India is acclaimed as the largest democracy in the world and we are a living witness of this. However, in our state, democracy exists only in books and not exercised pragmatically. A true democracy requires a clean electoral process, where the citizens elect their representatives with sound mind and sane choice, after which the democratically elected representatives would hold accountable to the people. But the people here are even denied of this privilege; the moment the candidates decides to distribute money or bribe the voters… it becomes untrue democracy and an absolute power and, “Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power corrupts absolutely” – Lord Acton.
Clause 51 A [Representation of the people act], empowers the EC to cancel polls in the event of booth capturing and use of muscle power to influence the outcome, however the proposal of the Election Commission in 2016, to provide Clause 58 B, which could ensure the countermanding of the polls if money had been used, has not been approved by the center yet. This makes it hard to assert that India is indeed democratic.
The instances of true democracy exercised by the people in the world are: the plebiscite taken in UK during the Scottish’s urge for a separate nation, and the Brexit plebiscite; where the more severe national interests were decided by the people altogether, after the issues had been thoroughly deliberated systematically.
LDPN
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