Ethics in politics

To clean up the election process, the Election Commission and the Association for Democratic Reforms have made laudable efforts. But the humongous task cannot be accomplished without cooperation from the Centre. The BJP’s fight against corruption and black money does not seem to cover malpractices in elections. Making political funding transparent is not very high on its agenda. What happened during the recent Rajya Sabha election in Gujarat shows the party’s real face. The way it has captured power in Goa and Manipur may not pass the moral test.  

Election Commissioner OP Rawat probably had all this in mind when he said on Thursday that “we are scripting a narrative that places maximum premium on winning at all costs — to the exclusion of ethical considerations.” It is not often that constitutional authorities speak out their minds or say without fear what needs to be said. Given the trolling the critics are subjected to by Modi bhakts in social media, not many dare to cross the Lakshman Rekha. In this context what Election Commissioner Rawat has said is daring: “In this narrative, poaching of legislators is extolled as smart political management, and strategic introduction of money for allurement, tough-minded use of state machinery for intimidation, etc, are all commended as resourcefulness.” The Election Commission has recovered from the low it touched when it overlooked poll code violations in Uttar Pradesh. The Commission redeemed its position when, exercising its constitutional power, it overruled the returning officer in Gujarat. 

The Association for Democratic Reforms has been making efforts towards cleansing the electoral process. Its latest report makes interesting revelations. The BJP has received the maximum donation of Rs 705.81 crore from 2,987 corporate donors in the last four years, while the Congress is way behind with Rs 198.16 crore from 167 corporate donors. That is on expected lines. What is not is that a party that is making PAN and Aadhaar compulsory for every financial transaction should itself be getting donations without PAN and address details. This is an issue the Election Commission can be accused of soft-pedalling. Opaque political funding is a bane of our democracy.