrect returns bringing immediate derecognizing of the party. Seats for Women: Reservation by law should be made for at least 30 per cent of organizational positions at various levels in every political party and the same percentage of party tickets for parliamentary and State legislature seats should be given to women with failure to do so inviting penalty of the party losing recognition. Training to Party Cadres: It is important that political parties in India realize the importance of imparting to their members necessary professional training in the modern techniques, tools and methods of political management, legislative functioning, leadership roles etc. NCRWC has suggested some institutional mechanism for planning, thinking and research on crucial issues facing the nation and educational cells for socializing the party cadres and preparing them for responsibilities of governance" (Kashyap, 2006). IV.WORKING OF THE INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE OF GOVERNANCE: Multi-party based five-tier centralized top-to-bottom institutional structure of governance has forced to accept very large constituencies of Lok Sabha and State Assemblies. Presently, the average size of Lok Sabha constituency is around ten lakh voters and the average size of the Vidhan Sabha constituency is around one and half lakh voters. In order to win the contest, every contesting candidate has to influence maximum number of the voters of the constituency/electoral college. For this purpose, the common voters own the social action only. It is a well-known fact that the social action is always area specific. Therefore, the spread effect of the social action is bound to be limited. "Surely no individual however charismatic can meaningfully interact with his constituency or even with his voters" (Shahbuddin, 2002, page 49). Consequently, for influencing ten lakh and one and half lakh voters spread over a very large geographical area, social action becomes inadequate and ineffective. Inadequacy and ineffectiveness of the social action (which the common voters own) and effectiveness of money and muscle power (which the common voters do not own) in influencing ten lakh and one and half lakh voters virtually compel the common voters to refrain from exercising their democratic right to stand as contesting candidates at the elections and

consequently provide full opportunity to the political parties for nominating their candidates at the elections. "In countries where there is democratic voting, as is also the case in our country, the electorate has proven unable to resist the promises of short-term benefits from politicians who wish to be elected. So, one finds in so many countries of the world, the elected leaders resorting to short-term policies for the sake of getting re-elected the next-time. Demagogues are able to influence the unsophisticated masses often with bribery or offers of special benefits, and the whole system of governance is overturned. Beyond that, information is manipulated, the electorate is uninformed, it does not know what the real issues are or what the nature of the people who are standing for election is, and so the system does not work. What this means is that one of the major problems in the world is the breakdown of the system of governance, be it a democratic form or any other form. If the democratic form is the most popular one in the world today, it is very difficult to find countries where it is not under serious strain......... People are becoming alienated. So one of the problems of governance is that the governments are proving unresponsive to the real needs of people, and people are responding by giving up on it, and saying: What's the use of voting. This bunch of jokers go out, another bunch comes in, and they are no better, and it's the same sort of thing" (Merchant, 2006). "It is the result of increasing disconnect between institutions of the state and citizens. The State, represented by courts, legislatures and bureaucracy, routinely fails to recognise the needs of citizens, it sets out to govern. What is worse is that law makers who are expected to set an example by respecting the sanctity of the laws are most often guilty of breaking them. The anti-democratic character of state institutions is largely responsible for such a mess" (Editor, 2006). "We boast that we are the world's biggest democracy yet, time after time, our elected representatives flagrantly rip us off: they renege on their election promises; they squander public money (our money); they turn Parliament into a three-ring circus which costs Rs. one crore a day to run. 'Lack of governance' has become a formulaic mantra which through constant repetition has ceased to have any meaning. 'Lack of governance' is not just a truth" its a truth that has petrified into a cliche. And in this fossilised truth is preserved the total and utter contempt our political leaders and our so-called administrators hold the people in, hold us in" (Jug Suraiya, 2007c). "Even if our political class responds to the Supreme Court's orders, the reforms will not be meant well. The police force in the hands of any Chief Minister is an instrument to help him fight his rivals in his own set-up, besides keeping a vigilant eye on the opposition's moves. The lower ranks of State police, CRPF or BSF are treated like slaves. They have no fixed working hours and besides poor pay, their education is minimal. Unless there is transparency on part of the States and the Centre, lower ranks of police force are led to believe, while performing their law and order duties, that they are paid to suffer injuries, if not face death. If they don't realize that they are damaging the image of the law and order machinery we will be faced with criminals who were once police constables" (Durga, 2007). "Subsequently, the Samajwadi Party MP, Uday Pratap Singh was appointed the government nominee in the selection committee. Nevertheless, the High Court stayed the operations of the changes in the bylaws, annulled the nomination of Singh and ridiculed the government for nominating a non-technical person. The government, however, went on to nominate the recently sacked CSMU V-C SS Katiyar as lifetime chairman of the selection committee. Interestingly, a V-C's term spans for three years but Katiyar was nominated for lifetime. Ironically, Katiyar had been nominated against the recommendations of the then technical education secretary PK Jha, who had suggested the names of IIT Kanpur Director SG Dhande, the present UPTU V-C Prem Vart and Purvanchal University V-C K.P. Singh to head the selection committee. Interestingly, Jha had to pay the price as he was immediately shunted as secretary fisheries. Not only this, even after Prem Vart, who was then senior faculty at the IIT Delhi, took over as the UPTU V-C last year, he was not allowed to be part of the selection process. The continuance of Katiyar was against the by-laws of the technical institutes as per which the V-C

of the affiliating varsity or an eminent academician could be appointed the chairman of the selection committee" (Singh, 2007). "The Congress MLAs then entered the podium and stood before the Speaker's dias and started arguing with him. Joshi demanded that minister Rathor should be sacked by the government after the court's verdict. But the plea was disallowed by the Deputy Speaker. Irked by this, some Congress members entered into an argument with the Deputy Speaker. And Ram Lal Jat, a Congress member snatched papers from the hands of the Deputy Speaker and threw it. One Congress member threw the chair of the Secretary of the House. Provoked by this act, Devi Singh Bhati, who recently joined BJP, rushed to the podium and tried to grab Joshi by the collar. Members of the ruling party then rushed to the podium and for a few minutes it looked like a free for all with members pushing each other and jostling. Bhati was seen rushing towards Gudha to beat him as the latter was seen scuffing with ruling party members" (Bhandari, 2007). "It is the failure on the part of a certain section of people coming into Parliament", he said adding that media too had a role in it as they give prominence to disturbances and not debates. Some feel disturbances catch the eyes of the people, he said. I feel parties will realize that they are missing opportunities to raise vital issues and rectify their mistakes, he added" (Chatterjee, 2007). "The present is not very exhilarating, particularly when we think of the decline of values in all spheres and all professions, rampant conflicts and corruption, terrorist activities, the use of money and muscle power in elections 'the politicisation of criminals' and 'Criminalisation of politics', the going-on in some legislatures and the many fissiparous and divisive tendencies like casteism and communalism raising their ugly heads here and there. The noble aims and objectives enshrined in the preamble have not been achieved. After over five decades of democracy it is time to ask ourselves whether we could have been better off if we had refined some of the basic ingredients of democracy in their application in any way. And there are very many which include electoral reforms, decriminalization of politics, eradication of the cancer of corruption, good governance, police reforms and so on" (Gopa and Basu, 2003). "The Supreme Court realises that the issue of VIP squatters is more than trespassing on public property. The VIP syndrome breeds a culture that seriously undermines the rule of law, a basic feature of constitutional democracy. It privileges the powerful over citizens, their demeaning the idea of citizenship in a republic. The government should act immediately on the apex Court's observations. That should be the first step to transform the VIP into a normal citizen. And, eventually, to allow the species to disappear altogether" (Editor, 2007d). "The High Court then pulled up the police for its inaction over the issue of kidnapping." If people's representatives are kidnapped before elections, then where is the need for holding election? Ban it. If the police are not able to act upon complaints, then people's faith in the system will be eroded. In such a situation, days are not far away when the State may witness scenes that are occurring in Bihar where people are taking law into their own hands," a division bench headed by Justice K.L. Manjunath, observed (Times News Network, 2007c). "The apex court observed in the morning that it would ask the Centre to impose President's rule in the State if there was no compliance. This is not merely violation of our order: but a complete breakdown of the constitutional machinery in the State, said Acting Chief Justice BN Agarwal who headed the Bench also comprising Justice P. Sathasivam." If this is the situation we will have to direct the central government to impose President's rule in the state... If you make out a case for 'contempt to court', we will not hesitate in summoning even the Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary", the bench told the AIADMK" (Raghavan, 2007). "The 73rd and 74th Amendments also enable State laws to provide for the membership of MLAs and MPs in the local bodies. Dual membership in the two Legislatures is repugnant to the Constitution under Article 101. It is a moot point whether membership of MPs and MLAs in local bodies, which are also legislative, is consistent with the Constitution. If it is important for the

voice of an MP or an MLA to be heard in a municipal council or a district panchayat, is it not equally important that the voice of a panchayat member or a municipal councillor is also heard in the State Legislature and the Parliament?" (Sivaramakrishnan, 2006). "There is a growing feeling that in the larger municipal bodies, the citizens do not have easy access to the elected representatives since the ward-sizes become very large. The Committee, therefore, is of the view that within the territorial area of Municipality having a population of three lakhs or more, Wards Committees should be constituted. The details relating to the composition and the territorial area of the Wards Committee and the manner of filling seats in such committees can be left to the State Legislatures" (The Parliament Committee, quoted by Sivaramakrishnan, 2006). "The Gandhian approach to decentralization of power and of putting the village at the centre of the polity cannot be frowned upon or dismissed as anti-democratic in as much even under the present dispensation the President, the Vice-President, the Rajya Sabha, the Prime Minister are all indirectly elected. But, in the political culture and circumstances of today, Gandhi and his views would certainly seem utopian and impracticable. Other reform options, therefore, need to be considered" (Kashyap, 2002, page 2). "Even before independence, Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation had already launched his constructive programme of rural development and poverty removal through the voluntary efforts of the people. He experimented with a self-sufficient and self-supporting village economy. The society envisaged by him was to be self-initiated and non-violent, where the individual could have maximum freedom for himself, whilst still being part of his immediate community. The smaller community would be linked to a larger community until, ultimately, all become part of the larger world community" (Gangrade, 1985). "Once the classes are abolished, there is no need of the state and it gradually withers away, which finally leads to a classless and stateless communist society. Once the communist society comes into existence, there will be no scope for classes and class antagonisms and the "social evolution will cease to be political revolutions" (Karl Marx, quoted by Satyanarayana, 2004). "India should have, after attaining independence, considered the question of evolving a new form of democracy suiting to the conditions and goals and ideals that we cherish in India" (Joshi, 2002, page 122). "We also need to evolve a large range of institutional forms for realising democratic aspirations, with electoral democracy being just one of them" (Mukhia, 2006). "Hung houses come because the electoral system is divisive and generates communal and caste-based vote-bank politics. Also, the real cause of instability is concentration of power in the present top-down model of polity. The bottom-up Gandhian model envisaged decentralisation of power with village at the centre and power flowing upward from the grassroots to concentric circles of multi-tier governance and direct elections only at the Panchayat and Nagarpalika levels. The Gandhian model came very close to the German subsidiarity principle and advocated that what could not be done at the lower tier alone should be assigned to be next higher tier. National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution carefully considered the strong presentations and representations made in support of this Gandhian model but the model was not found feasible in the present situation" (Kashyap, 2006). "In India, especially during Jaiprakash Narayan's movement in 1974, the concept of partyless democracy was propounded. But, in reality the talk of democracy without parties sounds impractical making it almost a utopian concept" (Saharabudhe, 2002, page 162). V. WORKING OF THE PROCEDURE FOR ELECTION: As per Constitutional Democratic Republic, Prime Minister of the country and Chief Ministers of the States are elected as per the 'Rule of Majority Vote'. The Members of Lok Sabha/State Assemblies are divided into two Alliances - one is to be in power and the other is to be in opposition. The members of Lok Sabha and State Assemblies are elected as per ' the first-pastthe post' system. In this system (referred to in Section 32 of the Representation of People Act 1951) any candidate who polls the highest number of votes wins without reference to the

percentage of votes polled. A winner may get only 20% of the votes, or less; he wins, if this is more than what others get" (Pappu, 2006). The procedure for election laid down in the Representation of the People Acts 1950 and 1951 is based on the misconception of direct-indirect election. In Representative Democracy, the voters are bound to be different in different constituencies/electoral colleges. Therefore, on the basis of the identity of the voters it is not proper to classify the concept of election or procedure for election or for that matter as direct election and indirect election. Irrespective of so called direct or indirect election, the concerned voters follow one and the same procedure for electing their representatives. In fact, the words 'direct and indirect' are related to the participation of the voters in the election as well as in the constitution and operation of the institutional structure of governance. "What is necessary is not merely participation in the election process but participatory governance" (Sangma, 2002, page 17). At the lowest level, the concerned voters participate directly in electing their nominees/representatives and in constituting and operating the institution of governance. At the higher levels, they participate indirectly through their nominees/representatives for electing the higher order of nominees/ representatives and constituting-operating the higher level institutions of governance. In brief, the terms "direct participation and indirect participation are directly linked with the combination of level of governance-election-constitution and operation of the institution of governance". Direct participation in the election and indirect participation in the constitution and operation of the institution of governance is the deceptive arrangement for the implementation of the ideal form of Representative Democracy. "At present, the legal dictum is that it is better to let 99 guilty persons go free rather than convict one innocent individual. That is fair enough when a person is being deprived of his fundamental right or liberty, or even the right to vote. Contesting elections is a different matter altogether. Standing for elections should not be a right but a privilege that has to be earned. No great harm is done to a person if permission is not granted to contest elections. It is better to stop 99 persons who are not guilty from contesting rather than allow one dangerous person to do so" (Indiresan, 2006). On the same issue, at other place Indiresan (2002, page 40) says, "At the same time, excluding any one goes against the very foundation of free society". Requirement of a valid nomination paper along with unlimited amount of money and muscle power for contesting election have already victimised over 99.99 percent innocent voters of the total voters of the country by forcing them not to contest elections. How to stop less than 0.01 percent dangerous voters of the total voters of the country from contesting elections, is the one and the only one malady which demands feasible remedy. "When democracy becomes corrupt, the best gravitates to the bottoms, the worst floats to the top and the vile is replaced by more vile. We observed that we do not now practice democracy but gravitate towards 'democracy' with perceptible participation of criminals their pervasive influence" (Henry George, quoted by Singh, Ranbir, 2006). "Ways and means have to be found for reasserting the will of 'We, the People' over the organs of the State - the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary- and restoring power to the citizens where it belongs. This would call for respect for citizenship values and emergence and strengthening of a civil society with an aware, awake, responsible and participant citizenry" (Kashyap, 2006). "All the countries in the world need renewal. All countries in South Asia have the same needs. By renewing themselves, that is, by starting afresh on the basis of the experience of the entire world and most particularly their own, they will be making their own contribution to the renewal of the world" (Bains, 2007). "The need of the hour is to elaborate and develop modern Indian thought - philosophy, political and economic theory - so as to address the problem that stares us in the face. This is the problem of ending the arbitrariness of power and the colonial style plunder in new and varied forms. It is the problem of redefining the foundations and reconstituting the structure of the Indian polity and economy, towards a direct democracy and a people centric economy that provide prosperity and protection to all" (Raghavan, 2007).

"In the assemblies and Parliament that provide elected representatives, the most powerful forums for raising issues and debates that focus on conduct and performance of governments, we find sycophancy attaining heights of eloquence witnessed never before, lies and deceit that have no parallel, and hooliganism and rowdism that can shame even the third rate democracies in the world. The plight of the impoverished and cheated people, their exploitation, intimidation and abuse and their vulnerability to extortion, fears and threat is all but forgotten in the clamour for higher salaries, allowances, pensions, privileges, and perks. Should 'We, the people of India' watch in silence this vulgarity, this affront to our sensibilities, this brutal assault on the sacred tenets enshrined in our Constitution" (Singh, Ranbir, 2006). "Perhaps, the most important lesson is that significant changes in the electoral system will not happen without sustained and concerted action by a concerned and active citizenry because just as war is too important to be left to the generals, so is politics too important to be left only to the politicians. Concerned citizens need to take an active part in politics without being politicians because "the price good man will pay for not getting involved is to be governed by bad man". This seems essential if electoral reforms are to move from discussion to action" (Chhokar, 2006). Before proceeding further, it seems proper to explain the electoral reforms agenda of National Commission to review the Working of the Constitution. Electoral Reforms: The electoral and political party reforms considered necessary may be grouped under two major heads, viz. (1) practice and procedure related and (2) system related. Most of these do not call for any constitutional amendments. They are matters for political reforms which can be brought about through ordinary legislation or through rules, regulations and executive orders provided that the political will gets crystallised. Civil society activists and concerned citizens would do well to realise this and build public pressure on Parliament. Representational Legitimacy: To ensure representational legitimacy to legislators within the existing system, it could be laid down that in order to be declared a winner, a candidate must secure a minimum of 50 per cent plus votes so that it becomes necessary for every winning candidate to woo more than his caste, community or narrow group vote bank and seek a wider consensus. If, in the first round, nobody gets over 50% then there should be a run-off contest the very next day or soon thereafter, between the top two candidates. Election Petitions: NCRWC has very rightly suggested setting up of special courts at the level of High Courts taking evidence through commissioners and deciding all election cases invariably within six months. Independent Candidates: Something has got to be done to discourage independents and bring down their number by increasing the security deposit in their case, disqualifying them for future elections if they get less than say, 5% of the votes polled and providing for their proposers and seconders being Panchayat or Nagar Palika members. Procedural Malpractices: In the area of procedural malpractices during election processes, the following need attention: i.

Foolproof method of preparing electoral rolls at the village and Nagar Palika or ward level and keeping them constantly updated.

ii. Making a multi-purpose Identity Card compulsory for all adult citizens. iii. Display of electoral rolls at post offices in each Constituency Headquarters for public scrutiny.

iv. Authorising the Election Commission to take more stringent action in cases of booth capturing. v. Use of temper-proof video and other electronic surveillance at sensitive polling stations/constituencies. vi. Security deposits of candidates securing less than 25% votes should be forfeited. vii. CEC and ECs to be appointed on the recommendations of a body consisting of PM, Leaders of the Opposition in LS and RS, Speaker of Lok Sabha and Dy Chairman of Rajya Sabha. Role of Money Power: If the electoral process has to steer clear of tainted and motivated sources of funds, some of the following suggestions may need to be considered: i.

The cost of elections must be reduced. This can be done by changing the ground rules for electoral campaigns - partly by reducing the campaign period, banning outdoor public rallies and encouraging the use of electronic and digital technology to campaign at State cost.

ii. To the extent possible, State and parliamentary elections should be held simultaneously. iii. Declarations to be made legally mandatory by every candidate and every holder of political office of all assets and liabilities and these declarations to be subjected to audit and public scrutiny. iv. No one should be allowed to contest from more than one constituency. v. Code of conduct should be made into a law and its violation should attract penal action. vi. Candidates must be required to clear all government dues and vacate unauthorised government accommodation etc. before being allowed to go to polls. vii. A suitable law should be enacted providing penalties against damaging or desecrating public or private property by candidates, political parties or the agents, through painting of slogans or erecting cut-outs and hoarding or putting banners and buntings. viii. Legitimate sources for the essentially needed funds would have to be identified. For one, company and individual donations should be encouraged with higher limits placed on the maximum permissible amounts and liberal tax rebates allowed. ix. In case the present ceilings are to be continued, they should be linked to the cost of living index so that they remain realistic. But, the expenditure incurred on a candidate's election by his friends, by the political party or by others should also be included while examining adherence to the ceiling. Full disclosure of the sources of election funds and audit of receipt and expenditure should be made compulsory. Criminalisation: In the area of criminalisation of electoral processes and politicisation of crime, following suggestions deserve consideration: i.

Disqualification of those charged with serious offences and derecognition of parties putting up such candidates: Once charges relating to certain crimes have been framed

by a court against a person, he should not be permitted to contest elections unless cleared. ii. Speedy trial by special courts of cases involving candidates: A potential candidate against whom charges have been framed by the police may take the matter to a special electoral court. This court would be obliged to enquire and take a decision in a strictly time bound manner. Basically, this court may decide whether there is indeed a prima facie case justifying the framing of charges. If yes, the person should not be allowed to contest. iii. Incongruities in the existing provisions of sub-sections (1), (2) and (3) of section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951: At present, a rapist convicted and sentenced to ten years imprisonment, may be disqualified only for six years under subsection (1) and thus remain free to contest elections, even while in prison serving the last four years of his sentence, should be eliminated. The law should provide that whoever is convicted of any offence by a Court of law and sentenced to imprisonment for six months or more should be debarred from contesting elections, for a period totaling the sentence imposed plus an additional six years. iv. Disqualification on conviction to apply to sitting legislators: Under section 8(4), sitting members are not disqualified even when convicted until their appeal is decided. This should be deleted. If an elected representative gets convicted on charges related to specific crimes, he should be required to withdraw from the legislature for six months and if within that period he fails to get an acquittal, he should be disqualified. v. Heinous Crimes: There should be permanent disqualification for life of those convicted of heinous crimes. vi. Caste and Communal Violence: Statutory provision should be made prescribing imprisonment and disqualification for spreading caste or communal hatred during election campaigns." (Kashyap, 2006). VI. CONCLUSION: "It is only when we fulfil the basic duty of politics of restoring the power of the Constitution and its institutions back to their legitimate owners - the people - then things will began to change. Really, no reforms shall succeed and nothing can change unless the sovereign power is exercised by the people and they use it to discharge their citizenship responsibilities" (Kashyap, 2006). Here, the basic issue is whether the reforms suggested by NCRWC can ensure democratic rights to every voter of the country - equal opportunity-liberty-right to contest election and to cast his/her vote in favour of the candidate nominated by himself/herself only. Perhaps not. For evolving or even for understanding the multi-tier institutional structure of governance and procedure for election which can ensure democratic rights to every voter of the country, the intellectuals were and are still supposed to decide the priority between human rights and democratic rights. Human Rights: "As generally used today, the term "human rights" covers the series of often disparate rights and freedoms asserted by many to be universally accepted and essential prerequisites for people's enjoyment of a life based on the centrality of human dignity. Proponents of human rights regard them as being inherent, inalienable and universal; inherent in the sense that they are the birth right of all human beings and not have to be granted by a Sovereign for them to be enjoyed; inalienable, in the sense that people cannot agree to give them up or have them taken away from them; and universal in that they do not just apply to 'men', or 'citizens' or

'ethnic minorities', but to all persons, regardless of their nationality, status, sex or race. To make a claim on the basis of human rights the following criteria must be met: 1. Realisation of the claimed right is necessary for a person or group to be able to achieve their full humanity, in common with others. 2. The claimed right is seen either as applying to all of humanity, and is something that the person or group claiming the right wishes to apply to all people anywhere, or as applying to people from specific disadvantaged or marginalised groups for whom realisation of that right is essential to their achieving their full human potential. 3. There is substantial universal consensus on the legitimacy of the claimed right; it cannot be called a human right unless there is widespread support for it across cultural and other divides. 4. The claimed right does not contradict other human rights. This would disallow as human rights the 'right' to bear arms, the 'right' to hold other people in slavery, a man's 'right' to beat his wife and children, the 'right' to excessive profits resulting in poverty for others, and so on" (Pinto, 2004). "In the twentieth century, far more people died as a consequence of the actions of their own governments than were killed by foreign armies. Governments, often acting in the name of national security, can and often do pose profound threats to human security. So, in practice, human security's focus on the security of individuals has also meant focussing on a quite different source of security threats than those that have absorbed generations of international relations and traditional security scholars. Today, the major threat to (narrowly defined) human security derives from intra-State, not inter-State wars", (Mack, 2002). "In India the individual is exposed in two fronts, he or she needs defense against the onslaught by the State as much he or she requires protection against the oppression by the society. The civil society in India has not yet risen up to this historic task" (Sau, 2004). In the light of the above discussion, it can be logically and firmly concluded that 'Human Rights' demand systems, institutions, policies, laws, acts, rules and programmes from state/government/multi-tier centralised top-to-bottom institutional structure of governance for the protection of different types of human rights, different types of equalities, different types of liberties, different types of justices and different types of securities. On the other hand, democratic rights demand equal opportunity-liberty-right to contest election and to cast his/her vote in favour of the candidate nominated by himself/herself only to every voter of the country. Democratic rights would ensure direct and indirect participation of every voter of the country not only in constituting and operating multi-tier decentralised bottom-to-top institutional structure of governance but also in formulating and implementing systems, institutions, policies, laws, acts, rules and programmes which are necessary for protecting all types of human rights, all types of equalities, all types of liberties, all types of justices and all types of securities. Democratic rights (i) satisfy all the four above mentioned criteria of being human rights; (ii) convert the requirement of multi-party based five-tier centralised top-to-bottom institutional structure of governance into the requirement of patyless decentralised bottom-to-top institutional structure of governance; (iii) block the dynastic rule completely; (iv) replace 'the first-past-the post' and 'Rule of Majority Vote' based undemocratic procedure for election by the 'Rule of Maximum Vote' based democratic procedure for election; and (v) provide the instrument of governance in the hands of the voters of the country and their own nominees.

Now, it is upto the legislators and the intellectuals of the country to decide the priority between 'Human Rights' and 'Democratic Rights' and communicate their decision to the innocent voters of the so called largest democracy of the world.

CHAPTER - 4 JUDICIAL COMMENTARY For blocking the continuation of dynastic rule and implementing Democratic Republic in independent India, the Constituent Assembly provided an amendable Constitution to the sovereign citizens of independent India. Alongwith a resolution converting the Constituent Assembly into the first Parliament, the Constituent Assembly through the Constitution passed Article 84[c] which reads "possesses such other qualifications as may be prescribed in that behalf by or under any law made by Parliament" and Article 327 which reads "Power of Parliament to make provision with respect to elections to Legislatures–Subject to the provision of this Constitution, Parliament may from time to time by law make provisions with respect to all matters relating to, or in connection with elections to either House of Parliament or to the House or either House of the Legislature of a State including the preparation of electoral rolls, the delimitation of constituencies and all other matters necessary for securing the due constitution of such House or Houses." The resolution provided the status of first Parliament and Article 84[c] and Article 327 provided the authority to the Constituent Assembly to enact the qualifications for the membership of Parliament. "Article 84(c) does not make it compulsory for Parliament to prescribe any qualification other than those prescribed by clauses (a) and (b). Parliament may or may not prescribe some such qualifications, and having prescribed some may repeal them whenever it so desires. It cannot be accepted that once Parliament prescribes a qualification, it cannot revoke or repeal it. There is no such limitation on Parliament's legislative power, which is confirmed by Entry 72 of the Union List in the Seventh Schedule. The language of clause (c) of Article 84 creates a power and not a duty. If it is not bound to prescribe any additional qualification, it is also not bound to provide a substitute for the one done away with" in Kuldip Nayar V. U.O.I. (2006) 7 SCC 1 (Para 303). By exercising the status of first Parliament and the authority to enact the qualifications for the memberships of Parliament and State Assembly, the Constituent Assembly enacted the Representation of the People Acts 1950 and 1951. In the Constitution of India and in the Representation of the People Acts 1950 and 1951, there are a number of Articles and Sections respectively which make the equal opportunity-liberty-right to contest election and to cast his/her vote in favour of the candidate nominated by himself/herself only to every voter of the country, impractical and non-implementable. Articles 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174 and 243 provide multi-party based five-tier centralised top-to-bottom institutional structure of governance to the sovereign citizens of independent India. In order to keep the size of Lok Sabha and State Assemblies manageable, multi-party based five-tier centralised top-to-bottom institutional structure of governance forced to adopt very large size of the constituencies of Lok Sabha and State Assemblies. At present the average size of Lok Sabha constituencies is around ten lakh voters and the average size of State Assemblies constituencies is around one and half lakh voters. It is impossible to ensure equal opportunityliberty-right to contest election and to cast his/her vote in favour of the candidate nominated by himself/herself only to every participating voter of the constituencies of ten lakh and one and half lakh voters. As per Sections 4 and 5 of the Representation of the People Act 1951, to be an elector (voter) is the main and common qualification for contesting elections for the memberships of Lok Sabha and/or State Assemblies. As per Section 19(A) of the Representation of the People Act 1950, the minimum age for registration as an elector (voter) is 18 years. As per Article 84(b) and Article 173(b), the minimum age for contesting elections for the membership of Lok Sabha and State Assemblies respectively, is 25 years. Under the present contradiction regarding the age of the contesting candidate, it is impossible to provide to every voter of the age less than 25 years equal opportunity-liberty-right to contest election and to cast his/her vote in favour of the candidate nominated by himself/herself only.

As per Section 33 of the Representation of the People Act 1951, for attaining the status of a contesting candidate for the membership of Lok Sabha or/and of any State Assembly, submission of a valid nomination paper is a must. As per Section 34 of the Representation of the People Act 1951 "a candidate shall not be deemed to be duly nominated for election from a constituency, unless he deposits or causes to be deposited: in the case of an election from a Parliamentary constituency, a sum of ten thousand rupees or when the candidate is a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe a sum of five thousand rupees and in the case of an election from an Assembly or Council Constituency, a sum of five thousand rupees or where the candidate is a member of Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, a sum of two thousand five hundred rupees. As per Section 77 of the Representation of the People Act 1951, the contesting candidate can spend huge amount of money during the contest. In these circumstances it is impossible to provide equal opportunity-liberty-right to contest election and to cast his/her vote in favour of the candidate nominated by himself/herself only to every voter of the country. Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act 1951 empowers the Election Commission of the country to register Political Parties. The Political Parties made the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies their shadows only. "This seemed to create a flutter in the entire political establishment. In the all party meeting on July 8, 2002, twenty-one political parties representing the entire political spectrum in a rare show of complete unanimity, decided that the Supreme Court judgment and the Election Commission's order could not be allowed to be implemented. The all party meeting unanimously decided to introduce a Bill in the Monsoon Session of Parliament to appropriately amend the Representation of the People Act, to prevent implementation of the Supreme Court judgement and Election Commissioner's order. With remarkable and almost unprecedented alacrity, the Law Ministry drafted a Bill for amending the Representation of the People Act and circulated it amongst political parties on July 15, 2002 asking for their comments with the specific intention of introducing and getting the Bill passed in the Monsoon Session of Parliament. The Bill, however, could not be introduced as the functioning of the Parliament was continually disrupted due to what came to be referred as the Petrol Pump Scam, and the Parliament was adjourned. This did not deter the political establishment. The Cabinet decided to get an Ordinance issued by the President to prevent implementation of the SC judgment. A group of 26 people from different parts of the country representing more than 20 civil society organisations met the President on August 16, 2002 and urged him to return the Ordinance without signing it because some of the provisions were violative of the Constitution. The President did return the Ordinance to the Cabinet seeking some clarifications. The Cabinet, however, sent the Ordinance back to the President without giving clarifications or making any modifications. In keeping with tradition, the President signed the Ordinance on August 24, 2002" (Chhokar, 2006). Political Parties have promoted the dynastic rule in independent India. Role of Nehru's family, Sri Jagjeevan Ram's family, Sri Madhav Rao Sindhia's family in constituting Lok Sabha; Role of Sri Charan Singh's family, Sri Mulayam Singh's family in the constitution of UP Legislative Assembly; Role of Sri Devi Lal's family, Sri Bhajan Lal's family in constituting Haryana Legislative Assembly; Role of Sri Lalu Prasad Yadav's family in constituting Bihar Legislative Assembly; Role of Sri Prakash Singh Badal's family in constituting Punjab Legislative Assembly; Role of Sri Bal Thackerey's family in constituting Maharashtra Legislative Assembly so on so forth are the living examples of continuation of dynastic rule in independent India. "Coming to know that the petitioner MLAs are brothers, the bench in a lighter vein said in Goa, politics seems to be a family affair…… there are brothers, father-son duos" (Times News Network, 2007b). In dynastic rule, it is impossible to provide equal opportunity-liberty-right to contest election and to cast his/her vote in favour of the candidate nominated by himself/herself only to every voter of the country. Survival of the Political Parties forced them to divide the Indian citizens vertically upto the local society on the basis of religion, caste, occupation, place of stay into Political Parties. "Six

years in office, in fact, might have changed BJP as much as BJP has changed Indian politics. The party was supposed to be allergic to caste politics because it divided India (and the Hindus), but Vajpayee toyed with the reservation issue the same way as his predecessors did….. granting quotas to the Jats of Rajasthan who overnight became OBC and a BJP vote bank" (Jaffrelot, 2007). In a way, Political Parties directly work against the principle of fraternity enshrined in the Preamble to the Constitution of India. Multi-party based five-tier centralised top-to-bottom institutional structure of governance forced to adopt 'the first-past-the post' undemocratic system of election for electing the members of Parliament and State Assemblies and made it impossible to provide equal opportunity-liberty-right to contest election and to cast his/her vote in favour of the candidate nominated by himself/herself only to every voter of the country. All the above referred 'Articles' of the Indian Constitution and 'Sections' of the Representation of the People Acts 1950 and 1951 are based on the ill conceived definitions of the concepts of "elector/voter"; "right to vote/electoral right" and "election". The following lines explain the legislative definitions, judicial commentary, general comments and proposed definitions of (i) "Elector/Voter"; (ii) "Right to Vote/Electoral Right" and (iii) "Election". I. ELECTOR/VOTER: A. Legislative Definition: As per sub-section 2(e) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, "elector" in relation to a constituency means a person whose name is entered in the electoral roll of that constituency for the time being in force and who is not subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in Section 16 of the Representation of the People Act 1950 (43 of 1950). As per explanation of Section 81 of the Representation of the People Act 1951, "Explanation: In this sub-section, 'elector' means a person who was entitled to vote at the election to which the election petition relates, whether he has voted at such election or not." As per Article 326 of the Constitution of India, "elections to the House of the People and to the Legislative Assemblies of States to be on the basis of adult suffrage - The elections to the House of the People and to the Legislative Assembly of every State shall be on the basis of adult suffrage; that is to say, every person who is a citizen of India and who is not less than eighteen years of age on such date as may be fixed in that behalf by or under any law made by the appropriate Legislature and is not otherwise disqualified under this Constitution or any law made by the appropriate Legislature on the ground of non-residence, unsoundness of mind, crime or corrupt or illegal practice, shall be entitled to be registered as a voter at any such election" B. Judicial Commentary: On the concept of 'elector/voter', separate judicial commentary is not traceable. A right to elect, fundamental though it is to democracy, is neither a fundamental right nor a common law right, but pure and simple, a statutory right. Even otherwise there is no basis to say that the right to vote and elect representatives of the State in the Council of States is a constitutional right. Article 80(4) merely deals with the manner of election of the representatives in the Council of States as an aspect of the composition of the Council of States. There is nothing in the constitutional provisions declaring the right to vote in such election as an absolute right under the Constitution: Kuldip Nayar V. Union of India AIR 2006 SC 3127 (a decision of five– Judge Bench). C. Comments:

The definition of "elector" given in the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and of 'voter' given in Article 326 of the Constitution do not define the role of an individual 'elector/voter'. The above definitions describe the legal identity of an Indian citizen as an "elector/voter". According to these definitions of 'elector', every individual person whose name is entered in the electoral roll of the constituency for the time being in force and who is not subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in section 16 of the Representation of the People Act 1950 (43 of 1950) MUST HAVE STATUTORY RIGHT (i) TO GET ELECTED AS REPRESENTATIVE OF HIS/HER CONSTITUENCY/ELECTORAL COLLEGE and (ii) to elect representative oF his/her constituency/electoral college. Can any law—constitutional or common or even statutory for that matter — of any democratic country provide absolute right to every legitimate voter of the country to get himself/HERself elected or to elect representative of his/her constituency/electoral college signle– handedly? If not, then how he/she can be called an "elector"? The real term is 'voter' rather than 'elector'. D. Proposed Definition: "A person whose name is entered in the electoral roll related to a particular constituency for the time being in force and who is not subject to any disqualification as per the voters of the constituency/electoral college, having equal opportunity-liberty-right to contest election and to cast his/her vote in favour of the candidate nominated by himself/herself only, must be designated as a 'voter'. II. RIGHT TO VOTE/ELECTORAL RIGHT: A. Legislative Definition: As per Section 62 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, Right to Vote1. No person who is not, and except as expressly provided by this Act, every person who is, for the time being entered in the electoral roll of any constituency shall be entitled to vote in that constituency. 2. No person shall vote at an election in any constituency if he is subject to any of the disqualifications referred to the Section 16 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (43 of 1950). 3. No person shall vote at a general election in more than one constituency of the same class, and if a person votes in more than one such constituency, his votes in all such constituencies shall be void. 4. No person shall at any election vote in the same constituency more than once, notwithstanding that his name may have been registered in the electoral roll for the constituency more than once, and if he does so vote, all his votes in that constituency shall be void. 5. No person shall vote at any election if he is confined in a prison, whether under a sentence of imprisonment or transportation or otherwise, or is in the lawful custody of the police. Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall apply to a person subjected to preventive detention under any law for the time being in force. 6. Nothing contained in sub-sections (3) and (4) shall apply to a person who has been authorised to vote as proxy for an elector under this Act in so far as he votes as a proxy for such elector.

As per sub-section 79(d) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, "electoral right" means the right of a person to stand or not to stand as, or (to withdraw or not to withdraw) from being, a candidate, or to vote or refrain from voting at an election. B. Judicial Commentary: "The right to vote or stand as a candidate for election is not a civil right but is a creature of statute or special law and must be subject to the limitations imposed by it. Strictly speaking, it is the sole right of the Legislature to examine and determine all matters relating to the election of it's own members, and if the legislature takes it out of it's own hands and vests in a special tribunal an entirely new and unknown jurisdiction, that special jurisdiction should be exercised in accordance with the law which creates it." Where a right or liability is created by a statute which gives a special remedy for enforcing it, the remedy provided by that statute only must be availed of: in N.P. Ponnuswami v. Returning Officer, Namakkal Constituency (1952) SCR 218: AIR 1952 SC 64: 1952 SCJ 100, and Jagan Nath v. Jaswant Singh, AIR 1954 SC 210; 1954 SCR 892: 1954 SCJ 257. "A right to elect, fundamental though it is to democracy, is, anomalously enough, neither a fundamental right nor a common law right. It is pure and simple, a statutory right. So is the right to be elected. So is the right to dispute an election. Outside of statute, there is no right to elect, no right to be elected and no right to dispute an election. Statutory creations they are, and, therefore, subject to statutory limitation": in Jyoti Basu and Others v. Debi Ghosal and Others (1982) SCC 691. "In our Constitution, it refers to denote 'people powers'. It stands for the actual, active and effective exercise of power by the people in this regard." Article 170 incorporates the rule of "fair and effective representation". Though the rule 'one person one vote' is a broad principle of democracy, it is more a declaration of a political ideal than a mandate for enforcement with arithmetical accuracy. In what is called 'first-past-the post' system of elections, the variation in the size and the voting population of different constituencies, detract from a strict achievement of this ideal. The system has the merit of preponderance of "decisiveness" over "representativeness". The concept of political equality underlying a democratic system is a political value. Perfect political equality is only ideological. The problem of equality of the value of votes is further complicated by a progressive rival depopulation and increasing urbanisation": in R.C. Pondyal V. U.O.I. 1994 Supp (1) SCC 324: AIR 1993 SC 1804 (a five-Judge Bench decision) paras 108, 110, 113. C. Comments: All the six sub-sections of Section 62 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 describe the situation in which a person/voter can or can not cast his/her vote at an election and the situation in which his/her vote/votes would be valid or void. None of these sub-sections describes the functional definition or the functional meaning of 'Right to Vote'. The Constitution of India begins with the statement, "WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens": JUSTICE, Social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship. EQUALITY of status and opportunity; and to promote among them all FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;

IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION". This implies that the Constituent Assembly of the country drafted the Constitution and the Representation of the People Acts 1950 and 1951 for implementing Democratic Republic in independent India. The concepts of sovereign, socialist and secular are the adjectives attached to Democratic Republic. In Democratic Republic, "right to contest election" and "right to vote" are the fundamental rights. They constitute the foundation for: (i) democratic rights; (ii) evolving democratic structure of governance; and (iii) drafting the Constitution and Statute. Therefore, the validity of "right to contest election" and "right to vote" can not and must not be examined on the basis of Constitution and Statute. On the contrary, the Constitutional institutions particularly legislature and judiciary must examine the validity of the Constitution and Statute on the basis of "right to contest election" and "right to vote". As regard the issues and doubts raised in the judicial commentary regarding political equality, in Democratic Republic political status of a sovereign citizen becomes four tiers: (i) the citizen; (ii) the voter; (iii) the contesting candidate; and (iv) the representative. In direct democracy, every eligible citizen of the country directly participate (represent himself/herself) in constituting and operating the single tier institution of governance. Therefore, in direct democracy the political equality is always up to the political status of representative. In Democratic Republic, participating voters of the constituency/electoral college elect their representative out of themselves. Every sovereign citizen of democratic India is seriously and genuinely concerned about his/her "political status" in Indian polity rather than "the value of his/her vote" as envisaged in the judicial commentary. It is well known that social equality/inequality is seen and examined from the angle of "social status" of the citizen in caste hierarchy. Economic equality/inequality is seen and examined from the angle of "economic status" of the citizen in income strata. Therefore, the issue of political equality/inequality is directly related to the "political status" of the sovereign citizen of the country in the four tiers political hierarchy. Division of "political status" of the sovereign citizens of the country into "voters" and "contesting candidates" at the time of election causes "political inequality" which is the root cause of all types of "cruelties"; "inequalities"; "injustices" and "insecurities" prevailing in India. "Right to contest election" and "right to vote" are the two inseparable sides of one and the same coin, ie., "political equality". In the absence of any one side, the coin of "political equality" and "inclusive democracy" are bound to be incomplete. Absolute and unconditional "political equality" upto "the political status of contesting candidate" would help in ensuring "dignity of the individual"; "liberty"; "equality"; "justice"; "perfect competition"; "inclusive democracy"; 'inclusive development"; "fraternity" alongwith "unity and integrity of the Nation". D. Proposed Definition: The proposed definition of "Right to Vote' has already been explained in the first chapter of the book. However, for ready reference, the same is being reproduced again. 'Right to Vote' includes three inseparable and inter-related democratic sub-functions (a) to evaluate thoughtsexpressions-actions of every participating voter of the constituency/electoral college on the basis of day-to-day interaction; (b) out of all the participating voters, including himself/herself, of the constituency/electoral college to select/nominate the most suitable voter as his/her contesting candidate; and (c) through ballot paper or any other media to express his/her selection/nomination. In brief, 'Right to Vote' provides to every voter of the constituency/electoral college equal opportunity-liberty-right to cast his/her vote in favour of the candidate nominated by himself/herself only. For ensuring this, availability of every participating voter of the constituency/electoral college for getting his/her thoughtsexpressions-actions evaluated by every participating voter of the constituency/electoral college on the basis of day-to-day interaction, is a must. On the basis of this discussion, 'Right to Vote' provides equal opportunity-liberty-right to contest election and to cast his/her vote in

favour of the candidate nominated by himself/herself only to every participating voter of the constituency/electoral college in particular and of the country in general. III. ELECTION: A. Legislative Definition: As per sub-section 2(d) of the Representation of the People Act 1951, "election" means an election to fill a seat or seats in either House of Parliament or in the House or either House of the Legislature of a State other than the State of Jammu and Kashmir. B. Judicial Commentary: "The word 'election' has by long usage in connection with the process of selection of proper representatives in democratic institutions acquired both a wide and a narrow meaning. In the narrow sense it is used to mean the final selection of a candidate which may embrace the result of the poll when there is polling, or a particular candidate being returned unopposed when there is no poll. In the wide sense, the word is used to connote the entire process culminating in a candidate being declared elected and it is in this wide sense that the word is used in Part XV of the Constitution in which Article 329(b) occurs". Held by the Full Court (Patanjali Shastri, C.J. Fazal Ali, Mahajan, Mukherjee, Das and Chandrashekhar Aiyer J.J.) that in view of the provisions of the Article 329 (b) of the Constitution and section 80 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the High Court had no jurisdiction to interfere with the order of Returning Officer in N.P. Ponnuswami v. Returning Officer, Namakkal Constituency, 1952 SCR 218: ASR 1952 SC 64: 952 SCJ: 100. C. Comments: In respect of the definition of the concept of 'election', following arguments given by the advocate on behalf of petitioner N.P. Ponnuswami before the Hon'ble Supreme Court seem to be quite logical and genuine: 1. That the word "election" as used in Article 329(b), means what it normally and etymologically means, namely, the result of polling or the final selection of a candidate. 2. That the fact that an election petition can be filed after polling is over or after a candidate is declared elected and what is normally called in question by such petition is the final result, bears out the contention that the word "election" "can have no other meaning in Article 329(b) than the result of polling or the final selection of a candidate". There is a very popular proverb, i.e. "garbage in, garbage out". The following lines describe the quality and nature of the output of the existing process of election - elected members of Lok Sabha and State Assemblies. "The court order awarding death and life imprisonment to Anand Mohan and Lovely Mohan has sent shivers down the spines of many more politicians in Bihar against whom criminal cases are pending. Some influential politicians mainly MPs and MLAs, are facing trial and for some others verdicts could come any day. Those in the line of fire include MPs Prabhunath Singh (JD-U) and Surajbhan Singh (LJP); Suspended JD(U) MLA Narendra Pandey alias Sunil Pandey and former MLA Rajan Tewary. Another MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav of RJD is also in the queue............... RJD strongman and Siwan MP Mohammad Shahabuddin has been convicted and punished in four separate cases including life term in one of them" (Ahmad, 2007). "Secularism, terrorism and social evils have become useful tools for our plundering politicians from the day the country was divided into two. Black money, terrorists,

bombs and contract killings have become a reality" (Raj, 2007). "Constitution expert Subhash Kashyap says that the prestige of Parliament has been gradually eroded due to the conduct of members cutting across parties." It has been happening for some time now-not just in the present Lok Sabha. Those who are supporting the government and blaming the Opposition now were behaving in exactly the same manner as the Opposition during the previous Lok Sabha. They did not allow the House to function day after day, session after session" says Kashyap (Ghosh, 2007). "The extent to which security has been compromised is touched upon by former joint director of IB Maloy Krishna Dhar in his new book, 'Fulcrum of Evil: ISI-CIA-AI Qaida Nexus'. He has suggested that a CM of a North Indian State had links with ISI and that he had been under IB's scanner "for maintaining questionable clandestine links". Dhar did not identify the CM only for the fear of being hauled in a court for defamation. Prodded by TOI he limited himself to, "he was a CM from a North Indian State." In the political circles, however, it is not difficult to hazard a guess about the identity of the stalwart. Dhar's colleagues in IB, both serving and retired, confirm Dhar was not engaging in a sales overpitch for his book. "Political interference is rampant and is increasing. What is shocking is the complete lack of sensitisation to the threat "a senior IB official, pleading anonymity, told TOI. A retired officer, who handled a crucial anti-terror station in the IB, concurred. There have been so many cases where our tipoff and suggestions for action have generated "identity not confirmed" response-meaning reluctance to proceed. An immediate case in point is Andhra Pradesh. Despite interrogation reports of captured terrorists pointing to RDX consignments reaching Hyderabad, the police was not allowed to pick up suspected sympathisers of terror outfits for questioning. It is only after August 25 twin blasts that brothers of the main accused Mohd. Shahid, or Bilal, were questioned. It took 43 deaths for the police to visit "politically sensitive" parts of the Walled City to question establishments suspected of radicalising youth. The reason, "reluctance to annoy a political party which is supporting regimes in the state and at the Centre" (Deshpande and Mohan, 2007). D. Proposed Definition: Although, the proposed definition of 'election' has already been explained in the first chapter of the book, yet for ready reference the same is being reproduced here. "Election expresses communitarian choice of the participating voters of the constituency/electoral college. To be more specific, election expresses the level of agreement among the participating voters of the constituency/electoral college in respect of every participating voter of the constituency/electoral college. Level of agreement is a scale. The least count of this scale is complete disagreement among the participating voters and the highest count is complete agreement among participating voters in respect of a particular participating voter of the constituency/electoral college. In case of complete disagreement, every participating voter gets one vote only and in case of complete agreement, every participating voter of the constituency/ electoral college casts his/her vote in favor of one and the same participating voter of the constituency/electoral college. Generally, the real situation is in between complete disagreement and complete agreement. According to the above concept of election, every voter of the constituency/electoral college irrespective of the level of governance casts his/her vote in favor of any participating voter of the constituency/electoral college, including himself/herself. The voters getting the highest, the second highest and the third highest number of votes are to be declared elected. For special circumstances, special provisions are a must. In a democratic system of governance, the procedure for election must be based on the 'Rule of Maximum Vote'. In the 'Rule of Maximum Vote', the number of contesting candidates are always equal to the number of participating voters of the constituency/electoral college.

The word "election" includes two major aspects. They are: (i) process of election, and (ii) procedure for election. Process of election further covers three elements: (a) inputs-contesting candidates, "equal opportunity-liberty-right to every voter of the constituency/electoral college to contest election; (b) processing-casting of votes", equal opportunity-liberty-right to every voter of the constituency/electoral college to cast his/her vote in favour of the candidate nominated by himself/herself only; (c) returned candidate: so called representative of the voters of the constituency/electoral college. The Constitution - the Statute- the Institutional Structure of Governance- the Procedure for Election must have evolved the "Process of Election" ensuring equal opportunity-liberty-right to contest election and to cast his/her vote in favour of the candidate nominated by himself/herself only to every voter of the constituency/electoral college in particular and of the country in general. IV.BAR TO INTERFERENCE BY COURTS IN ELECTORAL MATTERS: For immunizing the ill conceived definitions of the above mentioned concepts from judicial review, the Constituent Assembly included Article 329 in Part XV of the Constitution and Section 80 in the Representation of the People Act, 1951. A. Legislative Definitions: Article 329. Bar to interference by courts in electoral matters - (Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution1): a) the validity of any law, relating to the delimitation of constituencies or the allotment of seats to such constituencies, made or purporting to be made under Article 327 or Article 328, shall not be called in question in any court; b) no election to either House of Parliament or to the House or either House of the Legislature of a State shall be called in question except by an election petition presented to such authority and in such manner as may be provided for by or under any law made by the appropriate Legislature. Section 80- The Representation of the People Act, 1951. Election Petitions. No election shall be called in question except by an election petition presented in accordance with the provisions of this part. 1. The court having jurisdiction to try an election petition shall be the High Court. 2. Such jurisdiction shall be exercised ordinarily by a single Judge of the High Court and the Chief Justice, shall from time to time, assign one or more Judges for that purpose: Provided that where the High Court consists only of one Judge, he shall try all election petitions presented to that Court. 3. The High Court in its discretion may, in the interest of justice or convenience try an election petition, wholly or partly, at a place other than the place of seat of the High Court. B. Judicial Commentary: "The word 'election' in Article 329(b) was used in a comprehensive sense as including the entire process of election commencing with the issue of a notification and terminating with the declaration of election of a candidate and that an application under Article 226 challenging the validity of any of the Acts forming part of that process, would be barred - Hari Vishnu Kamath v. Ahmad Ishaque AIR 1955 SC 233.

"Article 329(b) excludes the jurisdiction of the High Courts to deal with any matter which may arise while the elections are in progress"- N.P. Ponnuswami v. Returning Officer AIR 952, SC 64. "The court must be very circumspect and act with caution while entertaining any election dispute though not hit by the bar of Article 329(b) but brought to it during the pendancy of election proceedings. The court must guard against any attempt of retarding, interrupting, protracting or stalling of such proceedings"- Election Commission of India v. Ashok Kumar (2000) 8 SCC 216. "The presumption is always of the existence of bona fides in the discharge of constitutional and statutory functions by the constitutional institutions and functionaries such as Election Commission, Chief Electoral Officer or Electoral Registration Officers. Until that presumption is displaced, it is not just or proper to act on pre-conceived notions and to prevent public authorities from discharging functions clothed upon them"- A.K.M. Hassan Uzzaman v. U.O.I. (1982) 2 SCC 218. "Once an election is over, the aggrieved candidate will have to pursue his remedy in accordance with the provisions of law and the High Court will not ordinarily interfere with the elections under Article 226. The High Court will not ordinarily interfere where there is an appropriate or equally efficacious remedy available particularly in relation to election disputes" in Umesh Shivappa Ambi v. Amgadi Shekara Basappa (1998) 4 SCC 529. "A dispute regarding election to the Legislative Council of a State can be raised only under the provisions contained in Part VI of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 by filing an election petition and not by filing a writ petition before the High Court"- Election Commission of India v. Shivaji AIR 1988 SC 61: (1988) SCC 277. "Once an election process has been set in motion, the High Court would not be justified in interfering with the process giving direction to the election officer to stall the proceedings or to conduct the election process afresh, though the High Court may entertain or may have already entertained a writ petition"- in Boddula v. State of Election Commissioner A.P. (1996) 3 SCC 416; see Ramachandra v. State of Maharashtra (1993) 4 SCC 216: AIR 1994 SC 1673; Gujarat University v. N.U. Rajguru AIR 1988 SC 66; Manda Jagannath v. K.S. Rathnam (2004) SCC 492:. C. Comments: Usage of word 'elector' in place of the word 'voter' has destroyed the theoretical and legal base of "Right to Vote". 'To elect' and 'to be elected' can be neither democratic rights; nor constitutional rights and nor statutory rights. On the contrary, in democratic system of governance 'Right to Contest Election' and 'Right to Vote' must be democratic-fundamentalconstitutional-statutory rights. Bar to interference by courts in electoral matters can be justified only and only after ensuring equal opportunity-liberty-right to contest election and to cast his/her vote in favor of the candidate nominated by himself/herself only to every voter of the country. Judiciary is supposed to direct legislature to amend the existing undemocratic multi-party based five-tier centralized top-to-bottom institutional structure of governance and ' the first-past-the post' and 'Rule of Majority Vote' based undemocratic procedure for election. The desired amendment would help : (i) in defining the concepts of 'voter'; 'right to vote' and 'election' on the basis of their inherent essence and spirit; (ii) in destroying the combination of undemocratic structures of the tools implementing multi-party based five-tier centralized topto-bottom institutional structure of governance; (ii) in preparing favorable circumstances for the adoption of partyless six-tier decentralized bottom-to-top institutional structure of governance, and (iv) in ensuring direct and indirect participation of every willing voter of the country in (a) constituting-operating the partyless six-tier decentralized bottom-to-top institutional structure of governance, and (b) formulating and implementing systems,

institutions, policies, laws, acts, rules and programmes necessary for the existence- survivalgrowth- welfare of every citizen of the country. D. Proposed Definition: Partyless six-tier decentralised bottom-to-top institutional structure of governance and "Rule of Maximum Vote" based procedure for election evolved for ensuring equal opportunity-libertyright to contest election and to cast his/her vote in favour of the candidate nominated by himself/herself only to every voter of the constituency/electoral college in particular and of the country in general, have been explained in the first chapter. The same have been summarised in the following table on next page. TABLE: SUMMARY OF THE PROPOSED INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE OF GOVERNANCE AND PROCEDURE FOR ELECTION Structure of Governance

1. Ward : (A Geographical area having around two hundred population).

2. Village/Mohalla: (Ten wards).

3. Cluster of Villages/Mohallas: (Ten Villages/ Mohallas).

Besides Chairman, number of members of institution governance Around 150-180

10

10

the the the the of

Procedure of Election

1. Every participating voter of the constituency/ electoral college would also be a contesting candidate ensuring Equal Opportunity in Getting Elected/Absolute and Unconditional Political Equality upto the level of Contesting Candidate. 2. Every participating voter of the constituency/ electoral college irrespective of the level of governance casts his/her vote in favour of any participating voter of the constituency/electoral college including himself/herself. 3. The voters getting the highest, the second highest and the third highest number of votes are to be declared elected as representatives of the concerned constituency/electoral college. 4. For special circumstances special provisions are a must. 5. The voters getting the highest number of votes would form the institution of governance at the level of his/ her constituency/electoral college. He/she would perform the role of the Chairperson and would not represent any constituency/electoral college. 6. Except the voter getting the second highest number of votes all other

4. District: (Twenty clusters of Villages/Mohallas).

20

5. State: (Twenty Five Districts).

25

6. Nation: (One Hundred & Ten States).

110

voters of the constituency/electoral college would be the member of the concerned institution of governance. At a time, a voter can not be the member of more than one institution of governance. 7. The voter getting the second highest number of votes would represent all the voters of his/her constituency/ electoral college at the next level of governance. On behalf of his/her constituency/electoral college, he/she would participate in building and operating the institution of governance at this level and would also perform the roles of a voter and contesting candidate in the election to be held at this level. 8. If the need arises, in order to ensure the representation of his/her constituency/electoral college at the next level institution of governance, the voter getting the third highest number of votes would replace the voter getting the second highest number of votes. In this situation he/she would not be the member of the lower level institution of governance. 9. This procedure for election would continue upto the national level. 10. The election of the representatives constituting the institution of governance at the next level would be held after a period of six months from the date of constituting the institutions of governance for one lower level. All the concerned representatives would attend all the sessions of the concerned institution of governance without right to vote. During this period they would get an opportunity to interact with each other behaviourally. 11. The resolution passed and approved by the concerned institution of governance against any of its member would disqualify him/her for being the basic voter till the end of the next election.

V. CONSTITUTIONAL VALIDITY: Though Article 368 authorises Parliament to amend the Constitution, it has been held by a Bench of 13-Judge in Kesavananda Bharati's case (1973) 4 SCC 225 that though Parliament is empowered to amend the Constitution, yet by such amendment the basic and essential features of the Constitution can not be changed or altered. This well-accepted principle is reiterated in L. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India (1997) 3SCC 261. Without discussing the recent stand of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of the country on 'Constitutional Validity' of the laws and acts to be included in the Ninth Schedule and amendment of the Constitution, the judicial commentary seems to be incomplete. The following lines explain the logics of Constitutional Validity. Constitution of India - Arts. 368, 31-B r/w Sch. IX and Part III - Laws included in Sch. IX after 24-4-1973, and the constitutional amendments inserting such laws, which affect fundamental rights or the principles underlying/essence of fundamental rights - Protection available to such laws and validity of such constitutional amendments - Scope and effect of inclusion of such laws in Sch. IX - Applicability of basic structure doctrine - Scope of judicial review - Held, Parliament has power to amend provisions of Part III so as to abridge or take away fundamental rights, but that power is subject to limitation of basic structure doctrine - Hence, all constitutional amendments made on or after 24-4-1973 by which Sch. IX is amended by inclusion of various laws, and the laws so included in Sch. IX, shall have to be tested on the touchstone of basic structure doctrine as reflected in Art. 21 r/w Art. 14 and Art. 19; Art. 15 and Art. 14 r/w Arts. 16(4), (4-A) & (4-B); Arts. 20 and 32, etc., and the principles underlying them, or if the law(s) concerned infringe the essence of fundamental rights. Constitution of India - Arts. 368, 31-B r/w Sch. IX, 32 and Pt. III - Laws included in Sch. IX after 24-4-1973, and the constitutional amendments inserting such laws, which affect fundamental rights or the principles underlying/essence of fundamental rights - Extent and nature of judicial scrutiny attracted - Factors to be considered, tests to be applied and exercise to be undertaken by Court - Necessity to take synoptic view of Pt. III/ Constitution - Standards to be applied depending on context - Held, every addition to Sch. IX triggers Art. 32 as part of the basic structure and is consequently subject to the review of fundamental rights as they stand in Pt. III. —Individual examination of each law/constitutional amendment – The laws that are included in Sch. IX have to be examined individually for determining whether the constitutional amendments by which they are put in Sch. IX damage or destroy the basic structure of the Constitution. —Impact or "rights test" and "essence of right" test– The actual or direct effect and impact of the impugned Sch. IX law on the rights guaranteed under Pt. III has to be considered for determining whether or not the law destroys the basic structure - Focus of Court is on the actual impairment caused by the law, rather than the literal validity of the law - This means that the form of the amendment is not the relevant factor; but the consequence thereof would be the determinative factor; this is the "rights test" - When in a controlled constitution conferring limited power of amendment, an entire chapter is made inapplicable as in the case of insertion of a law into Sch. IX under Art. 31-B, "essence of the right" test as applied in M Nagaraj, (2006) 8 SCC 212 [Ed.: see Shortnote U, para 37 therein], will have no applicability In such a situation, it is the "rights test" which is more appropriate, which requires a synoptic view to be taken of the Constitution/fundamental rights chapter. —Synoptic view– As fundamental rights are interconnected, one has to take a synoptic view of the various articles in Pt. III while judging the impact of Sch. IX laws on the articles in Pt. III/Constitution.

—Compatibility test– Basic structure doctrine requires the State to justify the degree of invasion of fundamental rights - Greater the invasion into essential freedoms, greater is the need for justification and determination by Court whether invasion was necessary, and if so, to what extent - Degree of invasion is for the Court and not Parliament to decide - Parliament is presumed to legislate compatibly with the fundamental rights and this is where judicial review comes in -Compatibility is one of the species of judicial review in which one has to see the effect of the impugned law on one hand and exclusion of Pt. III under Art. 31-B in its entirety at the will of Parliament on the other. —Standard to be applied– The extent of invasion of various freedoms that is permissible varies depending upon the context - Thus, application of a standard to determine the extent of invasion of freedoms that is permissible in a particular context is an important exercise to be undertaken by the Court in applying the basic structure doctrine -This exercise can be undertaken by the Court alone and not the prescribed authority under Art. 368. —Step-wise approach– For determining whether the impugned Sch. IX law which affects fundamental rights violates the basic structure, Court has to first find out whether the impugned Sch. IX law is violative of Pt. III - If it finds in the affirmative, the further examination to be undertaken by the Court is whether the violation is found destructive of the basic structure - If this is found in the affirmative also, the result would be invalidation of the Sch. IX law concerned - Instances discussed: Constitution of India - Arts. 14, 15, 16, 31-B r/w Sch. IX and Art. 368 - Laws included in Sch. IX after 24-4-1973, and the constitutional amendments inserting such laws, affecting fundamental rights under Arts. 14, 15 and 16 - Considerations involved in testing validity of - Balancing of general right of equality under Art. 14 with that under Art. 15(4) when excessiveness is detected in grant of protective discrimination - Balancing of formal equality enshrined in Art. 16(1) with egalitarian equality enshrined in Art. 16(4). Constitution of India - Pt. III - Fundamental rights - Nature of - Interconnectedness of fundamental rights, reiterated. Constitution of India - Arts. 368, 31-B r/w Sch. IX and Pt. III - Constitutional amendments affecting fundamental rights - Testing on touchstone of basic structure - Application of a standard to determine the extent of invasion of freedoms permissible in a particular context Authority competent therefore, held, is the Court and not Parliament. Constitution of India - Arts. 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 32 and 31-B r/w Sch. IX and 368 Fundamental rights that are part of the basic structure of the Constitution - Held, Art. 21 r/w Art. 14 and Art. 19; Art. 15 and Art. 14 r/w Arts. 16(4), (4-A) & (4-B); Arts. 20 and 32, etc., including the principles or essence underlying them, are part of the basic structure of the Constitution. Constitution of India - Arts. 14, 31-B r/w Sch. IX and 368 - Nature of Art. 14 - Extent to which part of the basic structure of the Constitution - Held, essence of the principle behind Art. 14 is part of the basic structure - In fact, essence or principle of the right or nature of violation is more important than equality in the abstract or formal sense. Constitution of India - Pt. III and Arts. 31-B r/w Sch. IX and 368 - Amendability of fundamental rights - Permissibility and extent of - Held, Parliament has power to amend provisions of Pt. III so as to abridge or take away fundamental rights, but that power is subject to limitation of basic structure doctrine. Constitution of India - Arts. 368 and 31-B r/w Sch. IX - Elements of basic structure of the Constitution - Instances of - Reiterated, that secularism, separation of powers, equality and

judicial review are basic features of Constitution and essential elements of the rule of law Rule of Law. Constitution of India - Art. 19(1)(a) - Freedom of Press - If part of freedom guaranteed under Art. 19(1)(a) - Reiterated, that freedom of press which, though not separately and specifically guaranteed, has been read as part of Art. 19(1)(a). Constitution of India - Pt. III and Preamble - Secularism - Repositories of, in the Constitution Held, secular character of the Constitution is a matter of conclusion to be drawn from various articles conferring fundamental rights - If the secular character is not to be found in Pt. III, it cannot be found anywhere else in the Constitution because every fundamental right in Pt. III stands either for a principle or a matter of detail. Constitution of India - Pt. III - Fundamental rights - Contents of - Held, every fundamental right in Pt. III stands either for a principle or a matter of detail. Constitution of India - Pt. III and Arts. 14, 15 and 16 - Existence of social content in fundamental rights - View taken in M. Nagaraj, (2006) 8 SCC 212, reiterated. Constitution of India - Arts. 368 and 31-B r/w Sch. IX - Applicability of basic structure doctrine Factors to be considered - Held, developments made in the field of constitutional interpretation and expansion of judicial review shall have to be kept in view while deciding the applicability of the basic structure doctrine in I.R.Coelho v. State of T.N. (1999) 7 SCC 580. VI. VICIOUS CIRCLE OF CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC: Intellectuals and judicial commentary placed in the previous and this chapters respectively apparently confirm the doubts envisaged by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Dr. Rajendra Prasad about the working of the "operators-amendors" of the Constitution. The commentary also confirms the failure of multi-party based five-tier centralised top-to-bottom institutional structure of governance and 'the first-past-the post' system and 'Rule of Majority Vote' based procedure for election in blocking the continuation of dynastic rule and implementing Democratic Republic in independent India. Since last sixty years, the 'operators-amendors' of the Constitution are being elected and re-elected and 'multi-party based five-tier centralised top-to-bottom institutional structure of governance' and 'the first-past-the post' system and 'Rule of Majority Vote' based procedure for election, are being constituted-operated-amended as per the provisions laid down in the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act. This implies that the fault does not lie with the operators-amendors of the Constitution as envisaged by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Dr. Rajendra Prasad and confirmed by the intellectuals and judicial commentary. In fact, fault lies with the 'multi-party based five-tier centralised top-to-bottom institutional structure of governance, and 'the first-past-the post' system and 'Rule of Majority Vote' based procedure for election evolved by the Constituent Assembly of India or with their evolution. The most unfortunate part of the story is that the 'multi-party based five-tier centralised topto-bottom institutional structure of governance' and 'the first-past-the-post' system and 'Rule of Majority Vote' based procedure for election insulate the existence- survival-growth of the Political Parties and their leaders. For their existence-survival-growth, the Political Parties and their leaders were/are bound to protect their insulator. As evident from their opinions available in the third chapter of the book, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Dr. Rajendra Prasad were very much clear about the obvious and natural psychology-intention of the Political Parties and their leaders to rule independent India indefinitely. In spite of this, the Constituent Assembly provided Article 368 to the Political Parties and their leaders for insulating their own insulatorunbreakable Vicious Circle of Constitutional Democratic Republic- from public action through referendum. In brief, in the name of democracy the Constituent Assembly provided an

unbreakable Vicious Circle of Constitutional Democratic Republic to the sovereign citizens of independent India. The following lines explain (i) the aspects involved in the unbreakable Vicious Circle of Constitutional Democratic Republic; (ii) their cause-effect relationship; and (iii) point for attack. Wide spread unemployment-underemployment-income disparity-poverty-corruption; rapid population growth; rapid deterioration in the cultural-social-human values; criminalisation of systems, institutions and individuals, instable governance are the obvious outcome of the systems, institutions, policies, acts, laws, rules and programmes formulated and implemented by the selfish-opportunist-dishonest-egoist-corrupt-criminal-legislators of independent India. \

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The selfish-opportunist-dishonest-egoist-corrupt-criminal-legislators of independent India are the obvious outcome of multi-party based five-tier centralised top-to-bottom institutional structure of governance and 'the first-past-the post' and 'Rule of Majority Vote' based procedure for election. \

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Multi-party based five-tier centralised top-to-bottom institutional structure of governance and 'the first-past-the post' and 'Rule of Majority Vote' based procedure for election are the obvious outcome of the compulsion on the part of the voter to endorse the choice of one or the other political party or of any independent candidate. \

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Compulsion on the part of the voter to endorse the choice of one or the other political party or of any independent candidate is the obvious outcome of ill conceived definitions of the concepts of 'elector (voter)', 'right to vote', (electoral right) and 'election'. \

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The ill conceived definitions of the concepts of 'elector (voter)', 'right to vote', (electoral right) and 'election' on one hand converted 'right to vote' into 'right to endorse the choice of one or the other political party or of any independent candidate" and on the other hand destroyed the theoretical and legal base provided by the definition of democracy and the very first statement of the Constitution respectively to every voter of the country, i.e., equal opportunity-libertyright to contest election and to cast his/her vote in favour of the candidate nominated by himself/herself only. VII. CONCLUSION: Prima facie the role of judiciary in Democratic Republic is to interpret the laws formulated by the legislature of the country. The trinity, the Preamble, the Fundamental Rights in Part-III and Directive Principales of State Policy in Chapter IV of the Constitution provide guidelines to the legislature and judiciary for formulating and interpreting laws respectively. Most of the constitutional amendments have always been to restrict fundamental rights of the sovereign citizens. First amendment, 4th amendment, then these obnoxious amendmends just before and after the emergency– the 39th to 48th amendments. Through the first amendment, Parliament included Ninth Schedule in the Constitution. Ninth Schedule immunizes all the laws included and to be included in it from judicial review. At present there are 284 laws in Ninth Schedule. Legislative encroachment by the legislature through constitutional amendments upon the human rights in broader sense provided by the trinity to the sovereign Indian citizens forced as well as encouraged the judiciary to introduce the doctrines of "basic structure of the

Constitution" and "constitutional validity" for reviewing the laws formulated by the legislature judicially. Also, through it's innovative mechanism of Public Interest Litigation, judiciary has tried to reach the deprived sections of the society. As per judgement of Supreme Court of the country in case of Rameshwar Prasad and Others v. Union of India and Another [2006] 2SCC, dissolution of Bihar Assembly on 23.5.2005 was unconstitutional. According to this judgement for forming the government in Bihar, majority of ideology based political party was not the requirement of the Constitution. Irrelevance and constitutional invalidity of the ideology based party system in constituting Assembly and forming Government in Bihar after Assembly election held in February, 2005, is the most important hidden side of the judgments for future course of action. Supreme Court judgments are bindings; they are law under Article 141. For immunizing the foundation of the Vicious Circle of Constitutional Democratic Republic; i.e. ill conceived definitions of the concepts of 'voters'; 'right to vote' election from judicial review, the Constituent Assembly included Article 329 in the Constitution and Section 80 in the Representation of the People Act 1951. It seems that it was/is in the interest of the Political Parties and their leaders to keep the main pillar of democracy – 'Voter' – identity-less and powerless. Most of the occasions, the 'voter' has been called either as an 'elector' or as a 'person'. The existing procedure for election does not provide freedom of choice or equal opportunity-liberty-right to contest election and to cast his/her vote in favor of the candidate nominated by himself/herself only to every voter of the country. As regard the 'rule of law' and 'law of land', if laws are based on the ill conceived definitions of the concepts of 'elector', 'right to vote' and 'election' then the possibility to get justice from judiciary is remote. Implementation of Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic in independent India was/is the ultimate end whereas the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act, were/are the means. In these circumstances, the constitutional institutions in general and the judiciary in particular has to decide the priority between the Constitutional Validity and the Democratic Validity. In case of Democratic Validity, the validity of the existing institutional structure of governance; procedure for election; the Representation of the People Acts, 1950 and 1951 and of the Constitution itself must be examined on the basis of "democratic rights of the voter" i.e. equal opportunity-liberty-right to contest election and to cast his/her vote in favor of the candidate nominated by himself/herself only to every voter of the country. The judicial commentary available in this chapter on the ill conceived legislative definitions of the concepts of 'voter' , 'right to vote' and 'election', seems to be quite against the inherent essence and spirit of the concept of Democratic Republic. "Redressal of the damage done to India and Indians demands immediate replacement of the present process of politicization by the process of socialization."

CHAPTER - 5 SUMMARY "All members of parliament, young and old, members of cabinet, journalists as well as common citizens are concerned about administrative apathy, corruption and India's failure to provide promised benefits to the poor. The situation in this respect has become worse over time irrespective of which party or persons are in power. Hardly a day goes by when we do not read about India's high ranking in the global corruption index and a dismal ranking in human development, poverty alleviation, hunger, illiteracy and health. The issue that must be faced is that the problem is now "systemic", and not "episodic". It is not related to the quality of persons or parties in power" (Jalan, 2007). "The current system, despite brave efforts by the election commission, is something that suits criminals most and that's why politics in India remains mainly their domain. Last time I wrote in this very column about my excitement at seeing Rahul Gandhi and the younger brigade taking up serious roles in Indian politics, but as I sat down thinking later, I felt that even they all will become criminalized in times to come, thanks to the system" (Chaudhari, 2007). As stated at the end of the second chapter of the book, for blocking the continuation of the dynastic rule and for implementing Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic in independent India, the Constituent Assembly provided the following combination: "multi-party based five-tier centralised top-to-bottom institutional structure of governance…….. constituted…….. as per 'the first-past-the post' and 'Rule of Majority Vote'……. operated ……. by the opportunists". After ninety-four amendments in the Constitution, the combination remained more or less the same. Alongwith selfish- opportunist- dishonest- egoist- corruptcriminal legislatores, the combination has yielded the following results. 1. Initiated the process of politicization of multi-party based five-tier centralised top-tobottom institutional structure of governance. The process of politicization has completed it's journey after politicising the criminal systems, institutions, and individuals. 2. Promoted the dynastic rule through political parties which blocked the implementation of Democratic Republic in independent India. 3. Forced to adopt justification-authority based evaluation-monitoring mechanism creating very wide space and scope for corruption. 4. Forced to adopt punitive measures for sensitizing human emotions, sentiments, thoughts and overall behaviour which have miserably failed. 5. Made the democratic rights of the voter, i.e., equal opportunity-liberty-right to contest election and to cast his/her vote in favour of the candidate nominated by himself/herself only impractical, non-implementable and utopian. 6. Made the Parliament and State Assemblies the shadow of the Political Parties. 7. Formulation of coalition governments on the basis of 'Rule of Majority Vote' made the ideology based multi-party system irrelevant and the institution of government instable. 8. Election of the Members of Lok-Sabha and State Assemblies on the basis of 'the firstpast-the post' system promoted the entry of the opportunists into the system of governance.

9. Made the concepts of 'Stateless Society', 'Swaraj', Gram-Swaraj', 'Partyless Democracy' and 'Lok-Umidwar impractical, irrelevant and utopian. 10. Converted the sovereign institutions of candidate, representative and government into the slave ones of the Political Parties. 11. Divided the citizens of India vertically upto the level of local society on the basis of caste and creed into the Political Parties. Intellectuals and judicial commentary placed in the previous two chapters explain the above mentioned obvious outcome of the "multi-party based five-tier centralised top-to-bottom institutional structure of governance" which has been evolved-constituted-operated-amended by the legislators of independent India. The new and the old constitutors-operators-amenders (legislators) are elected and re-elected respectively as per prevailing procedure for election which has again been evolved-operated-amended by the legislators of independent India. Since independence, Constitutional Democratic Republic in general and "multi-party based five-tier centralised top-to-bottom institutional structure of governance" in particular have been constituted-operated-amended as per the Constitutional Democratic Republic and procedure for election evolved by the Constituent Assembly. As such, the reponsibility of the undesirable obvious outcome of the "multi-party based five-tier centralised top-to-bottom institutional structure of governance" does not lie with the constitution-operation-amendment of the Constitutional Democratic Republic; "multi-party based five-tier centralised top-to-bottom institutional structure of governance" and 'the first-past-the post' system and Rule of Majority Vote based procedure for election. It lies with the EVOLUTION of the "multi-party based fivetier centralised top-to-bottom institutional structure of governance" and 'the first-past-the post' system and "Rule of Majority Vote" based undemocratic procedure for election. For immunizing the Vicious Circle of Constitutional Democratic Republic and "multi-party based five-tier centralised top-to-bottom institutional structure of governance" from public action through referendum, the Constituent Assembly included Article 368 in Indian Constitution and for immunising prevailing procedure for election and ill conceived definitions of the concepts of "elector/voters"; "right to vote/electoral right" and "election" from judicial review, it included Article 329 in the Constitution and Section 80 in the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The following lines explain the character of the Vicious Circle of Constitutional Democratic Republic in terms of (i) Sovereign-Socialist-Secular, and (ii) Democratic Republic. I. SOVEREIGN-SOCIALIST-SECULAR: Who is sovereign? The president of India? Who has to accept the advice of the Cabinet, the Political Party in Power? THE PARLIAMENT? The shadow of the Political Parties. THE JUDICIARY? The interpretor of the Laws and Acts formulated by the Political Parties through Parliament and State Assemblies. THE EXECUTIVE? "too often, political strings are pulled to see that the case does not reach the chargesheet stage and is closed and if a chargesheet is filed but the politician gets acquitted, then no appeal is filed, sample these: 

CBI did not get permission to file appeals against Ottavio Quattrocchi in Argentina in the extradition case.



No appeal filed against "Hinduja brothers" acquittal in Bofors case.



It first did not get permission to file chargesheet against Mayawati, when it did, there was no sanction from the Governor.



It did not get the nod to file appeal against acquittal of Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi in the disproportionate assets case.



Permission was denied to file appeals against acquittal of Ajit Jogi and his son Amit Jogi in separate cases." (Mahapatra, 2007)



The voter? He/she has to endorse the choice of one or the other Political Party or of any independent candidate in the name of 'Right to Vote' at the election.

In Democratic Republic, 'voter' is the only Constitutional Institution who is sovereign to make choice in nominating his/her contesting candidate at the time of election. All other Constitutional Institutions – The President; The Parliament; The Judiciary; The Executive – are bound to take decision as per the Constitution and its provisions. Ill conceived definitions of the concepts of "elector/voter"; "right to vote/electoral right" and "election" have transferred sovereignty from 'voter' to the Political Parties and their leaders. This implies that at present Political Parties and their leaders are the only sovereign institutions in India and all others are their slaves. There are a number of judgments in which the Honb'le Supreme Court of the country has to state that the Preamble, the Fundamental Rights in Part III and the Directive Principles of State Policy in Part IV of the Constitution of India, are the part and parcel of the basic feature of the Constitution and they delineate the socio-economic status of the citizens. Constitutional amendments against the basic features of the Constitution forced the Hon'ble Supreme Court to convey to the legislature that though by virtue of Article 368, Parliament is empowred to amend the Constitution that power cannot be exercised so as to damage the basic features of the Constitution or to destroy its basic structure. "If you are indeed helpless, say so in an affidavit. If you are scared to act against these VIP, tell us... Implementation of guidelines for bungalows should start from top and not from bottom", said that dismayed Bench. "Are they above the law? If you allow VIPs to carry out illegal constructions, allow judges and common people to do that as well. You are very fast in acting against a retired judge who made a small shed in his house while others have constructed entire rooms and have not been touched," the Bench remarked. (Times News Network, 2007e). "If after five decades of working, the tale of this largest democracy looks to be that of two shades of democracy - democracy for the upper 5 percent of the country's population posing major challenge to the survival of democracy for the 95 percent - it is because a sinister argument runs the beneath the picture of contrasts" (Panda, 2004) "In more than five decades of freedom, India is not one India. It is two Indias. One is "We the People of India" that is those people who are rich, wealthy and powerful and the other category is, "We the Other People of India" those who are poor, downtrodden, dalits, Harijans, havenots, disadvantaged etc. etc., sections of society. Frankly speaking the 4th World within the 3rd World. One may ask why this has happened even when the present day India has covered a long journey to freedom. It has happened because, instead of White Britishers we have bred White Indians. The petty Indian, the havenots, have not only remained invisible to the affluent eye but also feel distanced from the democratic agenda of the Indian Republic. This has happened not without a reason. In all these years, though the Britishers have gone, only the masters have changed, in place of Britishers we have Indian masters. The system remains the same, it has yet to change" (Singh; Ranbir, 2006). "In such a democratic framework the people at large have no voice in determining the course of action the country should follow. During elections the common citizens are used as mere pawns by the political parties who succeed in winning votes by trickery and muscle flexing" (Panda,

2004). "Inclusion of a caste in the list would mean that it was previously socially advanced and did not figure among the backward class communities. But with time, their social status deteriorated and they had to be included in the list. This means more and more castes are getting backward as there are only inclusions and none being excluded from the list", it said. Vahanvati said as per the procedure before NCBC, a caste could be excluded from the list only if someone filed a complaint alleging that a caste had become socially advanced. "No petitions have been filed seeking exclusion of any caste", he said. The Bench replied, "Merely because there is no complaint, NCBC cannot abdicate its duty to conduct a periodic reviews of the social status of castes included in the backward list." Referring to the swelling number of castes in the backward list, the Bench said, "This means for 60 years, people who were disadvantaged continue to be backward. If this is so, then what is the meaning of the arrangements for social advancement of backward community for all these years." (Times News Network, 2007d). "Politicians have always exploited religion and subverted it to suit their needs. Perhaps, God was invented by political scientists of ancient times to control the minds of the masses. All religions command respect because they stress on non-violence, truth and ethics. A religion ceases to be religion and loses its sanctity when ethics are subjugated to politics. It is political leaders who are killing the religion they profess to serve" (Prajan Kumar Jain, 2007). "India's politicians, whether from Hindutva or secular camp are staunch believers in the idea of a 'Muslim Vote'. It was only natural that they should cast the India- US nuclear deal too in these terms. The Congress is worried about losing the Muslim vote if it pushes the deal through and is preparing sops for Muslims to counteract the effect. The left hopes to sway Muslims with its polemic against the deal" (Editor, 2007a). Let us reproduce the last part of the observation of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar on this aspect, "The anxiety is deepened by the realisation of the fact that in addition to our old enemies in the form of castes and creeds, we are going to have many political parties above their creed or will they place creed above country? I do not know." "Unfortunately, Bhardwaj is not an exception. Most politicians crawl when the religious extremists ask them to kneel. They rarely argue; instead they walk the path of appeasement. The Sangh parivar as well as fundamentalist outfits claiming to represent Muslims, Sikhs and Christians realised this weakness of our secular system long ago" (Editor, 2007b). II. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC: "Dynastic politics had begun with Sanjay Gandhi's unofficial but powerful position during the Emergency. Upon her return to power, Indira had personalised Congress as her own family affair and annointed Sanjay as her successor. There was no doubt as to 'who the next PM would be if she were to die in office.' As it happend, it was Rajiv and not Sanjay who succeeded. But even then when he died and Congress leaders offered Sonia Gandhi the Prime Minister post, she, to her great credit, declined. Here was the chance for Congress to chart a new path. It is clear that the first priority of Congress is to secure the succession. A beginning has been made last month by inducting the heir apparent into the mysteries of Congress organisation" (Desai, 2007b). "Indeed, if truth be told, most parties have virtually become private limited companies, private 'maths' or private armies with their own separate war cheats" (Inderjeet, 2002, page 136 and 137). "What is our culture? No election. Let the leader nominate" (Sangma, 2002, page 17). "It is the party bosses who decide as to who should contest the election and this tends to deprive the people of the right to choose those who they believe to be their real representatives" (Joshi, 2002, page 123). "Good people are staying away from politics thereby giving way to bad elements to enter" (Sangama, 2002, page 16). "It is said that high quality persons are not elected to the Lok Sabha any more" (Roy, 2002, page 26). "In our democracy 'birth' and not 'merit' is a major decisive factor in matters of governance" (Agarwal, 2002, page 82). "The electoral system effectively deny many of those who have the competence to govern an opportunity to get selected" (Indiresan, 2002, page 37). "Non-participation of the people in

selection of candidates is one of the five issues related to the representational legitimacy" (Kashyap, 2002, page 1). "The Supreme Court on Monday asked the CBI to complete within six weeks its probe into allegations about nationality of controversial Assam Congress MP Manikumar Subba, who reiterated that he is an Indian and not a Nepalese national….. though there are serious questions about Subba's nationality. CBI has not questioned him about his place of birth or place of schooling. Yet, it says that it is unable to comment whether he is an Indian national. "What kind of inquiry is being conducted by CBI, it had said" (Times News Network, 2007a). "In this context, I would like to add that dynasties get promoted more in civilian ruled countries. Most South Asian countries, especially India, have experienced dynastic rule while ostensibly being a republic" (Mita Ghose, 2007). III. CONCLUSION: On completion of fifty years of the working of the Constitution, it was considered appropriate to take stock of it's successes and failures. On 23rd February, 2000, the President of India, Sri K.R. Narayanan appointed the National Commission to Review the working of the Constitution. One of the observations of NCRWC is, "right to vote" under universal adult franchise gives to every citizen, an opportunity to participate in the democratic process and to select the government. A full recognition to our democratic rights and responsibilities, as citizens, at election time will automatically rid the system of corruption, criminalisation, money and muscle power and the like ills" (Kashyap, 2006). Can the existing unbreakable Vicious Circle of Constitutional Democratic Republic ensure democratic rights to every voter of the country; i.e. equal opportunity-liberty-right to contest election and to cast his/her vote in favour of the candidate nominated by himself/herself only? Can the reforms suggested and recommended by NCRWC, if implemented in absolute sense, and the efforts being put by the reformers and the social activists to change the existing system of governance, make the required change in the existing combination of undemocratic institutional structure of governance and undemocratic procedure for election? If not, then for solving all the problems prevailing in India simultaneously, the reformers and the social activists must put efforts for replacing the existing undemocratic combination with the democratic combination of "partyless six-tier decentralised bottom-to-top institutional structure of governance…. constituted… as per the 'Rule of Maximum Vote'…. operated…. by the voters of the country and their nominees. As regards the 'law of land' and 'rule of law', when the law (Article 329 of the Constitution and Section 80 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951) is based on the ill conceived definitions of the concepts of "voter"; "right to vote" and "election" then it becomes impossible for 'single voter' to fight theoretically, legislatively and behaviouraly for his/her democratic right, i.e., equal opportunity-liberty-right to contest election and to cast his/her vote in favour of the candidate nominated by himself/herself only. Realisation of democratic rights demands a nationwide Revolutionary Democratic Movement. For initiating and running Revolutionary Democratic Movement in the country successfully it was/is necessary: (i) to define the concepts of "voter", "right to vote" and "election" on the basis of their inherent essence and spirit; (ii) to devise multi-tier decentralised bottom-to-top institutional structure of governance and 'Rule of Maximum Vote' based procedure for election ensuring availability of every participating voter of the constituency/electoral college for getting his/her thoughts-expressions- actions evaluated by every participating voter of the constituency/electoral college on the basic of day-to-day interaction; and (iii) to pinpoint theoretical; legislative and behavioural aspects for mobilising electronic and printed media and also mental and physical support of over seventy crore voters of the country for demolishing the unbreakable Vicious Circle of Constitutional Democratic Republic. The first chapter of the book fulfils the first two requirements of the Revolutionary Democratic Movement. The following lines explain the theoretical, legislative and beahvioural aspects for challenging the constitutors-operators-amenders of the unbreakable Vicious Circle of Constitutional Democratic Republic. A. Theoretical:

Democratic Republic without democratic rights is a very serious fraud and very dangerous legislative conspiracy which had been done and is being done by the legislators of independent India against innocent voters of the country. Fractured verdicts, being given by the Indian voters since last twenty-five years against the governance of so-called ideology based party system, have destroyed theoretical, legislative and behavioural base of the ideology based party system completely. Ideology based party system has lost every and all the rights to govern Indian citizens. The very essence and spirit of the judgement of Hon'ble Supreme Court of the country (Before Y.K. Sabharwal, C.J. and K.G. Balkrishnan, B.N. Agrawal, Ashok Bhan and Arijit Pasayat JJ) in case of Remeshwar Prasad and Others v. Union of India and Another (2006) 2 SCC indirectly confirms the constitutional invalidity of the ideology based party system. In a way, the Political Parties and their leaders are being addicted of "three monkeys" dictum of Bapujee. Keeping their constitutionally invalid and illegal possession on governance, the Political Parties and their leaders have adopted the idea of "coalition government" without taking any approval either of the Constitution or of the voters of the country. Coalition government is undemocratic; against the ideology based party system; unethical and unconstitutional. In this situation, initiation of a non-violent nation-wide Revolutionary Democratic Movement for getting democratic rights i.e., "equal opportunity-liberty-right 'to contest election" and "to cast his/her vote in favour of the candidate nominated by himself/herself only to every voter of the country" is the only option left with the citizens of this great nation. B. Legislative: Through Public Interest Litigations (PILs), the reformers and the social activists must challenge the ill conceived definitions of the concepts of 'elector'; 'right to vote' and 'election'. Through PILs all the three organs of the State - through Judiciary against the Parliament (the legislature) and the Election Commission (the executive) can be covered. "The Constitution has vested the Supreme Court with the power to impose correctives on the executive and in lesser measure, on the legislature. The more the power, the greater the responsibility that goes with it" (Krishna Iyer, 2007). C. Behavioural: Availability of a commonly agreeable issue alongwith active and effective continuous involvement of the electronic and printed media, are the two main pre-requisites for initiating and running a non-violent nation wide Revolutionary Democratic Movement successfully. "Equal opportunity-liberty-right to contest election" seems to be the most agreeable issue. The ordinary citizens of the country can attract the electronic and printed media by creating legitimate crisis in the management of the existing procedure for election. Submission of more than two thousand valid nomination papers from one and the same constituency in the coming election either of Lok Sabha or of any State Assembly can certainly make the conduct of election in the concerned constituency impractical and, hence, impossible. This would help in mobilising electronic and printing media and also over seventy crore voters of the country mentally and physically for initiating and running the required non-violent national-wide Revolutionary Democratic Movement successfully for realising their democratic rights. Inclusive development without inclusive democracy is a dream dreamt by the Politicians. Inclusive democracy demands absolute and unconditional political equality up to the political status of contesting candidate and evolution of multi-tier institutional structure of governance and procedure for election accordingly. The first chapter presents the evolved multi-tier institutional structure of governance and procedure for election. All the reformers and the social activists working individually and separately must join hands for challenging the constitutors-operators-amenders of the existing unbreakable Vicious Circle of Constitutional Democratic Republic theoretically, legislatively and behaviourally.

REFERENCES 

Agarwal, U.C.; Indiresan, P.V.; Inderjeet; Joshi, Keerat.; Kashyap, Subhash, C.; Muthamma, C.B.; Patel, Himmat Bhai and Patel, Shanti Bhai.; Patil, Shivraj.; Roy, Sugata.; Sahabbuddin, Syed.; Sahai, Suprabha, V.; Sahasrabudhe, Vinay.; Sharda, Prem Kumar.; Sangma, P.A.. The papers of all these authors without titles have been included in the book, "National Surgence Through Election Reforms", edited by Dr. Subhash C. Kashyap and published by Shipra Publications, Delhi-110092.



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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Jagpal Singh was born in the village Prai, district Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh in the year 1943. He was a Research Scholar and Technical Assistant at University of Roorkee, U.P. In 1979, he joined the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi as Senior Research Assistant and later rose to Principal Scientific Officer where he remained till his voluntary retirement in 1999. His life is now dedicated to the initiation of a mass movement in the country for ensuring political equality upto the level of contesting candidate, in the true spirit of a patriot. His contributions to society are noteworthy. Over the years he published sixty research papers in national and international Journals, supervised seven Ph.D. Scholars, eleven Major Projects related to M.Sc./M.Tech Degree, and published three books and three booklets on the New Politico Economic Philosophy. Among his many achievements he evolved concepts: Physical Quality of Human Resource for (i) defining the concepts of development; economic equality/inequality; poverty and employment/ unemployment; (ii) designing Pricing and Resource Allocation Mechanisms free from market forces; (iii) regulating Policies and Programmes related to (a) Monetary Policy; (b) Human Resource Development; (c) Fiscal System; (d) Research and Development; Production-Training-Service Centre for ensuring direct and indirect participation of local society in (a) Preparing Development Plan under the Macro Frame for their area; (b) Executing and Monitoring the development plan and Sharing the benefits; (c) Building and Operating the structures of governance, administration and production; (d) Maintaining balance between supply of and demand for national currency and workforce at local level; balance of trade at regional level and balance of payment at national level and Multi-tier Institutional Structure of Governance and Procedure for Election for implementing Partyless Democracy.

"What this means is that one of the major problems in the world is the breakdown of the system of governance, be it a democratic form or any other form. If the democratic form is the most popular one in the world today, it is very difficult to find countries where it is not under serious strain." —A.K. Merchant "The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves." —CARL JUNG "Inclusive development without inclusive democracy is a dream dreamt by the politicians. Inclusive democracy demands absolute and unconditional political equality up to the political status of contesting candidate and evolution of multi-tier institutional structure of governance and procedure for election accordingly." —JAG PAL SINGH "All that is necessary for triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." —EDMUND BURKE "In strategic parlance, Gandhiji used non-violence when he was seeking to change the status quo and the adversary was defending it. The apartheid regime in South Africa and the British empire in India were trying to defend the status quo, Gandhiji challenged it through nonviolent, massive disobedience." —K. SUBRAMANYAM

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