I must appreciate the honest
intention of my esteemed colleague who has introduced this Bill. In the
legislative document, the aim is defined.
The Bill seeks to make voting compulsory. The legislative document
intends to cast more votes for the growth of our democratic system but the
means that have been suggested are not advisable in the context of our
country. India always pleads the persuasive
policy in all concerned problems of our country. But this is clearly smacking of a tinge of
autocracy. So, here I am compelled to
disagree with the means of the legislative document as has been enunciated.
Therefore, it is clearly prescribed in our Constitution that
voting is our right. It is a civic right
nonetheless and if we try to make it our civic duty, I think
we will be landing in conflict with140 the basic tenets of our Constitution
which advocates equality before the law.
There is compulsory voting in some of the160 countries in the
world. They are pursuing the
practice of compulsory voting. It does
mean that we have to mimic the practices of foreign countries because
we have to understand the culture, the index of education, the fabric of
our society and the ambience under which we are brought up before
deciding any policy. Sir, in our country, when the first election was
held, common voters had put up the symbol of the party which deserve to
win. On the top of a tree, the symbol
was put to display their support to a particular party. This is the level of maturity that Indians
had at that time. But we have
journeyed across the 20th century and have come to280
the first decade of the 21st century.
Still, we are to take into cognizance whether we will pursue any coercive
policy or we will pursue the persuasive policy. Our objective must be to turn out more and
more voters in320 our electoral mechanism because we
are belonging to a representative democracy.
Sir,
we are living in a country which preaches representative democracy. The representative democracy is founded on
the principle of elected individuals representing the people of our country as
opposed to autocracy or direct democracy.
Sir, representatives are chosen by the plurality of those who are
able to cast vote. It does not mean
that majority of votes are to be earned before being elected. A winning
candidate needs to derive the highest number of votes among the contestants. This is the policy we are abiding since the
electoral420
system of our country has been established. The representative democracy
emphasizes individual liberty, and that is why, we can say that India is
a country which believes in liberal democracy.
The liberty of any individual is mentioned in and is restricted by our
Constitution. Our Constitution has
framed up various measures, hundreds of articles, schedules, etc. to
build a480
check-and-balance mechanism in our democracy. The major problem with representative
democracy is voter apathy. You are absolutely right in saying this. It
is the apathy of the voter; it is the indifferent attitude of the
voter which is really a matter of great concern. Sometimes, it seems
that Governments are not being run by the mandate; they do not have any
electoral legitimacy or right to rule. It is often seen. But we need to have an
introspection into the fact560 as to why the electorate are
getting indifferent to the electoral system. Why are they becoming apathetic?
Why are they not participating in the electoral process? It needs to be
dealt with. Sometimes, it is found that
people are reluctant to cast their votes, to exercise their franchise for or
against any of the candidates because they do not like any of the candidates
contesting the elections. The Bill is suggesting a number of penal measures so
that people could640 be forced to cast their votes. Even the
honourable Members are referring to some countries of the West. But it is also
true that a number of countries where compulsory voting system was
in vogue till the other day are now withdrawing it because they understand the untenability
of compulsory voting. Only one country, namely, Belgium, is pursuing the
compulsory700
voting practice. It is called Baton Ballot.
We cannot simply go by this
way as has been proposed by the Gujarat Government. I would pray to
the Gujarat Government to keep the citizens of Gujarat in peace and
tranquility. The Government which cannot afford security to the common citizen
cannot ask for compulsory voting for the sake of democracy. Even in the
year 1983, the Supreme Court affirmed that voting is a formal expression
of will or opinion by the persons entitled to exercise the right on a
subject or issue in question. The right to vote means the right800
to exercise the franchise. It is a right in favour or against any issue in
question or any Resolution. Such a right implies the right to remain neutral as
well. Therefore, by this definition, it clearly vindicates that if we840
ask one to vote compulsorily, it will be tantamount to an
infringement upon the freedom of an individual. I must argue that
intense mobilization, more competitive electoral arena, arousal of interest in
the elections are now being palpable in the aftermath of the assertion of regional
parties. Sir, I would like to draw
your attention to the fact that the electoral turnout in the Assembly Elections
is found to be more than the General Election. Our voters are mature;
they are sensitive, and they are conscious. Otherwise, how have the voters of
Jammu and Kashmir and voters of Arunachal Pradesh exercised their franchise? It
clearly points out to the fact that without adopting any coercive measures,
we can have a960 democratic upsurge in our country
where more and more Dalits, minorities, women and under-privileged classes are
sucked into the electoral980 process. They are taking more and more
interest in the electoral process now.
So, we need to make a further introspection into the reason why the
common voters are getting reluctant to cast their votes and the percentage of
voting is declining. Without resorting to any coercive measures, by the sheer
dint of persuasion, by the dint of argument and by way of giving avenues for
more freedom of expression, we can increase the voting percentage in our
country.
Mr. Chairman, Sir, I would like to express my thanks to you for
giving me this opportunity to speak on this Bill. At this juncture, I would like to appreciate my
honourable friend for bringing this Bill at the appropriate time with a
novel idea. I endorse the concept of
compulsory voting in principle.
Democracy flourishes not only with the full1120 participation of the
people but also with the flawless electoral system. Before enacting legislation
for compulsory voting in the election, necessary spadework should be
made to make the concept really workable. It needs to be further improved so that the
existing defects and faults are removed, and a perfect system is put
into practice. A defective and faulty
system results in erosion of the democratic values. During the Diamond
Jubilee Celebrations of the Election Commission, the Chairperson of the United
Progressive Alliance and the President of the Congress Party has lamented
over the growing money power, muscle power and criminalization of
politics. I appreciate the
Congress President for the outright condemnation of the growing evils. If this is the laudable principle of
the Congress Party, if it is the worthy idea of the Congress President,
I wonder how the Congress1260 Party will be going to fight against
these evils. In all the bye-elections held in Tamil Nadu, the ruling party1280
is adopting the same formula. If the
Congress Party wants to follow the principles that the Congress President
strongly suggested, there is no meaning in continuing alliance with the DMK.
They should come out of the clutches of the DMK. It is good for the Congress Party and for the
country as a whole.
Another aspect I want to touch
upon is the electoral roll system. Though
we have conducted so many elections during the last 60 years, we have
not yet developed an electoral roll system free from defects. More particularly, in Tamil Nadu, the voters’
list is full of defects. Thousands and thousands of voters who are
otherwise eligible were not included in the voters’ list. En bloc1400
deletion of names of voters in a particular area is a common feature. The worst part of it is that voters having identity
cards did not find their names in the electoral rolls. All this happened under the direction of1440
the ruling party with the connivance of officials. The Election Commission is
helpless. In Tamil Nadu, every election
is being conducted through the defective electoral rolls.
So, the Election Commission
should take effective measures for cent per cent inclusion of all eligible
voters through scientific verification.
I would urge upon the Election Commission to utilize the services
of the Central Government employees and the employees working in the public
sector undertakings for this task.
Only after ensuring defect-free electoral system, we can think of
introducing compulsory voting in the country. Let me also draw the
attention of this august House regarding electronic voting machines. Though the Election Commission says that the electronic
voting machines are tamper-proof, there are instances where electronic voting
machines have failed during the polling process. Electronic devices are liable
to fail and the electronic voting machines are no exception. 1583
