Sunday, December 9, 2012

How to keep criminals away from politics?

My fine morning coffee was disturbed by this headline:
31% MPs and MLAs voting in presidential election have criminal records

Here is How it all happened :-
It was a cold day  and like any other day I was snug in my bed gulping my daily dose of caffeine coffee, I began to daydream ponder, since we are a representative democracy. Does it mean that those nearly a third of MPs (31%) are representatives of one third of us ? So by simple logic a third of us gotta be electing those one third MPs because umm well, it's representative democracy.

Boy! That is a really large number. So If I happen to know 2 decent guys and sadly!(? You will know, why) I do. So it stands to reason that I am the third persone electing them. So before the word gets out I gotta have a solid 'alibi'.

So here is presenting my case :-

Sir, It ain't me! Why the figure is not justified and How to remedy this little 'misunderstanding' of ours ;)


Mr Swaminathan Anklesaria Aiyar (writer of weekly Sunday column "Swaminomics" in Times of India ,author of several books and Former Journalist) presented this idea some time back in Sunday edition of Times of India.

The problem with current dispensation is that : When criminal get elected, the cases against them start moving (or dragging!) slower than before due to associated blessings of power. This incentivizes entry of criminals in politics. (So it's simply 'entrepreneurship' of well, eh.. Criminals!)

The Remedy :
What if, Criminal cases against elected MPs are considered (and rightly so!) a matter of high priority as they are to make decisions on behalf of electorate because "The institution is only as strong as the person who mans it".

So cases against elected MPs should be moved to fast track courts, where it is guaranteed that cases would be quickly resolved with hearings on daily basis in their favor or against them in. This would remove the incentive of criminals entering politics and my coffee is finished, gotta go.

How is that for accountability ? :)

Reference:
31% MPs and MLAs voting in presidential election have criminal records http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-07-12/india/32648222_1_criminal-cases-vote-in-presidential-election-national-election-watch
Supreme Court finds cases against 162 MPs disturbing  http://www.indianexpress.com/comments/sc-finds-criminal-cases-against-162-mps-very-disturbing/870711/

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