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One significant change that Indian citizens have been yearning for in the political system is to disallow people with criminal antecedents to become lawmakers. In the meantime, the lack of political will to weed out this menace is apparent, as no concrete action has thus far been taken by the government on this issue. According to a report by election watchdog - Association for Democratic Reforms, which claims to have analysed self-sworn affidavits of 542 Members of Parliament that were elected to the 17th Lok Sabha in 2019, as many as 232 (43%) of them had declared criminal cases against themselves and 157 (29%) with serious criminal cases. It went on to inform that out of 3980 members of legislative assemblies from across the country who were analysed, 1610 (40%) of them had criminal cases and 1047 (26%) with serious criminal cases. This finding highlights the fact that a significant percentage of present lawmakers in the country have serious criminal cases against them. This is not something that the world’s largest democracy should be proud of, it is rather a blot that should be removed as soon as possible. Another worrying aspect of this menace is the knowing manner in which citizens elect politicians with criminal records. The success of candidates with criminal antecedents in elections reflects a poor image of the public as well as the quality of their representatives.
In light of the growing number of criminals in the Indian political system and the menace it brings along, the Supreme Court has made several landmark judgments over the years to curb it, including directing candidates to declare pending criminal cases to the Election Commission as well as publish it on print and electronic media before the elections. But it has neither deterred politicians with criminal antecedents from contesting elections nor succeeded in discouraging voters from electing them. The election results say it all. Earlier this week, the apex court had lamented that its repeated appeals to prohibit people with criminal cases to contest elections had fallen on deaf ears, adding that it is up to the lawmakers to take action. It stated that the nation is ‘losing patience’ but political parties have refused to wake up from deep slumber. The court also directed the state governments not to drop cases against legislators without the approval of high courts. This attempt by the court to clean the electoral system is commendable. But will the much-needed change happen any time soon? Sadly no. One way of stopping candidates with criminal backgrounds from entering the Indian political system is by enacting law through amendments by the parliament, and the other is by creating awareness amongst the voters. It may take time to see change either way, as political parties are unlikely to take the risk of not fielding candidates with pending criminal cases due to their public backing and monetary wealth. At the same time, bringing about awareness amongst the citizens through sustained campaigns is easier said than done. But between these two options, educating and empowering voters appears more viable for the moment and will enhance democracy as well. It’s time to clean up the Indian political system.