ABHIMANU IAS SPEAKS: September 2013

Sunday, September 29, 2013

In a judgment that can catalyze an electoral revolution, the Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission to give the voter the right to reject all the contesting candidates if he finds none of them “worthy of his vote,” thereby, forcing political parties to field only those “who are known for their integrity” and ensuring “proper governance of the country.”
A bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam said that negative voting would foster purity and vibrancy of elections and ensure wide participation as people who are not satisfied with the candidates in the fray would also turn up to express their opinion rejecting contestants.
The bench noted that the concept of negative voting is prevalent in 13 countries and even in India; parliamentarians are given an option to press the button for abstaining while voting takes place in the House.
The court said right to reject candidates in elections is part of fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression given by the Constitution to Indian citizens.

NOTA BUTTON:

The SC said the voter could be facilitated to cast his negative vote by providing one more button on the electronic voting machine (EVM) called "None of the Above" (NOTA)
The EC could implement the order in a phased manner or at one go

SECTION 49 (O):

The Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, already gives Indians the right to not vote for any candidate, through Section 49 (O).
Under this section, used by a minuscule number of well-informed voters, voters can have their finger inked, and then tell the presiding officer that he/she does not wish to vote for any of the candidates and this is then recorded in a register. This implies that a voter declares openly that he is rejecting the candidates.
The SC decision provides to citizens the right to a secret ballot even while exercising his right to reject all the candidates.
Pressure on political parties to field meritorious candidates is always welcome, but merely introducing the right to reject would hardly suffice on its own. If the number of those who select the None Of The Above option exceeds the number of those who voted for any candidate, a candidate with a minor fraction of votes polled could still emerge victorious. An amendment in law would be required.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has confirmed he would be meeting his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif on September 29 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York.
The low-key announcement was indicative of the extreme caution with which the Indian side is approaching the first meeting of the two Prime Ministers

WHAT INDIA WANTS:

India will ask Pakistan to take concrete steps to restore the “tranquillity of the LoC” before agreeing to restart the dialogue process
Manmohan will ask Sharif to speed up the trial of the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attacks
New Delhi is keen Pakistan moves forward on what an official source termed “the unfinished agenda” on economic and trade affairs, including MFN status

ON PAK’S AGENDA:

Nawaz Sharif is likely to offer “full normalization” of trade relations with India
This, apart from granting Most Favoured Nation status to India, would push for a bilateral free-trade agreement that will enhance investment flow between the nations
He will also push for a resumption of the stalled dialogue process

The Cabinet has cleared an ordinance aimed at nullifying a recent Supreme Court judgment that said lawmakers convicted of offences punishable with two years or more would automatically stand disqualified from the membership of the Parliament or state legislatures from the date of conviction by a trial court.
The SC had on July 10 struck down Section 8(4) of the Representation of People’s Act which protected convicted lawmakers from immediate disqualification. The SC held this Section ultra vires of the Constitution.
Reversing the apex court order, the Cabinet -- chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh -- approved the ordinance which says convicted MPs and MLAs can stay in office and contest elections if they have appealed against the conviction and the said appeal has been admitted for hearing by a higher court within 90 days of conviction by the trial court.

WHAT IT MEANS:

Conviction of a lawmaker won’t automatically lead to his disqualification from the legislature till the ti
me the appeal is pending and the conviction finally adjudicated upon. If the sentence of conviction is stayed by a higher court, the ordinance would equally apply.
The only power, it says, convicted lawmakers would not enjoy is the right to draw salary and allowances and the right to vote in House proceedings.

India and Canada will hold their first-ever strategic dialogue in Toronto on September 22 to give a momentum to ties between the two nations.
The decision to annually hold the strategic dialogue was taken during Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s visit to India in November last year.

SIGNIFICANCE:

The dialogue between India and Canada is significant considering the presence of a large Indian community in Canada.
India and Canada have already concluded an agreement to implement their civil nuclear deal that will allow Canadian companies to export uranium and atomic reactors to New Delhi after a gap of 36 years.
The two countries are also negotiating a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement.

A seven-member Pakistani judicial commission has arrived in India via Attari to take forward the prosecution of seven suspects, including LeT commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, and cross-examine and re-examine four prosecution witnesses in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks case.
The Pakistani delegation was headed by special public prosecutor Azhar Chaudhry.
As many as 166 persons, including foreign nationals, were killed in the 2008 terror attack.
The panel’s first report after a visit in March 2012 was rejected by an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan on the grounds that its members were not allowed to cross-examine the witnesses.